Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Apple HomePod - First Impressions

When Apple introduced its HomePod, I was not impressed.  I thought Apple had a flop on its hand because I did not think anyone would part with $350 for a smart speaker with great sound when Amazon & Google smart speakers - with "good enough" sound can be had for less than a quarter of that price.  I certainly wouldn't.

But I caved.  While purchasing some Apple stuff to give as gifts for an upcoming China trip, I began thinking:

     "...the speakers on our TV are crap and we could really need a sound bar - and the HomePod could serve as that when watching stuff through our Apple TV streamer!"

and:

     "... it sure is a pain to have to find my phone or iPod to invoke some home automation function!  The HomePod is supposed to have great microphones that can pick up your commands from anywhere!"

and, finally:

     "...in order for you to invoke home automation when away from the house, you need to designate a device a 'hub' and it needs to be always on.  The iPad that had been fulfilling that duty had already run out of juice a couple times, keeping me from turning on the lights before I got home!  HomePod can be a 'hub'!"

Well, you get the idea.  Before I knew it, there was a HomePod in the bag along with the other stuff we actually came to the Apple Store for.

So how do I like it?

Well, I do love it and don't regret my purchase: the sound that comes out of this little (very elegant) cylinder is simply amazing; it's also freaky how quietly you can give a Siri command even while music is blasting away and HomePod still 'hears' you; equally disquieting is that the speakers are so good/sensitive, it often hears/responds-to me while I'm in another room trying to ask my iPhone's Siri a question (and there's also some team work going on here - no matter what, when I do 'Hey Siri' and both my phone and HomePod hear it, only the HomePod answers.)  Integration with my limited home automation (a couple lights and a door lock) is fantastic and so is Siri's accuracy in understanding my commands.

There are some niggles: there are still a couple bugs with AirPlay (when using it as a soundbar, my Apple TV needs to send the sound to the HomePod via AirPlay - it works well at first.  But if I pause the movie I'm watching, once I begin playing again, the HomePod no longer outputs the sound :-(  Also, if I am to enjoy the HomePod as a sound bar, I really need a second one to get stereo sound.  While sound coming out of it is much better than the TV speakers, having everything emirate from the right of the TV isn't a great experience.  But another HomePod is another $350!  And, besides, for this to work requires AirPlay 2, which isn't ready yet.  The HomePod updates by itself, so it's just a matter of waiting.

While Siri is very accurate at understanding my requests, its ability to answer them is more limited than it ought to be.  This is well documented: Apple, which used to be the clear leader in voice assistants, has fallen behind Alexa and Google Assistant.  Don't get me wrong: Siri is getting better with every release of iOS - just not as quickly as the competition.  Apple seems to have realized this (rather belatedly if you ask me) and recently gone on a hiring spree for AI talent.  Hopefully something will come of it.  Siri could be much more useful than she currently is on HomePod.

So I love it.  But it's the first Apple device I've owned for which I paid more money than I thought its functionality warranted.  Unlike my iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, Apple TV, and laptop, the HomePod is a luxury rather than a necessity.  I would not (yet) miss it, if it disappeared tomorrow.   But I'm confident this will change as the software evolves - and Siri improves.

I don't think HomePod will be a flop.  There simply are too many well-heeled Apple fans out there for whom $350 is an 'impulse purchase' and it is a typical Apple device with its elegant design and quality hardware.  Why not?  But I also don't think it will be anywhere near as big a deal as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or even AirPods (which I think is the best, most magical Apple product in years - and flying kind of under the radar.)

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