Poll: ** The Official Apple HomePod/HomePod mini thread **

[danielanthony]

Design flaw now doing the rounds where the HomePod marks polished wood surfaces due to the use of a silicone type base. Sounding wise to wait for v2!

Why? I don't have mine on a polished wood surface... I'm definitely buying a 2nd when the stereo functionality is released.

 

[pioneer2000]

Why? I don't have mine on a polished wood surface... I'm definitely buying a 2nd when the stereo functionality is released.

They’ll likely silently change the material without saying anything. Would rather have one you didn’t have to worry about where you put it!

Never mind, Jobs would probably just say we’re putting it on the table wrong!

It was supposed to launch with such a basic stereo pairing functionality. Apple are taking the **** somewhat with this launch.

 

[sesevans]

Design flaw now doing the rounds where the HomePod marks polished wood surfaces due to the use of a silicone type base. Sounding wise to wait for v2!

From Wirecutter: "
Anyone with experience using Alexa or Google Assistant will quickly find that many of their preferences and habits and rituals—listening to an Internet radio station, or Spotify, or Pandora, or interacting with certain types of smart-home devices—may be dramatically different and so ultimately disappointing. One other thing: We quickly discovered through testing that the HomePod leaves prominent white rings on unprotected wood, a potentially disastrous problem for owners of fine furniture."

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/apple-homepod/

 

[Somnambulist]

According to the Yahoo News article by David Pogue, it seems that Apple created what you describe as an "anechoic listening room" when it asked reviewers to compare the four competing units. His own test seemed more like the "reflective environment" you desire.

Does that create bias in the reviews from Verge and others based entirely on the Apple listening room set up? And the differing set ups for each device?

Hmmmm....

I don't recall reading that Apple's demonstration rooms had a load of bass traps and reflection dampening, but they were quite tightly 'controlled' as far as furnishings and placement. Room correction can only help so much, but there's imperfect listening environments and really imperfect listening environments.

Design flaw now doing the rounds where the HomePod marks polished wood surfaces due to the use of a silicone type base. Sounding wise to wait for v2!

I've done that not putting my coffee cup on a mat, there's a few rings on my TV stand now...

 

[N19h7m4r3]

....and now the Yahoo News report from the highly regarded David Pogue. Also he says regarding the intelligence in the HomePod: "that the HomePod isn’t as smart as the other smart speakers (among other problems, its voice control is limited to iTunes and Apple Music — no Spotify)".

I don't use spotify, and that doesn't complain about the audio; so still sounds like a fine buy for me.

 

[Broken Hope]

They’ll likely silently change the material without saying anything. Would rather have one you didn’t have to worry about where you put it!

Never mind, Jobs would probably just say we’re putting it on the table wrong!

It was supposed to launch with such a basic stereo pairing functionality. Apple are taking the **** somewhat with this launch.

It’s not basic stereo functionality they are working on though, it’s Airplay 2. It’s going to be released in a month or less with 11.3.

 

[pioneer2000]

What features does AirPlay 2 add besides enabling multiple airplay devices to be connected?

 

[darwin]

Got mine yesterday, bit of a faff to set it up as I didn't have iCloud keychain enabled and it spat out an unhelpful error code. After a bit of troubleshooting I got it setup - sound is really great, the low end and vocals in particular stand out for me. I have a pair of Beolit 15's in stereo as a point of comparison, and the stereo effect of the Beolit's obviously sound better, but I would expect great things from two homepods when stereo update is released. I have a test track that includes pan flutes playing and they do sound somewhat muffled (vs Beolit) on the Homepod, but really pleased overall with the sound quality.

 

[Broken Hope]

From Wirecutter: "
Anyone with experience using Alexa or Google Assistant will quickly find that many of their preferences and habits and rituals—listening to an Internet radio station, or Spotify, or Pandora, or interacting with certain types of smart-home devices—may be dramatically different and so ultimately disappointing. One other thing: We quickly discovered through testing that the HomePod leaves prominent white rings on unprotected wood, a potentially disastrous problem for owners of fine furniture."

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/apple-homepod/

https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/15/homepod-sonos-one-wood-marks/

Sonos One does it too, guess we can’t buy those either?

 

[pcfarrar]

What features does AirPlay 2 add besides enabling multiple airplay devices to be connected?

It's got much lower latency.

 

[pioneer2000]

It's got much lower latency.

How is that a feature? I can’t notice any issue with latency when playing to my denon amp over airplay?

 

[Deleted member 138126]

How is that a feature? I can’t notice any issue with latency when playing to my denon amp over airplay?

With AirPlay (non 2) there is a delay of several seconds after every command (play, pause, skip, etc) — it’s not instant.

 

[Deleted member 138126]

https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/15/homepod-sonos-one-wood-marks/

Sonos One does it too, guess we can’t buy those either?

Haha what a world we live in.

 

[N19h7m4r3]

https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/15/homepod-sonos-one-wood-marks/

Sonos One does it too, guess we can’t buy those either?

Haha what a world we live in.

This was always a thing though; oil treated wood and rubber/silicone does not mix well. The rubbers absorb the oils; and the wood needs to be treated and maintained to keep the finish.

There's a reason granny loved doilies for their good wood furniture.

 

[Destination]

These homepods have tunein don’t they?
I mean you can just ask siri to play radio2 from the bbc and it’ll work, won’t it?

 

[pcfarrar]

These homepods have tunein don’t they?
I mean you can just ask siri to play radio2 from the bbc and it’ll work, won’t it?

No they don't have tunein support.

 

[Destination]

Will they be getting it?

Do radio listening alternative exist for the homepod?
I must say more than half the time that is what i use the google home mini we have for.

 

[JamesM]

Could have sworn i've listened to the radio on mine, will try again tonight when I get home.

Two bullet points on the conclusion of that article are interesting to me.

• The Apple HomePod generally sounds better than any other smart speaker—but only somewhat, and only in direct A/B/C/D tests. If you listened to the HomePod, Sonos, and Google Home an hour apart, you’d never be able to declare one a clear winner. (Everyone agrees that the Amazon Echo Plus is the loser in this roundup, but then again, it’s $150 and the size of a Pringle’s can; it’s not a fair fight.)
• Everybody’s different.

I don't have one, I'm still undecided.

I unplugged my Sonos 1 in the kitchen and listened to the HomePod straight away. It doesn't go as loud as the Play 1 but the sound is sharper and bass more punchy.

 

[pcfarrar]

Will they be getting it?

Support for things like tunein might only come in the future if they open it up to third party apps.

 

[Deleted member 138126]

I thought this guy's experience was really interesting. The HomePod is "too nosy" and butts in when you're trying to talk to your phone or your watch. Really highlights some of the incredible complexities involved.

http://bitsplitting.org/2018/02/15/the-nosiest-assistant/