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Other than Apple headphones, Apple hasn't done well with speakers. While the HomePod might sound okay, I think there will be a clone at a quarter of the price. Will Apple allow access through third party BT devices?
I was underwhelmed by the original iPod but it became a hit. I currently don't see what a HomePod will do for the Apple Store. Am I missing some application... have they partnered with a delivery service yet? Siri, emergency toilet paper order! Finally a reason to allow a Walmart employee inside my house.  miley-laughing001:
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NewtonMP2100 wrote:
.....to Google Home Max and Sonos One........both have better sound than the HomePod....
Good one, Newt!
 miley-laughing001:
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pinkoos wrote:
https://help.apple.com/homepod/#/apda0881f90d
Again, this is NOT using AirPlay - you are actually controlling what is streaming down to the HomePod from the cloud with your iPhone.
I have a HomePod and can confirm that this works great.
Control playback
You can use the Apple Music app on your iOS device to control the sound volume, play what you want to hear, and add or remove songs from the Up Next queue.
See what’s playing now, and next. Open Apple Music, then tap the HomePod playback controls. If you don’t see the HomePod controls, on the Now Playing screen, tap the AirPlay button, then choose HomePod.
Choose what’s next. After choosing HomePod in the Apple Music app, tap Library, For You, Browse, Radio, or Search to find music to play. You can choose to play an item next or add it to the end of the Up Next queue.
Use the Control Center. Open Control Center, press (or touch and hold) Now Playing to expand it, then tap your HomePod.
How does this work if you don't have your iPhone/iPad with you? Will it work with the new ATV? How is this better than any other BT speaker?
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richorlin wrote:
Considering the HomePod is locked to Apple Music
HomePod is AirPlay-compatible.
Sonos…it's $150 cheaper
Huh? Why not compare it to an Echo Dot which is $310 cheaper?
Like-for-like, richorlin…
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testcase wrote:
CR’s “Silent Room” is impressive. When sealed inside, if you listen carefully, you can hear your own heartbeat. :boink:
I can hear my own heartbeat in my living room at home - with the TV and stereo off, of course.
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Filliam H. Muffman wrote:
Other than Apple headphones, Apple hasn't done well with speakers.
Hello! Beats? Not created by Apple, but don't believe for a second that Apple hasn't made a mint from the Beats product line since purchasing the company.
My guess would be a lot of the technology that went into the HomePod originated at Beats.
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....Tell-Tale Heart......??
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N-OS X-tasy! wrote: My guess would be a lot of the technology that went into the HomePod originated at Beats.
Your guess is very likely wrong—Apple started working on HomePod about six years ago:
http://www.loopinsight.com/2018/02/06/in...audio-lab/
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http://tingilinde.typepad.com/omenti/201...audio.html
"The HomePod uses seven small speakers arranged in a ring…The HomePod also has a ring shaped array of six microphones. They listen to the room (sample it) at a fairly high rate and decide what parts of the music, from its stereo signature, need to go where and how it needs be modified to interact with the room and everything in it…several people I know who are real experts at this have been at Apple for years…
"The HomePod didn’t match the reference speakers when I was sitting at the sweet spot, but was better when I moved around the room. That is astounding. It was creating stereo – a term has nothing to do with a pair of anything, but rather three dimensional. Moving beams of audio around it was painting a sound field in my living room."
https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comm...?context=3
"The room correction applied after probing its own position isn’t simplistic DSP of frequency response, as the speaker has seven drivers that are used to create a beamforming speaker array, so they can direct specific sound in specific directions. The only other speakers that do this is the Beolab 90, and Lexicon SL-1. The Beolab 90 is $85,000/pair, and no price tag is set for the Lexicon, but the expectation in the industry is 'astronomical'."
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This one's for you, Newt!:
http://www.applemust.com/6-problems-with...od-claims/
"It is interesting that despite claiming to be running full tests, Consumer Reports isn’t testing Apple’s most technologically advanced HomePod feature at all. Apple has developed really smart technology that empowers its device with the capacity to adjust audio output in real-time for better results in whatever space it happens to be in…'That’s not a feature we evaluated,' they say."
Sheesh!
…and further:
"It’s weird to me that a title that says it cares about consumers seems utterly blind to the importance of privacy and security in people’s lives. Amazon and Google solutions are incredibly weak in this in comparison to those you’ll get from Apple."
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