Apple “may not be the first to debut a new feature or product, but it almost always does it best,” Julian Chokkattu writes for Digital Trends. “Can the HomePod, Apple’s new smart speaker, live up to that expectation? We spent an hour with the speaker, and here are our first impressions.”
“Audio quality is beautifully warm, yet the bass is not overpowering, even though it was still quite rich. If you close your eyes, it’s easy to feel like you’re at a live performance. We could pick out the vocals and instruments clearly. The speaker allows each instrument to shine through; you can hear precise guitar plucks,” Chokkattu writes. “No, it doesn’t have that crisp sound you’d hear from very expensive high-end speakers, but then again, the HomePod doesn’t cost thousands yet still pushes brilliant sound quality out of a single, small enclosure.”
“What’s more impressive is how consistent the HomePod sounds wherever you are in the room,” Chokkattu writes. “Yes, the further away you are, the quieter it is, but not by much. It almost felt like the music was following our movement, and it consistently sounded great… We also got a taste of multi-room playback, where you will be able to play stereo music on more than one HomePod. Music easily filled a loud room, and it sounds brilliant. This feature is not included at launch, nor is the ability to pair two HomePods in stereo – both of these options will be included in a free software update later this year, as part of the upgrade to AirPlay 2.”
“What is unique about the HomePod is Apple’s spotlight on privacy,” Chokkattu writes. “Siri is listening locally, and then any requests you make are encrypted before it reaches Apple. This data is also anonymized — through the same differential privacy method used on the iPhone — so the requests are not tied to an iCloud account. This is a strong advantage Apple holds over competitors like Amazon and Google if you’re worried about your privacy.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Did you get your pre-order(s) in, yet? Ours are in, with February 9th delivery – we can’t wait to set up our HomePods!
SEE ALSO:
Hands on with Apple’s HomePod: Attractive, ultra-high-quality speaker, an excellent Siri ambassador – January 26, 2018
Apple’s HomePod, the iPod for your home – January 25, 2018
One hour with Apple’s new HomePod smart speaker – January 25, 2018
Apple’s iOS 11.3 beta delivers AirPlay 2 with multi-room playback – January 25, 2018
How Apple is positioning the HomePod and why – January 24, 2018
How I got talked into buying an Apple HomePod despite my reservations – January 24, 2018
Tim Cook says audio quality puts HomePod ahead of ‘squeaky-sounding’ competition – January 24, 2018
Apple’s HomePod arrives February 9th, available to order this Friday, January 26th – January 23, 2018
Apple delays HomePod release to early 2018 – November 17, 2017
Apple reveals HomePod smart home music speaker – June 5, 2017
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Ordered and Can’t wait 😊
Can’t wait for Siri to not recognize half of what you say? Can’t wait for how utterly stupid Siri is?
“Siri, get me the cheapest plane ticket to Los Angeles from New York.”
“Would you like to search for plane tickets online?” Siri
“Siri, play songs by Nirvana.”
“Ok, playing songs by Micheal Bolton.” Siri
Siri is like the early handwriting recognition of the Newton: terrible.
Ordered space gray to be received Feb. 9. A lot of people are complaining about Homepod, but it will fill my needs just fine. I wanted a smart speaker that I could carry to the patio or the bedroom or the living room, have Apple music availability and do a few homekit chores. Will work wonderfully for that. Others may have grander needs that will be filled in future software upgrades.
Are you sure unplugging it and re-plugging won’t reset the device or otherwise change settings that would make your use case a chore in itself?
I don’t know, but I sure hope not! Should retain all of its settings like an iPad does as it moves from room to room.
What apple product resets when you unplug it?
Solid, I would venture a guess that even based on apple products that don’t have a battery like the Apple TV or Airport/time capsule line (that retain configuration when unplugged) you can be assured that the HomePod will (retain configuration) as well.
Ordered space gray to be received Feb. 9. I plan on hooking both up to my Apple TV in a rather large two story great room.
I’m crossing my fingers that they will both work, even if they don’t have stereo yet. If not, one will go up in the master suite.
No one at Apple can tell me the SPL @ 1m or wattage rating. Those are sound industry standards. yikes!
So many claims of Alexa and Google Assistant always listening and sending audio back to servers while HomePod is said here to not do so. Does anyone know of a report where data transmissions have been monitored for Echo and Google Home at ‘rest’? (don’t expect one for HomePod yet being so new).