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Syke23z

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 21, 2014
67
19
California
During the keynote Apple did not reintroduce or provided updates on HomePod. It is coming this December. However, do you think there will be another Apple Special Event or it will released--somewhat silently--like the AirPods.
 
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wesley96

macrumors 6502
Sep 21, 2009
353
298
What is there for Apple to mention at this time, though? The features have already been announced in June, and the release date has been set to December. Companies in general don’t talk about an unreleased product unless there’s a good reason. I’m sure that firmware leak did too much talking already. There’s little reason to equate silence with forgetfulness.
 
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alex00100

macrumors 6502
Mar 17, 2011
469
1,227
Moscow, Russia
What is there for Apple to mention at this time, though? The features have already been announced in June, and the release date has been set to December. Companies in general don’t talk about an unreleased product unless there’s a good reason. I’m sure that firmware leak did too much talking already. There’s little reason to equate silence with forgetfulness.
It's called marketing.
 

MistrSynistr

macrumors 68000
May 15, 2014
1,718
2,128
This thing is DOA after that Sonos One reveal.

They need to bring the price down at least $100 for it to even be considered.
 

profmjh

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2015
1,733
1,799
UK
Probably a somewhat silent release. I do not know if this product is actually going to be a hit or not. I still think this was a miss to not include a wireless / battery mode.

Yes. That’s a dealbreaker for me.

Well, that and the price.
 

- rob -

macrumors 65816
Apr 18, 2012
1,030
704
Oakland, CA
What I don’t get about this is that you get Siri from any major Bluetooth speaker with a microphone. There is a severe UX impinging delay but it works the same.

Maybe it is that the HomePod doesn’t need to be teathered to any other iOS device that makes it special? The expectation is that these are plugged in and left in each room of the home?

I do like the idea of completely replacing the “desktop” CD stereos that Sony and other companies sold for hundreds for so long. I doubt their utility and sound quality matches homepod.
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,156
They already announced it and its release date.

Much like the iPhone X, its just doesn't release a week later.

A silent release/update is just that, silent. No one sees it coming until someone reads something on Apples webpage or something.

I think we will see some advertising for it as the release nears but I don't think they will get on stage and explain it again.
 

jagooch

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2009
804
249
Denver, co
What I don’t get about this is that you get Siri from any major Bluetooth speaker with a microphone. There is a severe UX impinging delay but it works the same.

Maybe it is that the HomePod doesn’t need to be teathered to any other iOS device that makes it special? The expectation is that these are plugged in and left in each room of the home?

I do like the idea of completely replacing the “desktop” CD stereos that Sony and other companies sold for hundreds for so long. I doubt their utility and sound quality matches homepod.
What's a CD? certificate of deposit?

The HomePod is like a (currently available ) Sonos speaker with Airplay and Siri, Apple Music, etc built in. And it sounds better than Sonos speakers.
 

kleinhond

macrumors newbie
Oct 27, 2017
6
0
The HomePod is like a (currently available ) Sonos speaker with Airplay and Siri, Apple Music, etc built in.
Hi. Does this mean that it will run via bluetooth? I like Sonos but I have moved to an area with poor wifi of around 1mbps atm so the Sonos will to work as they are not bluetooth. Maybe I should consider Homepod.
 

rhett7660

macrumors G5
Jan 9, 2008
14,371
4,493
Sunny, Southern California
Hi. Does this mean that it will run via bluetooth? I like Sonos but I have moved to an area with poor wifi of around 1mbps atm so the Sonos will to work as they are not bluetooth. Maybe I should consider Homepod.

As far as I know, Sonos doesn't support bluetooth direct from phone to speaker. You have to be on the same wifi network to access the speakers.

Have you looked at adding an extender to cover the poor wifi coverage or upgrading to a mesh style network configuration?
 

kleinhond

macrumors newbie
Oct 27, 2017
6
0
Have you looked at adding an extender to cover the poor wifi coverage or upgrading to a mesh style network configuration?
The extender I thought about but not heard of the mesh. The poor wifi is a village wide problem (we are very remote) so there is only so much I can do within my house. But really I was asking about Homepod bluetooth as a way to play music without good wifi and Sonos
 

chiefsilverback

macrumors 6502
Jul 25, 2011
458
438
The extender I thought about but not heard of the mesh. The poor wifi is a village wide problem (we are very remote) so there is only so much I can do within my house. But really I was asking about Homepod bluetooth as a way to play music without good wifi and Sonos
Are you talking about your internet connection speed rather than your wifi network? I can disconnect my network from the internet and all of my devices will talk to one another, they just can't access the web.

HomePod is a streaming device, it's designed to stream music direct from the web, although I believe it will work as an AirPlay speaker to receive music/audio pushed from another device.
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,156
The extender I thought about but not heard of the mesh. The poor wifi is a village wide problem (we are very remote) so there is only so much I can do within my house. But really I was asking about Homepod bluetooth as a way to play music without good wifi and Sonos

Not sure about Bluetooth but with an iOS device you should be able to AirPlay to it. So any music that is already on your iPhone for example should be able to play on it through your wifi network even without a good internet connection.

However I would be weary, while that might work the HomePod looks to be heavily reliant on internet connectivity much like any other smart speaker.
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,156
Probably a somewhat silent release. I do not know if this product is actually going to be a hit or not. I still think this was a miss to not include a wireless / battery mode.

The intended audience are people looking for wifi speakers with higher quality. Batteries don't work with higher excursion speaker(s) and/or speaker arrays due to power requirements and acoustic design of the housing/case.

The HomePod is being compared to Wifi speakers like the Sonos Play:3 ($299) and Play:5 ($499) plus being a smart speaker on top of the sound quality.
 
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randomplaydo

macrumors member
Oct 9, 2014
98
195
As far as DOA, I'm not sure. I, for one, plan on buying at least one for listening to music in the living room. We have a google home in there now and it's sufficient, but not good audio quality. We have an echo in the bedroom and same thing - it's sufficient, but not good audio quality.

If it ends up sounding as amazing as every reviewer has said (and I'm guessing it'll be better because they've had 5 months to refine the software and hardware) then we'll pick up a second one for the home office. The google home can go back in the kitchen for podcast listening and the echo can stay in the bedroom for the alarm and late night 'going to sleep' music playback.
 

840quadra

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 1, 2005
9,422
6,303
Twin Cities Minnesota
I really am bothered that you still can't go into a store and listen to one of these. With Everyone else doubling down on their devices, I really want to listen to this before I make my final decision. The (likely & hopeful) ability to output AppleTV audio to one of these devices is strongly tempting.
 
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kleinhond

macrumors newbie
Oct 27, 2017
6
0
Not sure about Bluetooth but with an iOS device you should be able to AirPlay to it. So any music that is already on your iPhone for example should be able to play on it through your wifi network even without a good internet connection.

However I would be weary, while that might work the HomePod looks to be heavily reliant on internet connectivity much like any other smart speaker.
Thanks for the reply.

I see that Sonos will be adding Airplay 2 to their systems next year. So I wonder with a poor internet connection if I should forget about Homepod entirely, or use the Airplay 2 from that in conjunction with Sonos.
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,156
Thanks for the reply.

I see that Sonos will be adding Airplay 2 to their systems next year. So I wonder with a poor internet connection if I should forget about Homepod entirely, or use the Airplay 2 from that in conjunction with Sonos.

That doesn't make too much sense too me. Barring audio fidelity getting a speaker because it doesn't offer more internet connectivity isn't a solution, it is just capable of less.

Sonos is somewhat proprietary too much like Apple products.
 
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