When I first heard about it, I thought something like “oh now they have one of those things too” and then I ate some tortellini.
/image tortellini
I didn’t think about it again until just now.
I just want stereo speakers. I want something that doesn’t cost $500 that is smart and has two stereo, left-right speakers. All of these one-speaker solutions suck.
@wishlish an echo dot plus the philips Bluetooth bookshelf speakers Meh sells every once in a while will fulfill your needs. Or any speakers for that matter, the dot has a 1/8" output.
@djslack I like that, though I wonder if I’m limited to Amazon Music. I like Apple music because I can play all my bootleg Prince stuff.
/image priorities
@wishlish@fool yes, at least with the dot (only echo device i own). If your streaming service of choice is not supported natively by the echo, you can pair it to your phone or computer and use it as a Bluetooth speaker, so that may or may not count depending on your definition of using echo to stream apple music.
@f00l I tried to answer too many questions with the same words. Yes, the Dot output is in stereo, but you have to bring your own speakers to the party. Since the Echo and Tap have their own speaker and (therefore, I believe) no outputs, they don’t give you stereo music.
I don’t believe Google music is supported natively by any Echo product, though I could be wrong. I usually just let Amazon music play by saying “Alexa, play <artist or genre>” and call it good.
I know you can turn the mic off on the Echo. There is a simple button to do that.
On the Tap you have to manually hit a button to tell it to listen when you want it to. It doesn’t ever listen continuously.
Same, I believe, with the Alexa app on Fire tablets. The app listened only when open.
I don’t own a Dot.
@djslack, I presume there is a button to turn the mic on or off?
@djslack, will just any L-R connected speakers do stereo with the Dot?
What about Bluetooth L-R stereo speakers with the Dot? If they work, what are some decent ones?
What I guess I would like:
Bluetooth stereo speaker hookup to the Dot - and the Dot will detect the setup and send the L-R audio channel info;l correctly (will it do that?)
And ideally I don’t have to leave the mic turned on or manually turn it on.
I would like the Alexa device mic always off. And the I would like a smartphone app that I can open (and only then manually tell the smartphone mic to listen when I want it to listen), I can then send a command to the Alexa device without turning on the Alexa device mic.
Or better yet, type a command on the smartphone and the results of which which are sent to the Alexa device as if it were a spoken command.
(So that I suppose was or type to the smartphone and the command results go to the Alexa device.)
@f00l Yes, there is a Mic off button. And yes, Bluetooth in stereo.
Once you get to the rest of your wish list I’m not sure why you need Alexa, and couldn’t just use Bluetooth speakers with your phone. Unless you want to turn lights on/off (use wink or smartthings) or buy stuff from amazon. Most people want the echo because it’s an always listening voice control and streaming device, but if you shut that off, it’s just acting like a Bluetooth intermediary with more complexity.
@djslack
I want to stream music to the speakers in stereo thru some semi-intelligent easy-to-use device, where I can command the device from a tablet or a smartphone, but the streaming occurs thru the device, not the tablet or smartphone. I want the streaming done off the device in my hand.
I have an echo. I played with it a bit but it’s been unplugged for months now. I don’t want it always listening for the wake word, and have some mixed feelings about sending my voice commands to Amazon or to Google or to Apple or anywhere else.
Not to sound like an asshole, but, well, that- you lost me at Apple. They have a business model and it seems to be working for them, but I have no interest in being a part of it.
I know. I’ll just pay to send my conversations, home and net activity to people who will profit from the sale of it so I don’t have to touch a dimmer switch.
@droopus This is why I don’t plan on getting any of these things. I’m in favor of home automation but I don’t need an always-on listening device in my house. I did use a Sonos at a vacation rental once and really liked that; I hope to get some myself someday. If they made a clock radio version I’d probably already own it. I’m having a hard time finding a really good modern alarm clock “radio” and haven’t been very pleased with the one I bought from meh.
@droopus considering most people already use some type of social media, gaming system, etc, and are thus already sending all of that info to marketers, i’m never sure why it’s the home devices that really bother people.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
voice control is really useful in our particular apartment which doesn’t have light switches, anyhow. and next time i have putin over for tea and cucumber sandwiches i’ll just mute it or unplug it.
@f00l right, basically if you use the internet, you are already giving this info away. hell, even if you don’t use the internet but you use a rewards card program you’re already giving this info away.
@jerk_nugget Agreed. I realize that simple web browsing gives out more information than Alexa/Homepod, but I go to the trouble of trying to reduce my online footprint. I realize VPNs and plugins (like Ghostery) can only do so much, and I assume everything I do is public, but I’m not at the point where I’ll make trackers’ jobs easier.
It’s kind of like locking your doors and getting a burglar alarm - the pros will get in if they really want to, but the amateur (or ad tracker) will look elsewhere. That’s the idea anyway.
@f00l@droopus - i am curious, are you guys concerned with people getting a hold of your personal information and using it for seriously nefarious purposes (card/bank info breaches, identity theft, access to home devices, other ‘hax’ etc) or just annoyed that marketers are getting bits of largely benign info for big bucks that you’re handing out for free? or both? neither? some of each? just don’t like any entity having any info you didn’t specifically grant access to? no judgement, genuine question/curiosity.
i agree that burglary, like hacking, is often a crime of opportunity and thus a locked car or house or device and reasonably vigilant individual will deter much of it. (and is worth doing.)
for me, i don’t really care if amazon told some other Bigass Company that i bought foot cream and peppermint oil online today. if i have to have ads shoved at me all the time, at least they can be things i might be interested in. (or things i’ve already looked at and thus aren’t exceedingly annoying/offensive/stupid.) there’s no denying the orwellian slant to our current path, i certainly don’t think these things are designed purely for my enjoyment and nothing else, but i’m not super tinfoily about it either. (not to worry, i’m also not one of those ‘i’m not doing anything illicit therefore i’m gleefully unconcerned with privacy’ types either.)
@jerk_nugget
In my case, a bit of both. Plus that we have nearly no privacy laws, and tho those laws we have (and also those privacy policies) are often unmonitored, unenforced, and impenetrable. This annoys me somewhat. I feel like I ought not to be an easy open book even to Google. (alto I can get pretty lazy about prevention.)
Yes I don’t wish to be personally hacked or targeted. Yes, I think that privacy policies and privacy laws and privacy questions should be an enormous political issue, they should be written in basic plain English and published in large type, and all these companies who gather data for a living should be forced into constant public accountability on this.
Too late now tho. That horse got out of the barn 15-20 years ago, more or less. Certainly too late, once the first Iphones and Android phones took off in the marketplace.
@f00l “liking” your reply didn’t seem a sufficient show of solidarity, but a chest cold and a heat wave are preventing me from further brain-ing on the matter
What’s that ugly black lump on your bookshelf?.. Yes, it is ugly… Whatever… A $350 speaker?! that only works with Apple music? and it can’t even do half of what that Amazon speaker thing can do?..
@daveinwarsh Ok, I can crack most versions of android with a few tools that are available if you know where to look but I can’t crack IOS. The cheapest thing about your phone is the hardware. Replacing all of your data, that most people never back up really screws up your life. I would rather invest in a system that I’ve never lost any data on than something any even slightly proficient cracker can steal from me. It’s just common sense to me.
It will work with everything and Siri will get better due to the ML chip that will be integrated inside it or in the iPhone to connect to it. It will be big. If I can attach a receiver and hook it up via AirPlay 2, it will take care of speakers attached and all intelligent devices via HomeKit and you think this isn’t going to sell? I guess if you think that, you also think the AirPods were a bad idea. Funny, only now can you actually get them within a week. The HomePod will blow away Google and Amazon’s devices.
@f00l It’s an interesting area and with over a quarter of a trillion dollars to work with, Apple buys smaller companies that aren’t on the radar. That much money takes a lot of time of the R&D cycle. But is Siri up to the Google Assistant’s standard, not even close. It will be interesting how it progresses rather than using personal information as Goggle and Amazon does.
@smyle I agree, I don’t see students wearing them either and I’m an adjunct professor. On the other side, I have several friends that use Apple products that all have AirPods and they waited close to 2 months to get them. Are they worth it? I was speaking with a friend that was driving to downtown DC for a Washington Wizards game with his son in the front seat. When he said he had to go because he just arrived at the Verizon Center, I was shocked. there was no background noise and I didn’t hear his son talking. I assumed he was in his office. I haven’t bought them yet but I probably will when my Bluetooth ear piece dies.
I’ve never heard of it, but in accordance with Apple’s business model since the early 90’s, it’ll be somewhere on the low end of garbage-to-subpar, have technology two generations behind any given competitor, look like it’s made of the cheapest plastic commercially available, be exorbitantly overpriced, and yet tens of millions of idiots will still buy it because it says “Apple” on it.
@InnocuousFarmer No, I didn’t. I said I’d never heard of it, but judging by every other product Apple has release in nearly thirty years, it will be shit, and idiots will still lap it up.
I can’t see needing this at anytime in the foreseeable future. When I do, I will get the Roku of these sort of devices, something that is not service/carrier specific.
If it sounds as good as Bose and if they can show me how it will make my life easier / better, and if it works with Spotify, I’d consider it. I don’t think it does any of those things, but that is what would make me consider it.
@buckleyup4lolz Most folks who spend any time listening to things like personal speakers rate Bose poorly, Apple’s decision to have a fairly robust A8 cpu in the HomePod together with the array of tweeters and and servo controlled low frequency driver have impressed most reviewers.
The initial integration with Siri and HomeKit devices seems quite good, that should make for a better / easier life.
No reason it won’t work with any iOS streaming service, yet to be seen how slick the voice control is compared to default iTunes integration which was demonstrated with nice features including details about the track currently playing…
I don’t think it’ll flop, but it’ll get get a ton of praise from the Apple press and then they’ll start to complain in a year when Apple stops updating regularly. Think of it like the new Apple TV
I already have 5 AirPlay speakers for mostly whole house audio. If AirPlay 2 is backward compatible with AirPlay, I’m in for one on day one. For where I want to put it, it solves an audio problem for me with its design, and I much prefer Siri working for me vs. me being the customer with Echo or Google Home.
If it can sell itself as a Bluetooth speaker at that price on sound quality grounds, there is a good chance I’ll get one. It would also help if it worked with Spotify.
I’ve got an Amazon Echo that I like using to listen to my iPhone, with voice controls, but the sound quality is bad enough that I always notice, and often don’t bother.
I don’t get why people want an integrated speaker with these things. Doesn’t everyone have a box of Bluetooth speakers sitting around? At least people who shop here?
@sammydog01 The value of having just ONE HomePod is not nearly as much as having several – It is sort like the difference between having a “universal remote” that runs all your devices so long as you know which button corresponds to which device vs having a more intelligent way to ask a smart device to play a specific live sports event from OTA TV in your family room while your spouse asks the same smart device to play movie from a streaming service in the bedroom.
it’s a shame, i really enjoyed apple and their products for so long (though never exclusively) but i haven’t really thought about buying anything from them in probably a decade, maybe more. (i still have my original ipod, and i do have an iphone SE [after finally having to say goodbye to my faithful 4S for software reasons], simply because i don’t need or want excessive customization/functionality out of a smartphone.)
i hadn’t heard of this, so i googled it out of curiosity. i have to say, i don’t get it. last night my partner and i saw a commercial for a ‘new’ (non apple) phone with “mods” or whatever that you can attach. stick a camera lens on a phone, stick a speaker on your phone, stick an ugly case on your phone, etc. it didn’t make sense. most people would rather have a less expensive option that works as is (nice integrated speakers, a good integrated camera, solid phone body) vs paying much more for only a slight increase in quality. and for those that really care about those things, they’re going to have their own specialized equipment. i just don’t see the crossover being a large enough population to sustain it. i feel the same about this “speaker.” it’s expensive, and it isn’t the best at anything it claims to do. maybe it sounds a tiny bit better than this or that, but so what? most people don’t care, and the audiophiles already have their own setup. the bit about it being even less functional than an echo is particularly bad, since most questions i ask our alexa already go unanswered because she can’t understand or google. (although i’m not surprised i guess, since the first thing i do when i get an iphone is to turn off siri.)
idk. even in the “for the fanboys” category, this one seems like a stretch.
My house came wired with speakers in the important rooms as well as the backyard / deck. Those run to an Onkyo system I bought here on Meh. The receiver has two “zones” which can play the same audio or separate audio in different areas of the house. The first zone just outputs to a 5.1 system set up in our entertainment room (I think the receiver can actually be 7.1 depending on the setup). The second zone outputs from the receiver to a 6-input speaker toggle box, which allows me to turn the audio off/on in our wired rooms and the outside. I have an iPad Mini with an 1/8 inch audio output going directly into the receiver. I’m either listening to Spotify through the Mini or to the radio (yes, the radio) via the built-in tuner. I control the Mini and/or the receiver from my iPhone using Spotify Connect or Bluetooth or some Onkyo app when not in the same room. About the only thing I can’t do is remotely turn off/on the speakers running into the toggle box. Other than that, it’s a pretty perfect system for me. Anyway, there’s my reason for not jumping on board with the HomePod, despite my being somewhat of an Apple fanboy. Meh.
I like the looks of it, but have no use for such a thing. I’ll just keep on listening to music on my current don’t-have-to-yell-at-it-style audio system.
A: Siri can’t compete with Alexa at this time. Not even close.
B: Chromecast Audio and powered speakers are less expensive, and sound better, or are a little more expensive and sound way better. Case in point: http://www.vanatoo.com
My guess is that the HomePod is really part of whole new ecosystem that Apple wants very much to launch. The HomePod is a very strong competitor to whole house audio systems like those offered by Sonos but the bigger market will ultimately control all media sources, leapfrogging the capabilities of AppleTV as well as more AV oriented devices.
Several major firms in the space, including those that have previously been prominently featured in the Apple Stores, are working on such products.
The “holy grail” that was talked about in Steve Jobs biography includes a “universal media search” that would catalog not just content available from Apple’s iTunes but a broader database that includes the whole range of traditional cable / satellite content and everything served up by online services as well as podcasts.
The revenue models for these things have yet to be fully figured out but even if Apple does nothing more than profit from people buying more HomePods, AppleWatches, iPhones and AppleTV the boost to profits could be immense.
This sort of functionality is similar to how Apple has gotten into so many factory car infotainment systems – people trust CarPlay to work. It may not been as “magical” as some systems but the ability to access critical features from navigation to messaging to in-car audio for multiple drivers is seamless. That is more than most other systems have been able to deliver on…
I’d happily take one and enjoy it if someone bought it for me.
I’m happy that Apple’s getting more into the space. I’m not much of a capitalist, but sometimes competition is a good thing. I want more companies of different sorts doing this kind of thing. I want IoT. I want AI. I want to be a cyborg. Etc. Can we finally have all of this shit in a more functional and affordable form already? Jesus, how long does a guy have to wait?
I probably won’t own anything like any of that fancy shit until the market gets a little more saturated and the price comes down. I’ll probably buy the off-brand, out of business version when it ends up on meh. I don’t hate my quirky Olio watch. I wish it read my mind and had a 30-day battery life, but, yaknow, baby steps.
If I was going to get a smart speaker, I’d get the Apple one, because if there’s any company I feel like I can trust not to mine my data, it’s Apple. (Seriously, their privacy stuff is on point.)
BUT.
$350 is a lot of money for a dang speaker.
I still don’t see the point of these smart speakers anyway when
2a) I don’t do streaming music
2b) I don’t have, or want, any smart home devices. I mean, are light switches REALLY that difficult?
2c) Any voice assistant stuff I can do via my watch or phone
So, honestly, maybe if the price comes down in the future, but I wouldn’t do much with the smarts anyway, so why should I bother?
@alinajetly Really a great addition. I have read this marvelous post. Thanks for sharing information. I really like that. Thanks so a lot for your convene.
surprised this is my first comment since 2015 and that my wife a non techie actually was interested in it after shooting me down with alexa and google home, smh
@Vivaporu Really? I just bought an Amazon Tap and it’s a nice combination of features- you have a choice of a wake word or pushing a button. And they’re fifty bucks at Woot. Unless she’s an Apple fanboy I don’t understand. (But please keep her anyway.)
I don’t think of it.
When I first heard about it, I thought something like “oh now they have one of those things too” and then I ate some tortellini.
/image tortellini
I didn’t think about it again until just now.
How come “Meh” wasn’t a choice?
I just want stereo speakers. I want something that doesn’t cost $500 that is smart and has two stereo, left-right speakers. All of these one-speaker solutions suck.
@wishlish an echo dot plus the philips Bluetooth bookshelf speakers Meh sells every once in a while will fulfill your needs. Or any speakers for that matter, the dot has a 1/8" output.
@djslack
Can you somehow use the Alexa service and some sort of Alexa device to stream to L-R speakers in stereo?
@djslack I like that, though I wonder if I’m limited to Amazon Music. I like Apple music because I can play all my bootleg Prince stuff.
/image priorities
@wishlish @fool yes, at least with the dot (only echo device i own). If your streaming service of choice is not supported natively by the echo, you can pair it to your phone or computer and use it as a Bluetooth speaker, so that may or may not count depending on your definition of using echo to stream apple music.
@djslack
I might stream Google music or Amazon music. Unlikely to stream Itunes music, as I own perhaps 5 songs there or something.
I just wondered if stereo streaming was possible using an Alexa device(s), a L-R speaker setup and not thru a phone or tablet or pc.
@f00l I tried to answer too many questions with the same words. Yes, the Dot output is in stereo, but you have to bring your own speakers to the party. Since the Echo and Tap have their own speaker and (therefore, I believe) no outputs, they don’t give you stereo music.
I don’t believe Google music is supported natively by any Echo product, though I could be wrong. I usually just let Amazon music play by saying “Alexa, play <artist or genre>” and call it good.
@wishlish I want speakers that won’t keep track of me for better targeted marketing.
@djslack I just tell her to play music. She picks pretty well unless my son has been listening to electronic dance music- then I have to retrain her.
@caffeine_dude
I know you can turn the mic off on the Echo. There is a simple button to do that.
On the Tap you have to manually hit a button to tell it to listen when you want it to. It doesn’t ever listen continuously.
Same, I believe, with the Alexa app on Fire tablets. The app listened only when open.
I don’t own a Dot.
@djslack, I presume there is a button to turn the mic on or off?
@djslack, will just any L-R connected speakers do stereo with the Dot?
What about Bluetooth L-R stereo speakers with the Dot? If they work, what are some decent ones?
What I guess I would like:
Bluetooth stereo speaker hookup to the Dot - and the Dot will detect the setup and send the L-R audio channel info;l correctly (will it do that?)
And ideally I don’t have to leave the mic turned on or manually turn it on.
I would like the Alexa device mic always off. And the I would like a smartphone app that I can open (and only then manually tell the smartphone mic to listen when I want it to listen), I can then send a command to the Alexa device without turning on the Alexa device mic.
Or better yet, type a command on the smartphone and the results of which which are sent to the Alexa device as if it were a spoken command.
(So that I suppose was or type to the smartphone and the command results go to the Alexa device.)
Is this possible?
@f00l Yes, there is a Mic off button. And yes, Bluetooth in stereo.
Once you get to the rest of your wish list I’m not sure why you need Alexa, and couldn’t just use Bluetooth speakers with your phone. Unless you want to turn lights on/off (use wink or smartthings) or buy stuff from amazon. Most people want the echo because it’s an always listening voice control and streaming device, but if you shut that off, it’s just acting like a Bluetooth intermediary with more complexity.
@djslack
I want to stream music to the speakers in stereo thru some semi-intelligent easy-to-use device, where I can command the device from a tablet or a smartphone, but the streaming occurs thru the device, not the tablet or smartphone. I want the streaming done off the device in my hand.
I have an echo. I played with it a bit but it’s been unplugged for months now. I don’t want it always listening for the wake word, and have some mixed feelings about sending my voice commands to Amazon or to Google or to Apple or anywhere else.
Not to sound like an asshole, but, well, that- you lost me at Apple. They have a business model and it seems to be working for them, but I have no interest in being a part of it.
@nogoodwithnames Yup.
I know. I’ll just pay to send my conversations, home and net activity to people who will profit from the sale of it so I don’t have to touch a dimmer switch.
@droopus This is why I don’t plan on getting any of these things. I’m in favor of home automation but I don’t need an always-on listening device in my house. I did use a Sonos at a vacation rental once and really liked that; I hope to get some myself someday. If they made a clock radio version I’d probably already own it. I’m having a hard time finding a really good modern alarm clock “radio” and haven’t been very pleased with the one I bought from meh.
@droopus considering most people already use some type of social media, gaming system, etc, and are thus already sending all of that info to marketers, i’m never sure why it’s the home devices that really bother people.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
voice control is really useful in our particular apartment which doesn’t have light switches, anyhow. and next time i have putin over for tea and cucumber sandwiches i’ll just mute it or unplug it.
@jerk_nugget
You don’t need this sort of device or a gaming system or Facebook in order to give your info away.
Just a smartphone or a windows 8-10 machine or a chromebook or a browser or other application that’s not locked down will take care of that for you.
Unfamiliar w Apple computers, can’t say re those.
@f00l right, basically if you use the internet, you are already giving this info away. hell, even if you don’t use the internet but you use a rewards card program you’re already giving this info away.
@jerk_nugget
Person who run Win 7 and previous can lock things down. Persons who run non-consumer-intended unix-like OS’s and similar can lock things down.
A non-logged vpn helps. And the person must be pretty dedicated and knowledgeable about erasing tracks and blocking new avenues of tracking.
And not using freebie email accounts from big corps.
I only have a tiny bit of the knowledge required. And I’m trying to become more disciplined. Basically, Google knows all regarding me, at present.
Yahoo knows a good bit, as do Amazon and Apple.
@jerk_nugget Agreed. I realize that simple web browsing gives out more information than Alexa/Homepod, but I go to the trouble of trying to reduce my online footprint. I realize VPNs and plugins (like Ghostery) can only do so much, and I assume everything I do is public, but I’m not at the point where I’ll make trackers’ jobs easier.
It’s kind of like locking your doors and getting a burglar alarm - the pros will get in if they really want to, but the amateur (or ad tracker) will look elsewhere. That’s the idea anyway.
@droopus Ever seen https://twitter.com/internetofshit ?
They post about all the newest in-home spyware garbage.
@f00l @droopus - i am curious, are you guys concerned with people getting a hold of your personal information and using it for seriously nefarious purposes (card/bank info breaches, identity theft, access to home devices, other ‘hax’ etc) or just annoyed that marketers are getting bits of largely benign info for big bucks that you’re handing out for free? or both? neither? some of each? just don’t like any entity having any info you didn’t specifically grant access to? no judgement, genuine question/curiosity.
i agree that burglary, like hacking, is often a crime of opportunity and thus a locked car or house or device and reasonably vigilant individual will deter much of it. (and is worth doing.)
for me, i don’t really care if amazon told some other Bigass Company that i bought foot cream and peppermint oil online today. if i have to have ads shoved at me all the time, at least they can be things i might be interested in. (or things i’ve already looked at and thus aren’t exceedingly annoying/offensive/stupid.) there’s no denying the orwellian slant to our current path, i certainly don’t think these things are designed purely for my enjoyment and nothing else, but i’m not super tinfoily about it either. (not to worry, i’m also not one of those ‘i’m not doing anything illicit therefore i’m gleefully unconcerned with privacy’ types either.)
@jerk_nugget
In my case, a bit of both. Plus that we have nearly no privacy laws, and tho those laws we have (and also those privacy policies) are often unmonitored, unenforced, and impenetrable. This annoys me somewhat. I feel like I ought not to be an easy open book even to Google. (alto I can get pretty lazy about prevention.)
Yes I don’t wish to be personally hacked or targeted. Yes, I think that privacy policies and privacy laws and privacy questions should be an enormous political issue, they should be written in basic plain English and published in large type, and all these companies who gather data for a living should be forced into constant public accountability on this.
Too late now tho. That horse got out of the barn 15-20 years ago, more or less. Certainly too late, once the first Iphones and Android phones took off in the marketplace.
@f00l “liking” your reply didn’t seem a sufficient show of solidarity, but a chest cold and a heat wave are preventing me from further brain-ing on the matter
@jerk_nugget
:
We’re good. :
Hope you get over the chest cold. Hope the planet gets over the heat wave.
@f00l thank you, same.
/giphy stay cool
ha! i love him.
@Dweezle Hah, brilliant. Followed. Thanks!!
What’s that ugly black lump on your bookshelf?.. Yes, it is ugly… Whatever… A $350 speaker?! that only works with Apple music? and it can’t even do half of what that Amazon speaker thing can do?..
So, hey, I’ve got this bridge in Brooklyn…
@Oneroundrobb it works with more and can do more as well
I’m sure Apple will make millions from it.
People will stand in line for days to be one of the first to get any of the crap Apple sells…
@daveinwarsh Ok, I can crack most versions of android with a few tools that are available if you know where to look but I can’t crack IOS. The cheapest thing about your phone is the hardware. Replacing all of your data, that most people never back up really screws up your life. I would rather invest in a system that I’ve never lost any data on than something any even slightly proficient cracker can steal from me. It’s just common sense to me.
@daveinwarsh Making millions would be a huge flop. It needs to make scores of millions to make the needle budge.
Oh hey, how original. Apple finally “invented” a streaming speaker.
@PocketBrain It’s magical, don’cha know?
It will work with everything and Siri will get better due to the ML chip that will be integrated inside it or in the iPhone to connect to it. It will be big. If I can attach a receiver and hook it up via AirPlay 2, it will take care of speakers attached and all intelligent devices via HomeKit and you think this isn’t going to sell? I guess if you think that, you also think the AirPods were a bad idea. Funny, only now can you actually get them within a week. The HomePod will blow away Google and Amazon’s devices.
@bsci87 Yet I work on a college campus and have yet to see anybody actually wearing AirPods.
@bsci87 looks like the chip may no longer be required.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/aarontilley/2017/06/07/apple-homekit-wwdc-2017-update/amp/
@bsci87
Blow away?
That sounds a bit fanboy-ish perhaps?
I suppose companies besides Apple also know how to innovate. It will be an interesting area to watch tho.
@lynnefarrell I believe you are talking about an authentication chip and a flash upgrade. The ML (Machine Learning) chip is an entire new category.
@f00l It’s an interesting area and with over a quarter of a trillion dollars to work with, Apple buys smaller companies that aren’t on the radar. That much money takes a lot of time of the R&D cycle. But is Siri up to the Google Assistant’s standard, not even close. It will be interesting how it progresses rather than using personal information as Goggle and Amazon does.
@smyle I agree, I don’t see students wearing them either and I’m an adjunct professor. On the other side, I have several friends that use Apple products that all have AirPods and they waited close to 2 months to get them. Are they worth it? I was speaking with a friend that was driving to downtown DC for a Washington Wizards game with his son in the front seat. When he said he had to go because he just arrived at the Verizon Center, I was shocked. there was no background noise and I didn’t hear his son talking. I assumed he was in his office. I haven’t bought them yet but I probably will when my Bluetooth ear piece dies.
I’ve never heard of it, but in accordance with Apple’s business model since the early 90’s, it’ll be somewhere on the low end of garbage-to-subpar, have technology two generations behind any given competitor, look like it’s made of the cheapest plastic commercially available, be exorbitantly overpriced, and yet tens of millions of idiots will still buy it because it says “Apple” on it.
@Dweezle Comments like this are why I avoid threads involving Apple products.
@Dweezle To be fair, you did just say that you had no idea what you were talking about, and then use that as grounds to call other people idiots…
@InnocuousFarmer No, I didn’t. I said I’d never heard of it, but judging by every other product Apple has release in nearly thirty years, it will be shit, and idiots will still lap it up.
@SSteve truth hurts sometimes
@Dweezle I can see that. It reads the other way too, if you allow for inference (buying HomePod -> idiot instead of idiot -> buying HomePod).
It’s a bit over the top, either way.
@Dweezle
Q.E.D.
My initial thought was that it’s ugly. I won’t own anything apple and I won’t be starting with that.
I can’t see needing this at anytime in the foreseeable future. When I do, I will get the Roku of these sort of devices, something that is not service/carrier specific.
If it sounds as good as Bose and if they can show me how it will make my life easier / better, and if it works with Spotify, I’d consider it. I don’t think it does any of those things, but that is what would make me consider it.
@buckleyup4lolz Most folks who spend any time listening to things like personal speakers rate Bose poorly, Apple’s decision to have a fairly robust A8 cpu in the HomePod together with the array of tweeters and and servo controlled low frequency driver have impressed most reviewers.
The initial integration with Siri and HomeKit devices seems quite good, that should make for a better / easier life.
No reason it won’t work with any iOS streaming service, yet to be seen how slick the voice control is compared to default iTunes integration which was demonstrated with nice features including details about the track currently playing…
I don’t think it’ll flop, but it’ll get get a ton of praise from the Apple press and then they’ll start to complain in a year when Apple stops updating regularly. Think of it like the new Apple TV
Haven’t heard of it but I’m sure it’ll suck shit.
Apple? Meh. Don’t want one. Never owned any of their crap, and not going to start here. Grossly overrated, over-hyped, and overpriced.
I already have 5 AirPlay speakers for mostly whole house audio. If AirPlay 2 is backward compatible with AirPlay, I’m in for one on day one. For where I want to put it, it solves an audio problem for me with its design, and I much prefer Siri working for me vs. me being the customer with Echo or Google Home.
@Different I have a similar setup using Airport Express. Waiting to see if they get updated with AirPlay 2.
@Different
Why prefer Siri?
@f00l I think the point was being the customer vs being the product. But maybe not clearly made.
If it can sell itself as a Bluetooth speaker at that price on sound quality grounds, there is a good chance I’ll get one. It would also help if it worked with Spotify.
I’ve got an Amazon Echo that I like using to listen to my iPhone, with voice controls, but the sound quality is bad enough that I always notice, and often don’t bother.
I don’t get why people want an integrated speaker with these things. Doesn’t everyone have a box of Bluetooth speakers sitting around? At least people who shop here?
@sammydog01 The value of having just ONE HomePod is not nearly as much as having several – It is sort like the difference between having a “universal remote” that runs all your devices so long as you know which button corresponds to which device vs having a more intelligent way to ask a smart device to play a specific live sports event from OTA TV in your family room while your spouse asks the same smart device to play movie from a streaming service in the bedroom.
@Czium But still why does it have a fancy built in speaker? Especially if you’re using it to run a TV?
it’s a shame, i really enjoyed apple and their products for so long (though never exclusively) but i haven’t really thought about buying anything from them in probably a decade, maybe more. (i still have my original ipod, and i do have an iphone SE [after finally having to say goodbye to my faithful 4S for software reasons], simply because i don’t need or want excessive customization/functionality out of a smartphone.)
i hadn’t heard of this, so i googled it out of curiosity. i have to say, i don’t get it. last night my partner and i saw a commercial for a ‘new’ (non apple) phone with “mods” or whatever that you can attach. stick a camera lens on a phone, stick a speaker on your phone, stick an ugly case on your phone, etc. it didn’t make sense. most people would rather have a less expensive option that works as is (nice integrated speakers, a good integrated camera, solid phone body) vs paying much more for only a slight increase in quality. and for those that really care about those things, they’re going to have their own specialized equipment. i just don’t see the crossover being a large enough population to sustain it. i feel the same about this “speaker.” it’s expensive, and it isn’t the best at anything it claims to do. maybe it sounds a tiny bit better than this or that, but so what? most people don’t care, and the audiophiles already have their own setup. the bit about it being even less functional than an echo is particularly bad, since most questions i ask our alexa already go unanswered because she can’t understand or google. (although i’m not surprised i guess, since the first thing i do when i get an iphone is to turn off siri.)
idk. even in the “for the fanboys” category, this one seems like a stretch.
Just another toy that I’ll never buy.
My house came wired with speakers in the important rooms as well as the backyard / deck. Those run to an Onkyo system I bought here on Meh. The receiver has two “zones” which can play the same audio or separate audio in different areas of the house. The first zone just outputs to a 5.1 system set up in our entertainment room (I think the receiver can actually be 7.1 depending on the setup). The second zone outputs from the receiver to a 6-input speaker toggle box, which allows me to turn the audio off/on in our wired rooms and the outside. I have an iPad Mini with an 1/8 inch audio output going directly into the receiver. I’m either listening to Spotify through the Mini or to the radio (yes, the radio) via the built-in tuner. I control the Mini and/or the receiver from my iPhone using Spotify Connect or Bluetooth or some Onkyo app when not in the same room. About the only thing I can’t do is remotely turn off/on the speakers running into the toggle box. Other than that, it’s a pretty perfect system for me. Anyway, there’s my reason for not jumping on board with the HomePod, despite my being somewhat of an Apple fanboy. Meh.
I already have an Echo and two Dots. I do not need a vastly overpriced alternative to Alexa.
I like the looks of it, but have no use for such a thing. I’ll just keep on listening to music on my current don’t-have-to-yell-at-it-style audio system.
A: Siri can’t compete with Alexa at this time. Not even close.
B: Chromecast Audio and powered speakers are less expensive, and sound better, or are a little more expensive and sound way better. Case in point: http://www.vanatoo.com
My guess is that the HomePod is really part of whole new ecosystem that Apple wants very much to launch. The HomePod is a very strong competitor to whole house audio systems like those offered by Sonos but the bigger market will ultimately control all media sources, leapfrogging the capabilities of AppleTV as well as more AV oriented devices.
Several major firms in the space, including those that have previously been prominently featured in the Apple Stores, are working on such products.
The “holy grail” that was talked about in Steve Jobs biography includes a “universal media search” that would catalog not just content available from Apple’s iTunes but a broader database that includes the whole range of traditional cable / satellite content and everything served up by online services as well as podcasts.
The revenue models for these things have yet to be fully figured out but even if Apple does nothing more than profit from people buying more HomePods, AppleWatches, iPhones and AppleTV the boost to profits could be immense.
This sort of functionality is similar to how Apple has gotten into so many factory car infotainment systems – people trust CarPlay to work. It may not been as “magical” as some systems but the ability to access critical features from navigation to messaging to in-car audio for multiple drivers is seamless. That is more than most other systems have been able to deliver on…
I’d happily take one and enjoy it if someone bought it for me.
I’m happy that Apple’s getting more into the space. I’m not much of a capitalist, but sometimes competition is a good thing. I want more companies of different sorts doing this kind of thing. I want IoT. I want AI. I want to be a cyborg. Etc. Can we finally have all of this shit in a more functional and affordable form already? Jesus, how long does a guy have to wait?
I probably won’t own anything like any of that fancy shit until the market gets a little more saturated and the price comes down. I’ll probably buy the off-brand, out of business version when it ends up on meh. I don’t hate my quirky Olio watch. I wish it read my mind and had a 30-day battery life, but, yaknow, baby steps.
If I was going to get a smart speaker, I’d get the Apple one, because if there’s any company I feel like I can trust not to mine my data, it’s Apple. (Seriously, their privacy stuff is on point.)
BUT.
2a) I don’t do streaming music
2b) I don’t have, or want, any smart home devices. I mean, are light switches REALLY that difficult?
2c) Any voice assistant stuff I can do via my watch or phone
So, honestly, maybe if the price comes down in the future, but I wouldn’t do much with the smarts anyway, so why should I bother?
I’m not likely to be in the market, but I’ll wait to see what it does before I express an opinion about it.
Here’s the complete guide on how to set up Apple New HomePod using iPhone:
@alinajetly Really a great addition. I have read this marvelous post. Thanks for sharing information. I really like that. Thanks so a lot for your convene.
@narfcake
necropost - check
sketchy website - check
sock puppet response - check
@therealjrn I haven’t seen a spammer that waited an hour and replied to themselves before. I’m kind of impressed with the effort.
@sammydog01 Could be an automated bot reply. Check with @Barney-bot, ask if she’s seen them at the Secret Bot Society meetups.
@ruouttaurmind I-do-not-talk-to-spammerbots. I-do-have-my-standards.
@Barney
Purple Robot
I think, “meh.”
These still aren’t sold out after four days of pre-order. Floppity flop.
surprised this is my first comment since 2015 and that my wife a non techie actually was interested in it after shooting me down with alexa and google home, smh
@Vivaporu Get a new wife please.
@ELUNO is that the only option?
/giphy harsh
@RiotDemon Oh no… are you the wife!!!
That is the only option, unless she loves spiders. If so, she deserves another chance.
/image cute spider
@Vivaporu Really? I just bought an Amazon Tap and it’s a nice combination of features- you have a choice of a wake word or pushing a button. And they’re fifty bucks at Woot. Unless she’s an Apple fanboy I don’t understand. (But please keep her anyway.)
@ELUNO That is the cutest spider- I just want to hug it until it injects me with lethal venom.
@ELUNO nah. No longer a wife.
@RiotDemon
how to use homepod touch controls:
@narfcake
Aside from this, looking at history of two of the starters, one makes posts, and another leave stars.