HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday • Hacker News Board

Re: HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday

#61

Post by Bhilai » Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 6:17 PM UTC

Amazon already has a better sounding Echo and so does Google so I am not seeing a value prop from HomePod. This round has been clearly won by Amazon with Google inching very close and based on reviews, Google assistant seems way better than other assistants in general. Since Siri uses Google search now, it may only be slightly better than Alexa.

Too late and too little by Apple, they missed this boat. Cortana seems pretty fun on the surface but is nowhere to be seen in this AI race. Guess Microsoft got their strategy wrong yet again.

Re: HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday

#62

Post by jacksmith21006 » Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 6:17 PM UTC

anilshanbhag wrote: post #34

HomePod costs $349. I know Apple products are pricy but 3.5x is insane. I have a (Google) Home mini and its fun - it isn't really that useful but ok for $30-50. While history has proof that Apple is able to extract higher prices, I feel this product will fail at this price point.

Agree. The last Apple speaker was $350 and lasted on the market for 18 months.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod_Hi-Fi iPod Hi-Fi - Wikipedia

Re: HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday

#63

Post by jacksmith21006 » Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 6:18 PM UTC

oceanghost wrote: post #7

How can you release a music player when your music ecosystem is completely broken? iTunes is so bad I have to pay for an app (Waltr) to put music on my phone. And Apple music sounds like garbage. I don't need a high-quality speaker to stream garbage.

By combining it with the worse assistant available?

Re: HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday

#64

Post by untog » Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

germinalphrase wrote: post #6

I feel exited about home assistants in the same way I am excited about home automation: the premise seems useful in a general way, but I struggle to think of use cases that have a meaningful effect on my lifestyle. Also - I can't shake the privacy concerns.

I have Google Homes in my house and I agree that after the initial feeling of huge usability it really doesn't achieve all that much. Chromecast integration is both wonderful and awful - I can say "OK Google, play on the living room TV" and it'll do exactly that... but if I want to pause it I have to talk over the show I'm currently watching.

All that said, I wonder what it would offer an elderly person. If my Grandma were still alive I'd be very tempted to rewire all her light switches to be wi-fi enabled and set them up with a Google Home/Alexa. I can see it being a huge, huge benefit to the old and frail.

Re: HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday

#65

Post by jacksmith21006 » Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

the_gastropod wrote: post #11

BadassFractal wrote: post #3

Will be interesting to see a feature comparison with all of the other existing voice-controlled speakers out there. Seems like a couple of recent blogs posts linked on HN were saying that Apple was starting already behind the competition in this space.

Apple is rarely first to market for anything. They didn't release the first mp3 player, they released the best one. They didn't come out with the first smart phone, first tablet, or first smart watch, either. They rarely shine in feature-to-feature comparisons, either. The iPhone did less than the blackberries it destroyed. It just did the important things better. It will be interesting to see how the Homepod plays o…

Not always. Last Apple speaker lasted 18 months for being pulled because of weak sales. It was priced as $350.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod_Hi-Fi iPod Hi-Fi - Wikipedia

Re: HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday

#66

Post by jaxondu » Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

vinceguidry wrote: post #42

Things I want from HomePod: 1) To work with only the tracks I have downloaded in my iTunes library. Currently I have to use a 3rd party music player because the stock music player won't respect my wishes in this regard. 2) To be able to turn Siri off 3) To sync with an existing audio system, so that I can play music through my home audio system in my living room, and HomePods in my bedroom and bathroom 4) To avoid th…

Actually I'm hoping what HomePod can do: when I come home listening to Spotify/Audible/podcast on my earphone+iPhone, HomePad auto turn on when I walk into house, the song/audiobook/podcast I'm halfway listening to on my iPhone will automatically transfer to HomePod to continue playing.

Re: HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday

#67

Post by spike021 » Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

germinalphrase wrote: post #6

I feel exited about home assistants in the same way I am excited about home automation: the premise seems useful in a general way, but I struggle to think of use cases that have a meaningful effect on my lifestyle. Also - I can't shake the privacy concerns.

>I struggle to think of use cases that have a meaningful effect on my lifestyle

My personal feeling about home assistants is that they aren't supposed to be "meaningful", at least not in any significant way. I recently bought a Google Home Mini and I only use it occasionally, but when I do it's very supplementary. Example being that I've been re-reading the Harry Potter books and I've come across British terms I didn't recognize, so I just ask the Mini what the term means and when it works (80% of the time, I'd say) it's pretty useful as a utility.

But I'm not going out of my way to use it in such a way that it replaces something significant in my life.

Re: HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday

#68

Post by digi_owl » Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 6:20 PM UTC

the_gastropod wrote: post #11

BadassFractal wrote: post #3

Will be interesting to see a feature comparison with all of the other existing voice-controlled speakers out there. Seems like a couple of recent blogs posts linked on HN were saying that Apple was starting already behind the competition in this space.

Apple is rarely first to market for anything. They didn't release the first mp3 player, they released the best one. They didn't come out with the first smart phone, first tablet, or first smart watch, either. They rarely shine in feature-to-feature comparisons, either. The iPhone did less than the blackberries it destroyed. It just did the important things better. It will be interesting to see how the Homepod plays o…

> they released the best one

More like the most marketed one. I recall reporters going out and asking teens at the mall about their media players. And most could not name the company behind it but new they had to have the one with the fruit logo because that was the "fashionable" one to have.

Similarly, check the cases and covers for phones etc. The only ones with a big ass window on the back to show off the logo is the ones meant for iphones.

The fruit has long since become a fashion brand.

Re: HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday

#69

Post by untog » Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 6:20 PM UTC

anilshanbhag wrote: post #34

HomePod costs $349. I know Apple products are pricy but 3.5x is insane. I have a (Google) Home mini and its fun - it isn't really that useful but ok for $30-50. While history has proof that Apple is able to extract higher prices, I feel this product will fail at this price point.

You really can't compare a HomePod and a Google Home Mini. As an owner of the latter I know that the sound quality is absolute crap - I never play music through it. Meanwhile, that's the whole reason to get a HomePod. It's better compared to expensive Sonos speaker setups.

Re: HomePod arrives February 9, available to order this Friday

#70

Post by untog » Tue, Jan 23, 2018, 6:21 PM UTC

saagarjha wrote: post #59

robert_foss wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try launching a new browser on the iStore. You're free to compete, as long as you don't compete against Apple. Microsoft was fined 561 million Euros for doing the same.

Literally on the homepage right now: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16213280

You have to use the Safari rendering engine, though - Apple will not allow any others in the App Store.

I don't think that's as big of an issue as others do, but it is still a restriction.