Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
engadget.com
Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
1–10 of 24 posts
Re: Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
#2It sure looks like a gamechanger to me. I have an Echo at home, and I've gotta say it's a bit limiting to converse with. At $349, though, they're clearly going for a smaller market than Amazon & Google.
Re: Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
#3Alexa keeps getting smarter and is substantially less at $50 for the dot (frequently on sale for $40).
The dot is also superior because it can work with any bluetooth speaker or AUX speaker. Apple once again is 2 years behind everyone with inferior technology.
Re: Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
#4There's no open API for this, right?
And Siri is ~1-2 years behind Echo/Google Home. Only "innovation" is on aesthetic design.
Apple usually comes in when they know they can do something a lot better than the existing competition, but not recently. Not with Apple Watch & HomePod.
It's now about:
1) Apple has massive distribution 2) They can get a non-step-function revenue increment with that massive distribution, launching new products.
Which makes sense why it's music focused (lock-in with Apple Music)
Re: Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
#5Assuming the audio quality is on par with a Sonos Play:1, An extra $150 is a quite a bit more to pay for Siri integration. Also, will HomePod only work with Apple Music? Another must have that I would need to see before switching from Sonos is the ability to create a stereo pair with 2 speakers.
Re: Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
#6Assuming the audio quality is on par with a Sonos Play:1, An extra $150 is a quite a bit more to pay for Siri integration. Also, will HomePod only work with Apple Music? Another must have that I would need to see before switching from Sonos is the ability to create a stereo pair with 2 speakers.
Only Apple Music. It can create a stereo pair. It's not going to be anywhere close to Sonos in terms of audio quality. 7 tweeters and one 4-inch sub?
Re: Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
#7There's no open API for this, right? And Siri is ~1-2 years behind Echo/Google Home. Only "innovation" is on aesthetic design. Apple usually comes in when they know they can do something a lot better than the existing competition, but not recently. Not with Apple Watch & HomePod. It's now about: 1) Apple has massive distribution 2) They can get a non-step-function revenue increment with that massive distribution, lau…
Meanwhile there's a much larger and far more diverse distribution market for the Amazon, MS and Google offerings. All of which have a much better track record for creating genuinely open systems. Certainly not open-source level of free, but quite a bit more so than Apple's despicable walled garden approach.
Re: Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
#8It sure looks like a gamechanger to me. I have an Echo at home, and I've gotta say it's a bit limiting to converse with. At $349, though, they're clearly going for a smaller market than Amazon & Google.
Can you expound on why you think it is a gamechanger?
Re: Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
#9It sure looks like a gamechanger to me. I have an Echo at home, and I've gotta say it's a bit limiting to converse with. At $349, though, they're clearly going for a smaller market than Amazon & Google.
Can you expound on why you think it is a gamechanger?
Sure. I like my Echo, but it's painfully stupid quite often, and, while the speakers are pretty good, to me, they aren't as good as a high quality wireless speaker. It seems like Apple's build quality + Siri will result in a new best-in-class home speaker.
Re: Apple unveils HomePod smart speaker at $349
#10I can't decide if it more looks like Hal or a Nest Protect...