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HomePod Mini

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141–150 of 446 posts

Re: HomePod Mini

#141

I was tempted, but my partner has an Android and I'm pretty sure these can't even function as a basic Bluetooth speaker for non-Apple devices, so unfortunately it's a no-go. Apple got this right with AirPods: special integration with other Apple devices, but basic functionality with everything. Hopefully they will with these too one day.

This exactly. Apple is consistently releasing products that I would absolutely buy if they didn't do everything they could to get a horizontal monopoly of microprocessor devices in my house.

Usually I can live with it; I don't see myself switching to Android anytime soon. But the story is different when it's a communal device for everyone in the household.

Re: HomePod Mini

#142
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Related, but if you want a non spying speaker (i.e a network connected speaker with no mic) - Sonos make a mic free version of their entry level speaker: One SL. It supports Apple Airplay 2 and two One SLs can be paired for studio sound. However, it is more expensive than the HomePod mini, not wireless (needs to be plugged in), & although it integrates tightly with iOS it can’t be as smooth as HomePod probably is (I…

Sonos spies on your usage instead of your audio, and is nowhere near the Homepod in terms of sound quality.

Well maybe not the ~$400 Homepod, but who knows how it will stack up against the $99 one.

Re: HomePod Mini

#143
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is consistently better on privacy, actually, than competitors. Not sure which competitors you are talking about or which issues/products, but you're way, way off-base. And for obvious reasons: Amazon and Google need to gather user data to survive because they don't make any profitable hardware. Apple doesn't need your data, plus, they have a real and honest commitment to privacy. It's not even a close call, rea…

> Apple is consistently better on privacy, actually, than competitors. Among Apple, Amazon, and Google; only Apple's phones and tablets send your location to Apple every time you use GPS (even if you're not using an Apple app like Apple Maps!). Among those three companies, only Apple requires you to tell Apple every app you install. Among those three companies, only Apple requires you to further associate your bankin…

A lot of your statements are either misleading or false but I don't have the energy to engage so I'll let someone else do it.

As a start, I'll paste some information from Apple and TechCrunch around when they rebuilt maps from the ground up in 2018:

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“We specifically don’t collect data, even from point A to point B,” notes Cue. “We collect data — when we do it — in an anonymous fashion, in subsections of the whole, so we couldn’t even say that there is a person that went from point A to point B. We’re collecting the segments of it. As you can imagine, that’s always been a key part of doing this. Honestly, we don’t think it buys us anything [to collect more]. We’re not losing any features or capabilities by doing this.”

The segments that he is referring to are sliced out of any given person’s navigation session. Neither the beginning or the end of any trip is ever transmitted to Apple. Rotating identifiers, not personal information, are assigned to any data or requests sent to Apple and it augments the “ground truth” data provided by its own mapping vehicles with this “probe data” sent back from iPhones.

Because only random segments of any person’s drive is ever sent and that data is completely anonymized, there is never a way to tell if any trip was ever a single individual. The local system signs the IDs and only it knows to whom that ID refers. Apple is working very hard here to not know anything about its users. This kind of privacy can’t be added on at the end, it has to be woven in at the ground level.

The secret sauce here is what Apple calls probe data. Essentially little slices of vector data that represent direction and speed transmitted back to Apple completely anonymized with no way to tie it to a specific user or even any given trip. It’s reaching in and sipping a tiny amount of data from millions of users instead, giving it a holistic, real-time picture without compromising user privacy.

All of this, of course, is governed by whether you opted into location services, and can be toggled off using the maps location toggle in the Privacy section of settings.

Apple says that this will have a near zero effect on battery life or data usage, because you’re already using the ‘maps’ features when any probe data is shared and it’s a fraction of what power is being drawn by those activities.

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Re: HomePod Mini

#145
post #116
post #114

Oddly enough this was the most exciting thing for me today. I use a Google Home in my kitchen almost exclusively for hands-free timers and music control when cooking/cleaning. My Home got bricked by an update last month and was going to just forgo replacing it because I am getting tired of Google's diminishing support of their products and the privacy concerns. My only concern is Siri is easily the worst assistant wh…

I definitely agree with you that Siri is (currently) the worst assistant, but if it helps, it has consistently been just fine for me with music and timers.

Yeah I figure it should be able to accomplish that. I am sure there are people who use these home speakers for more complex tasks, but after the honeymoon period of owning it, my usage of the speakers basically broke down to: 1. Timers 2. Music 3. Asking about commute times

Re: HomePod Mini

#146
So here is the thing I struggle with. I have a NAS. On it is my media (music, videos, photos) collection. I do not have a subscription to Apple Music, or the reset of the streaming services and I not want one. So how do I play my own music collection with this?

Right now to do this I have an AppleTV on every TV. I have an app on the AppleTV called MrMC which is basically a paid for port of Kodi for the AppleTV. The MrMC app can mount the NFS file share and play my music just fine. The AppleTV is plugged into and HDMI splitter that strips audio and outputs it to an amp which goes to my speakers. This just works, and I can remote control it with my an app on my iPhone.

Given that the HomePod will not be able to access my music collection, it is useless.

I would be happy with the HomePod being able to steam music from an open Music app on a Mac somewhere. I have enough spare Macs that it would be simple to just run Music on it (which mounts the network share.) But of course, I would be wasting power.

Oh well.

It would also be really nice if the AppleTV would just support SMB again.

Re: HomePod Mini

#147
post #43
post #7

HomePod mini works with your iPhone for requests like hearing your messages or notes, so they are completed on device without revealing that information to Apple. This is the big differentiating feature, along with the seamless integration within the rest of Apple's product line. EDIT: HomePod does this too but it was not at a price point nor size that competed with other assistants.

I don't even really use any other Apple products, and have never really been particularly comfortable with smart assistants, but I have to say that the steps that they've taken here with E2E, non-AppleID-tied identifiers, on-device computation, and of course the really good price point have got me seriously considering a purchase from them for the first time in a long time. For my family members that already have App…

> non-AppleID-tied identifiers

One thing I've learned is the identity is absolutely everything in (mass) surveillance.

The more places we can disconnect or obscure this as end users (or ideally consumers) the better.

Re: HomePod Mini

#148
post #7

HomePod mini works with your iPhone for requests like hearing your messages or notes, so they are completed on device without revealing that information to Apple. This is the big differentiating feature, along with the seamless integration within the rest of Apple's product line. EDIT: HomePod does this too but it was not at a price point nor size that competed with other assistants.

How is it different though? Doesn't Siri on your phone send your recording to its backend to figure out what you need anyways? So it's just an extra step?

They explained in the video the only time it hits the Apple service is when you activate Siri (and limited to Siri queries only).

This is the way to do it ...if you insist on putting smart microphones in your house.

Re: HomePod Mini

#149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple is consistently better on privacy, actually, than competitors. Among Apple, Amazon, and Google; only Apple's phones and tablets send your location to Apple every time you use GPS (even if you're not using an Apple app like Apple Maps!). Among those three companies, only Apple requires you to tell Apple every app you install. Among those three companies, only Apple requires you to further associate your bankin…

> only Apple's phones and tablets send your location to Apple every time you use GPS Impressed they can do that when I’m using offline mapping in an area with no mobile signal.

I believe that the other poster's comments are based on a misunderstanding of the technology behind the "find my device" feature.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/06/the-c... gets into the crypto side of it.

So yes, information about location is being sent to Apple. No, it's not useful for Apple and it is encrypted in a way that Apple can't get it the underlying data.

> Apple returns the encrypted location of the laptop to your iPad, which can use its private key to decrypt it and tell you the laptop's last known location. Meanwhile, Apple has never seen the decrypted location, and since hashing functions are designed to be irreversible, it can't even use the hashed public keys to collect any information about where the device has been.

Re: HomePod Mini

#150
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Among Apple, Amazon, and Google; only Apple's phones and tablets send your location to Apple every time you use GPS.“ This is a false statement that you continue to repeat.

This is a correct statement, which I have proven to you before. What's more, your earlier quibble about anonymizing the data doesn't even negate the statements I have made. Apple always sends your location to Apple, while Google and Amazon do not if you don't want them to. Just as you did then, you continue to ignore the even more egregious practice of not only tracking everything you install but tying it to your ide…

Wrong.

Go into Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services -> Maps and toggle the setting to "Never".

The full set of options are:

* Never

* Ask Next Time

* While Using the App

* While Using the App or Widgets

and there is also a toggle to turn off Precise Location so that apps only get approximate location.

Go nuts with the options.

I just tried it and I can use the Maps app just fine with location services set to "Never".

Picking some narrow definition that fits your point isn't going to convince anyone of your grand statement. It just comes off as disingenuous.

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