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HomePod Mini

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Re: HomePod Mini

#401

Post by jiggawatts »

mzgaljic wrote: post #399
jiggawatts wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I should have specified that I live in Australia, so US power boards are useless. It seems that vendors aren't manufacturing these for all regional power outlet formats.

Oh I see, that stinks. I know this isn’t what you were looking for, but here are some options if you are willing to be creative: https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeKit/comments/hzc7lr/powerboardp...

a) That's an interesting post, thanks!

b) It's crazy that the best option I've seen so far for HomeKit compatible power boards is to custom flash some noname Chinese brand.

I thought Apple was known for their slick, well-suported products!

Re: HomePod Mini

#402

Post by hinkley »

jon-wood wrote: post #237
hinkley wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fear the day Amazon buys a home security company and tries to develop a crossover device. https://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/halflife7283/images/b/b...

They’re well on their way: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/...

“We got the test results back. It says you’re a horrible person. We weren’t even testing for that.”

Re: HomePod Mini

#403

Post by 1123581321 »

lilyball wrote: post #347
1123581321 wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is plausible. 13.2 had a problem with bricking HomePods: https://www.macrumors.com/2019/10/28/new-13-2-update-brickin... And the out-of-warranty repair cost is $279. Perhaps they got it on sale at $280. https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/12/17003296/homepod-repair-i...

Did Apple demand that people pay the out-of-warranty repair cost price on HomePods bricked by this update? Because I feel like that would have been a PR disaster that would have been newsworthy. But all I can find right now is a reference regarding the 13.2.1 update saying some users have “arranged replacement devices” with Apple after contacting support.

Yes, at least in some cases. We have the anecdote in this thread, and here is one from Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/HomePod/comments/equuum/comment/fju...

Going by what you feel the news cycle should have done may not be reliable for a less popular product like HomePod.

Re: HomePod Mini

#404

Post by selykg »

ChrisLTD wrote: post #144
selykg wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't seem slow to me. Mine responds quite quickly.

Do you have an Echo or Google Home for comparison?

I don't, but the wait time from when I ask my HomePod to do something and when it does it is fast enough for me that I don't much mind.

If I say "Hey Siri, turn on my lamp" it turns it on within a second or so of asking.

Re: HomePod Mini

#405

Post by jakejarvis »

haswell wrote: post #229
qchris wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I'm pretty deep into the Apple ecosystem (iPhone, Watch, iPad, MBP), but when it comes to smart speakers, I've always used a combination of Echo and Alexa-compatible Sonos devices. The Alexa devices have always bothered me. Not just because of the baseline privacy concerns, but because it seems so damn easy to activate the trigger word on accident. The absolute worst part being a false positive activation of my Sonos…

Binged Schitt’s Creek over the last few weeks and David shouting “Alexis!” triggered all of my Sonos speakers. Every. Single. Time.

Re: HomePod Mini

#406

Post by kingosticks »

bravura wrote: post #280
seabrookmx wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NAS -> Plex -> Nest Audio (or other Google speakers) would achieve this. If your NAS doesn't support Plex, you could easily run it on a Raspberry Pi if it's just for music. You'd have to look at alternatives for the media server (Plex) if you want to use a Homepod though .. I'm pretty sure Plex doesn't support AirPlay. If it's just wireless audio you're after and not a "smart speaker" then there's some not-too-tricky…

I have nice speakers I don't want to change. I used to control spotify and soundcloud through them using chromecast audio which is discontinued and the second one I bought off ebay doesn't work. I am open to playing MP3s off my NAS. I would even consider bluetooth since I rarely fiddle with the playlist. What is the best way to remote control a device that is wired to my mixer (XLR or 1/4 in or 1/8in jack)

Have you looked at Mopidy?

Re: HomePod Mini

#407

Post by martin_a »

major505 wrote: post #156
athenot wrote: 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.

Yup. I really thinking in getting a echo dot, but I have serious privacy concerns.

I ordered two today as they were 20 €/each during Prime Day. I plan on using them as speakers mostly, so I'll have a look at where they talk to and maybe drop that connection...

Re: HomePod Mini

#408

Post by blackrock »

haswell wrote: post #229
qchris wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I'm pretty deep into the Apple ecosystem (iPhone, Watch, iPad, MBP), but when it comes to smart speakers, I've always used a combination of Echo and Alexa-compatible Sonos devices. The Alexa devices have always bothered me. Not just because of the baseline privacy concerns, but because it seems so damn easy to activate the trigger word on accident. The absolute worst part being a false positive activation of my Sonos…

Alexa is just creepy.

I suspect that the device is constantly recording the audio in your room, and sending that to Amazon’s servers in the cloud. Because I doubt that the little puck has enough processing power inside it to handle speech recognition.

This allows Amazon the ability to continually upgrade their servers, without the need to upgrade the puck.

And only when the server detects it’s prompt, “Alexa”, will it send a response back to the puck. This is how the little device appears to be so responsive.

And not surprisingly, this bit of functionality is not marketed by Amazon. After all, who the hell in their right mind, would want to be constantly monitored, and have all their private conversations at home be secretly recorded by Amazon.

In fact, I suspect that all the voice assistant devices from other manufacturers, like Google, are doing exactly this.

Re: HomePod Mini

#409

Post by binaryblitz »

Angostura wrote: post #198
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…

Whereas my family say that it is the best Apple gizmo we own. It sits in the kitchen and typically only gets used for Playing music setting timers adding things to the shopping list answering stupid google queries during dinner. All of which it does with aplomb. But it was bought because wanted a great sounding smart speaker

TIL the word aplomb. I'm a 30 year old native english speaker. Not sure whether to be excited to learn a new word, or worried that I didn't know it.

Re: HomePod Mini

#410

Post by zepto »

INTPenis wrote: post #103
athenot wrote: 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?

A key difference is that Siri doesn’t use personal identifiers - I.e. it does send the recording for interpretation, but it isn’t associated with your user account.
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