Up close with Apple’s HomePod | Hacker News Reader

Up close with Apple’s HomePod

techcrunch.com

10 pointsSREinSF13 comments

Over at iMore Serenity Caldwell has impressions from a head to head test Apple set up for the HomePod, Sonos One, Google Home Max, and Amazon Echo.

Unsurprisingly blew away the Echo. But she also said it sounded much better than the Google Home Max (which is $50).

https://www.imore.com/homepod-vs-amazon-echo-vs-google-home-...

Typo: Google Home Max is $399.

I meant to type “$50 more”.

Thanks.

It will be interesting to see how widely the homepod will be adopted and used in six months or a year because it looks like it is really only useful for people who are fully in the apple system. One report says you can't even set it up unless you have an ios device https://www.imore.com/should-you-buy-homepod

Ugh, the seemingly intentional lack of support for Spotify and other streaming services makes me see red. It also strikes me as a pretty dumb business move. Someday soon, a company will release a $350 cylinder that sounds just as good as Apple's while supporting every standard service and interface — and at that point, why on earth would anyone get a Homepod?

Probably it's harder than you think to make a cylinder sound that good, plus Siri will do more over time. We'll see if it's a "dumb business move" to control the whole stack. It's worked out kind of ok for them so far.

For their main devices, sure, but what about Apple TV? I know far more people with Amazon and Google boxes than Apple ones. And stats seem to agree: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/roku-apple-tv-chromecas...

In the "connected appliance" market, I believe openness is key.

Would this be open market where Google keeps killing YouTube compatibility with Amazon kit?

There’s more Android devices out there than iPhones too. Same story. Apple’s success has been about selling the best and most profitable products, not the most.

You will definitely know more people who own echoes than HomePods, at least for awhile. Echoes are cheap. Doesn’t mean it’s a “dumb business move” for Apple.

> you can't even set it up unless you have an ios device

So, only 700 million people can use this thing.[1] Dim prospects indeed.

[1] http://fortune.com/2017/03/06/apple-iphone-use-worldwide/

I'm curious to know whether it will be possible to use a pair of these with a TV. I stream video from a computer to my TV and would love to use HomePods as the audio via AirPlay. I know HomePod pairs aren't supported at launch, but I wonder if there will be audio/video sync issues when this eventually is an option.

I believe that is something you’re supposed to be able to do with the Apple TV, once AirPlay 2 becomes enabled.

It's a matter of preference. If you value sound over smarts, and if you have mostly Apple devices, then this is perfect. If you value smart over speaker, or if you don't have mostly Apple devices, then an Echo or Google Home is better.

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