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HomePod Mini

apple.com

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Re: HomePod Mini

#351

Post by gingerlime »

whycombagator wrote: post #45
llampx wrote: post #8

Can anyone with a Homepod comment on the usability compared to the Google and Amazon spy systems... err speakers?

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…

I just made another comment down the thread[1], but Sonos spies on you plenty, even without a mic.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24680614

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24773717

Re: HomePod Mini

#352

Post by X-Istence »

xinsight wrote: post #258
jshen wrote: post #174

I'm a big apple fan, got a homepod last christmas, and it's the worst apple product that I've ever owned. Truly disappointing. Siri fails to recognize commands that work great on alexa or google, the features it does have often fail (if I transfer a podcast from playing on my phone to play on the homepod, my phone often fails to sync with the location of my homepod). There's no way I will buy one of these until I hea…

Maybe i had low expectations, but i was impressed with homepod siri's understanding and how much it could do. I don't know why Apple doesn't just publish a list of all the commands. I documented what i found if anyone is interested: https://xinsight.ca/homepod/

Apple does have this page: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208336

Re: HomePod Mini

#353

Post by jshen »

steve_adams_86 wrote: post #308
jshen wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A $30 echo will do that. I have a few of those, why spend $200 for a HomePod if that’s all it is.

I don’t own one personally, but I use one at the office daily. They sound incredible. I have some google smart speakers and they’re pretty underwhelming in terms of sound. The voice assistant is excellent, though. I’d much prefer the sound of the HomePod but it’s hard to justify the expense when I have something that works fine. If I could do it over, I’d absolutely spend way more for the better audio experience. Whi…

You can connect an echo to other speakers.

Re: HomePod Mini

#354

Post by jshen »

conception wrote: post #299
jshen wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A $30 echo will do that. I have a few of those, why spend $200 for a HomePod if that’s all it is.

Sounds much better and privacy

Privacy is an interesting dimension. I definitely wouldn’t trust google, but why trust Apple over Amazon?

Re: HomePod Mini

#355

Post by m463 »

systemvoltage wrote: post #346
m463 wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a naive (and demonstrably false) assertion. Apple's privacy stance is really just marketing, like "There's nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it." You don't have to use an apple device for more than a minute to realize this. For example, you cannot use a new apple iphone without activating it with apple. In the first screen or two, you are presented with their privacy po…

I’m not convinced. Fundamentally, Apple is a services and a hardware company. They have no business in advertisement. Do you follow Stratechery (Ben Thompson)? He writes about Apple’s privacy fundamentalism here (midway through the post): https://stratechery.com/2019/privacy-fundamentalism/

Aside from the fact that Apple DOES do advertising, you have to understand that even outside this - your data is valuable to apple and they take steps to keep it turned on. In some cases they are contractually obligated to collect the data.

Here's the thing -- by circumstance they are like arms dealers stuck selling arms to both sides. They must entice app developers to develop for their platform, and they must also entice consumers to buy their products.

Personally I think if apple was concerned about privacy, they would let you see what your phone is doing, and let you firewall your phone (one that could block apple traffic).

Re: HomePod Mini

#356

Post by X-Istence »

ogre_codes wrote: post #87
buzzerbetrayed wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Pick up an incoming call from your iPhone, listen to music on your Mac, or upgrade your TV experience by taking the sound from your Apple TV to the next level — they all connect to HomePod mini. From the Apple website

Apple's site is a bit contradictory on this. In another place it lists speaker features and it lists "Home theater with Apple TV 4K" as a feature of the full size HomePod but not the mini. Inquiring minds want to know.

Home Theater uses the full size HomePod's to do 5.1/7.1/Dolby Atmos surround sound. It requires the spatial processing to allow for the surround sound experience.

The HomePod Mini can be used as a stereo pair, and connected to an Apple TV with no issues.

Re: HomePod Mini

#357

Post by bzzzt »

m463 wrote: post #355
systemvoltage wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not convinced. Fundamentally, Apple is a services and a hardware company. They have no business in advertisement. Do you follow Stratechery (Ben Thompson)? He writes about Apple’s privacy fundamentalism here (midway through the post): https://stratechery.com/2019/privacy-fundamentalism/

Aside from the fact that Apple DOES do advertising, you have to understand that even outside this - your data is valuable to apple and they take steps to keep it turned on. In some cases they are contractually obligated to collect the data. Here's the thing -- by circumstance they are like arms dealers stuck selling arms to both sides. They must entice app developers to develop for their platform, and they must also…

What good is it to bombard a non-technical user with packet dumps and firewall settings that probably only break apps?

Re: HomePod Mini

#358

Post by unicornfinder »

Tagbert wrote: post #318
kevinlou wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're kidding? That's such poor product support. I have a whole army of Google Homes, and not one has bricked or had any problems. However, at their price point (bought the Home for $100, Home Minis were mostly free or $20) I wouldn't mind shelling out for a replacement. Considering the starting price of the HomePod, it's nuts that Apple would charge that much to fix (for something that was their issue no less).

That also does not sound typical of Apple customer care. They are generally very helpful and will often not charge for some issues, particularly if the device was actually bricked due to an update. They would likely replace a device for that kind of thing. I’m not convinced that we have the full story here.

Clearly you don’t have much experience of Apple’s out of warranty support.

Once your Product is out of warranty they have very little interest in helping you.

Re: HomePod Mini

#359

Post by benhurmarcel »

noodlesUK wrote: post #281

One feature I wish Apple would build into this would be a 3.5mm jack or optical audio out. I have a lot of very nice speakers already in my house, but no multi-room audio, or voice assistant. I know the echos can do this, but I don’t want them spying on me.

There's Sonos also

Re: HomePod Mini

#360

Post by ac29 »

systemvoltage wrote: post #346
m463 wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a naive (and demonstrably false) assertion. Apple's privacy stance is really just marketing, like "There's nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it." You don't have to use an apple device for more than a minute to realize this. For example, you cannot use a new apple iphone without activating it with apple. In the first screen or two, you are presented with their privacy po…

I’m not convinced. Fundamentally, Apple is a services and a hardware company. They have no business in advertisement. Do you follow Stratechery (Ben Thompson)? He writes about Apple’s privacy fundamentalism here (midway through the post): https://stratechery.com/2019/privacy-fundamentalism/

Apple certainly does have an advertising platform for the App Store and Apple News. They describe their privacy stance here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205223

Maybe this is better in practice than other ad platforms, but they explicitly say that they use information about you to serve you targeted ads such as: location, age, gender, purchases from the App Store, what news you read, etc etc.

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