I absolutely love the audio quality of my two OG HomePods. They’ve been connected as a stereo pair since day one, and the sound has been nothing short of phenomenal. But after two years of frustration, I’ve finally given up. They’re up for sale, and in their place, I’ve brought in a pair of Sonos Era 100s.
Now, I’m fully aware that Sonos software is dreadful—I’ve got plenty of Sonos gear around the house to remind me—but the HomePod’s software, combined with Apple’s walled-garden approach, has finally worn me down.
Siri is, to put it bluntly, garbage. Truly atrocious. I’m not saying Alexa is incredible, but it’s just miles ahead in terms of flexibility and compatibility. The constant need for HomeBridge to get devices working with HomeKit is exhausting, and even then, it’s a roll of the dice whether they’ll actually communicate properly.
Then there’s the complete lock-in to Apple’s ecosystem, which you’d think would at least mean seamless integration—but nope. AirPlay is fantastic… when it works. More often than not, it doesn’t. My HomePods would randomly disconnect, sometimes playing from just one speaker, sometimes both, and occasionally not at all.
The lack of Bluetooth or any wired connection never seemed like an issue—until it was. AirPlay’s lag is ridiculous, making it impossible to connect them to my MacBook for anything in real time.
But the one thing the HomePod absolutely nailed was sound. The rich, full soundstage, deep bass, and immersive experience were genuinely impressive. When they worked, they sounded spectacular. But that’s the key: when.
I have no idea if the Gen 2 versions fixed these problems, but the original HomePods were plagued with issues. And as much as I know Sonos isn’t perfect, on paper, the Era 100s outperform both generations of HomePods in sound quality. More importantly, the connectivity is leaps and bounds ahead. I’ve now hardwired one of my Era 100s to my dock, and the stereo pair works flawlessly with zero delay. Even AirPlay seems to have less lag, and while I haven’t tested the Bluetooth yet, just knowing it’s there is a huge plus.
I know it’ll never happen, but if Apple truly wants the HomePod to succeed, they need to open it up. Until then, it’ll remain a niche product, forever held back by its own ecosystem.
Cheerio, HomePods. It was an interesting ride… but I’m moving on.
Now, I’m fully aware that Sonos software is dreadful—I’ve got plenty of Sonos gear around the house to remind me—but the HomePod’s software, combined with Apple’s walled-garden approach, has finally worn me down.
Siri is, to put it bluntly, garbage. Truly atrocious. I’m not saying Alexa is incredible, but it’s just miles ahead in terms of flexibility and compatibility. The constant need for HomeBridge to get devices working with HomeKit is exhausting, and even then, it’s a roll of the dice whether they’ll actually communicate properly.
Then there’s the complete lock-in to Apple’s ecosystem, which you’d think would at least mean seamless integration—but nope. AirPlay is fantastic… when it works. More often than not, it doesn’t. My HomePods would randomly disconnect, sometimes playing from just one speaker, sometimes both, and occasionally not at all.
The lack of Bluetooth or any wired connection never seemed like an issue—until it was. AirPlay’s lag is ridiculous, making it impossible to connect them to my MacBook for anything in real time.
But the one thing the HomePod absolutely nailed was sound. The rich, full soundstage, deep bass, and immersive experience were genuinely impressive. When they worked, they sounded spectacular. But that’s the key: when.
I have no idea if the Gen 2 versions fixed these problems, but the original HomePods were plagued with issues. And as much as I know Sonos isn’t perfect, on paper, the Era 100s outperform both generations of HomePods in sound quality. More importantly, the connectivity is leaps and bounds ahead. I’ve now hardwired one of my Era 100s to my dock, and the stereo pair works flawlessly with zero delay. Even AirPlay seems to have less lag, and while I haven’t tested the Bluetooth yet, just knowing it’s there is a huge plus.
I know it’ll never happen, but if Apple truly wants the HomePod to succeed, they need to open it up. Until then, it’ll remain a niche product, forever held back by its own ecosystem.
Cheerio, HomePods. It was an interesting ride… but I’m moving on.
