Apple HomePod

[anonymous-user]

Just got an email from apple

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-homepod/homepod/...

Available for orders for 9th feb. Yours for £319.

Seems a bit late to the party, when most people wanting this stuff have whole houses already done with complete amazon and google ecosystems for the same price?

[tim0409]

Apple seems to have botched the launch of the Homepod; they pre-announced it last year then delayed it, and now it is launching without support for stereo. I like Apple products (although I'm not so keen on Apple as a company), so it will be interesting to hear how good the sound quality is on this. For the meantime I will stick with my Echo Dot and £14 Anker speaker.....

[sas62]

Ive got various Echos and Sonos already but even so that HomePod is more than twice and maybe even three times what I'd pay for one.

[Dracoro]

Curious to know what the sound quality is like with these.
If average/poor (compared to a typical hifi) then it looks expensive.
If it sounds as good as some half decent hifi then it’s a bit of a bargain (speaker, amp and media all in one).

[RichTT]

They said their main focus was on audio quality. It uses the same tech as the decent sound bars that alter output depending on the shape of the room.

Edited by RichTT on Saturday 27th January 06:45

[Leithen]

Same idea as the Naim Muso Qb, but cheaper.

With Siri thrown in.

[NDA]

sas62 said:

Ive got various Echos and Sonos already but even so that HomePod is more than twice and maybe even three times what I'd pay for one.

Me too.

As the OP said, it seems Apple are horrendously late to the party - too late I'd say.

I love Apple kit, but really dislike the overly heavy Apple curation of music and photos (in particular). Therefore the HomePod doesn't appeal at all - I suspect it won't play Spotify or any other music services. I use the hardware almost exclusively these days (phones, laptops, desk top computers) but have managed to avoid the Apple storage solutions.

[anonymous-user]

Apple tax seems to have been applied at a very high rate here imo

Expect it will sell plenty, but I see it as another “watch” in the portfolio rather than another “iPhone” in terms of numbers

[tim0409]

NDA said:

sas62 said:

Ive got various Echos and Sonos already but even so that HomePod is more than twice and maybe even three times what I'd pay for one.

Me too.

As the OP said, it seems Apple are horrendously late to the party - too late I'd say.

I love Apple kit, but really dislike the overly heavy Apple curation of music and photos (in particular). Therefore the HomePod doesn't appeal at all - I suspect it won't play Spotify or any other music services. I use the hardware almost exclusively these days (phones, laptops, desk top computers) but have managed to avoid the Apple storage solutions.

I've got to agree. I used to subscribe to iTunes Match but when they introduced Apple Music it was a confusing mess (even diehard apple fans would admit this) so now I just avoid it. Siri (compared to other offerings like Alexa) is now way behind. I can't remember the last time I used Siri.

[B17NNS]

Too much money and too late.

I'm sure it will sound good for what it is (Bose/Sonos quality). But for the vast majority brought up on MP3's heard through earbuds the sound quality of the full sized echo's and google home's is more than adequate.

If you want decent audio you'll have a stereo set up.

If you want an assistant/voice control/automation Alexa/GH do it better and cheaper. Spot's and Mini's at £35 (when on sale) are cheap enough to populate most areas of your home. You can't do that with HomePod/HomeKit/Siri without vast expense.

Sonos aren't taking it lying down either...

https://www.sonos.com/en-gb/shop/2-room-music-syst...

Edited by B17NNS on Saturday 27th January 14:55

[Dolf Stoppard]

Hmmm. No Apple fanbois jumping to it's defence. Strange.

[Yipper]

It'll be another Apple product, where everyone says it's cr*p, and then they'll sell millions at ridiculous prices.

Everyone slagged Apple Watch, but they've already sold tens of millions of them.

[B17NNS]

Dolf Stoppard said:

Hmmm. No Apple fanbois jumping to it's defence. Strange.

iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook Air, iPhone and an iPad here.

Used and enjoyed Apple products both personally and professionally since the Mid 90's/Quadra days. Just not feeling an overpriced speaker.

[jmorgan]

Struggling to see why I want any device that does this.

However, a DAB radio can come in at a hefty price and Apple reckons the sound is superb (demos so far are apple controlled?).

But I can see where it will fit in and then you will need a stream apple music..... ker, and dare I say it, ching.

[Alucidnation]

Until i have heard it, l'll stick with my Muso/s.

I don't need to ask something to perform a task for me.

[RammyMP]

I’ve got 3 Sonos speakers at the moment that work well. I might have a look at the HomePod when it comes out but it does seem expensive.

[anonymous-user]

Alucidnation said:

I don't need to ask something to perform a task for me.

And if you did, this would be a poor way to do it as you’d need a few of these dotted around your house.

[sjg]

No so interested in the HomePod specifically but AirPlay2 is interesting. We have iPhones and a Apple Music family account so anything that aligns better with the Apple way of doing things would be good. My main annoyance with Sonos is podcasts - I can play them direct off my phone (unreliably, and it doesn't know about part-listened episodes), else I have to rely on an old Airport Express plugged in to the line-in on one of them and stream it that way.

Hoping lots of the existing AirPlay 3rd party vendors get new stuff out or (where possible) updates to do AirPlay2. If Sonos deliver an update that supports it as they've promised and it makes listening to podcasts straightforward then I'll probably get a few more.

Voice assistants? Nope, tried an Echo Dot and it was useless.

[sjg]

El stovey said:

Have you downloaded the podcast skill on your echo dot? You can listen to podcasts directly from that. I’m doing it right now, it works really well. No need for a phone or any streaming from other devices,

The Echo Dot was bought when Sonos had the offer and after a couple of weeks of it mostly activiating when we didn't want it to, and being of really limited use when we did ask it something, it went straight on ebay.

I just want to take a podcast I've been listening to on headphones or in the car, and pick up playing it on speakers when I'm home. That seems to mean bluetooth or airplay connected to the line-in of my Sonos right now.

[anonymous-user]

sjg said:

El stovey said:

Have you downloaded the podcast skill on your echo dot? You can listen to podcasts directly from that. I’m doing it right now, it works really well. No need for a phone or any streaming from other devices,

The Echo Dot was bought when Sonos had the offer and after a couple of weeks of it mostly activiating when we didn't want it to, and being of really limited use when we did ask it something, it went straight on ebay.

I just want to take a podcast I've been listening to on headphones or in the car, and pick up playing it on speakers when I'm home. That seems to mean bluetooth or airplay connected to the line-in of my Sonos right now.

Yeah this HomePod will likely be great for that.