“Apple’s HomePods have evolved in function since their introduction as Apple has pushed out firmware updates and related operating system changes that enabled originally promised features,” Glenn Fleishman writes for Macworld. “But there are still some missing pieces, some of which may remain outside the speaker/Siri combo.”
“Can a HomePod take audio input from a TV, cable tuning box, or receiver?” Fleishman writes. “There are no audio inputs on the HomePod. It lacks an audio input jack and only supports Bluetooth 5.0 for its own purposes, not for streaming audio. To send audio to a HomePod, you have to have a device capable of using the original AirPlay or AirPlay 2.”
“There’s a workaround you could employ, if you have a spare Mac or one you already have connected to your home entertainment system, so long as it can take audio input or you purchase a USB adapter for audio input,” Fleishman writes. “You can connect the audio output of an A/V device, like a TV, to the Mac.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A good use for that old Mac mini!
Apple purportedly sells premium products at premium prices. Yet they can’t get the basics correct.
First the Homepod narrative was that one amazing little speaker would fill your room with perfect sound, allowing you to chat with Siri and experience the entire world of exciting audio that Apple offers. Just $350 and bliss will overtake you.
But you can’t wire any legacy audio source to it, for instance to listen to your local radio. Also one $350 speaker doesn’t actually fill a large room with sound, you need two. So just give Apple $700 and accept limitations. Also, pay monthly fees and haggle with Siri to find music you like.
If you have any music in a collection you also need to have Airplay, which means you need to have reliable fast stable WiFi which Apple no longer makes.
And now we get the next amazing apologist point: you can always kludge together audio inputs from your existing perfectly good audio equipment through a Mac ($500 and up) in order to Airplay it to your monopole (audio reflection) speaker. Will it be superior in quality to your existing amp playing uncompressed music directly to stereo speakers? Well Apple isn’t going to compare itself to THAT. It’s trying to sell itself as a niche not-a-smart-speaker but not-a-stereo-either middle ground. Whatever. It’s a half baked product lacking obvious useful features. Gosh Apple thanks for making it so easy, and so intuitive. That is really sooooo premium.
I will say it again: the Homepod is a crass attempt to lure more people into renting music. It’s a shitty solution for people who listen to their own collection or multiple legacy audio sources or want easy audio.
Airplay is not now, and will not be, superior to wired solutions and large speakers with big clean amps when it comes to audio quality. Overall it doesn’t look like it will be cheaper either. Airplay, while definitely better than BlueTooth, is laggy and drops out regularly in areas with lots of WiFi signal noise (yes I know modern wifi equipment jumps channels but still dropouts occur).
Perhaps Apple should just resort to selling people on the attractiveness of its thread spool as an objet d’art. Ive wouldn’t plug it in at all, the power cord is against his design principles. You should buy a pair to look at them.
Yes, you will say it again, and again, and again.
Your post is overly dramatic and make some very sketchy leaps in logic from one area to another. I don’t know what people like you feel the need to post rants on Apple products when they do not match your expectations or desires.
I have never owned an Apple Watch, but I don’t feel the need to disparage it as a product every few days. In fact, as I have observed its evolution, the Apple Watch has grown from an interesting feat of Apple miniaturization to become a technology product that I am truly interested in owning. I have a feeling that the HP will follow that same evolutionary path.
There is some validity in some of your points, but the overall tone of your posts has always turned me off. Fundamentally, if you don’t like the Apple HP, then don’t buy it.
the essence of many points are valid.
Apple has noticeably increased it’s efforts in “controlling.” There are many examples and, Mike lists a couple that bring me Apple disfavor…renting music, dissing cords, adaptors, ports, etc. One of my nightly exercises is “telling” Apple, “no I don’t want to update/download that software, tonight, tomorrow or now.” Please, can my answer of “no” be good enough?
It’s easy for me to associate that Cook’s propensity to care less about promoting his non-Apple opinions with the way Apple serves up “this is required” tech, or market changes.
In know, I know, Jobs did it too, but his prescience was mostly sharp and on target. One realized soon after the “edict” that it made sense. With Cook’s, I’m still trying to adapt long after the change.
Yes, a power-hungry mac mini and additional wifi bandwidth is definitely a not-bat-shit-crazy way to connect an audio device to a speaker.
If only someone would invent a simple, passive method for connecting audio devices. With a name like “Wait! It’s Really Easy!”
No, that’s too wordy. Maybe an acronym? W.I.R.E.?