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Apple Homepod $449 + $9.95 Shipping @ Catch
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Amaris on 18/02/2018 - 04:05 catch.com.au (639 clicks)
Last edited 18/02/2018 - 10:51 by 1 other user
Last edited 18/02/2018 - 10:51 by 1 other user
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Care to elaborate?
How long did you use one for before coming to this conclusion?this is a ridiculous sum of money compared to what the competition is charging for theirs. Why the hell is it so expensive? Even the Apple TV 4K which has all the home automation built in (including the all important home hub) and is also the most powerful iOS gaming device (as a measure of the hardware which goes into it) is only $279 RRP.
I’m not saying it isn’t overpriced, we’re used to that with Apple. I’m not a fan of Siri in comparison to google assistant, the fact that it’s locked in apples closed ‘ecosystem’ where you can only operate it with an iOS device. There are a few other faults I can find with the product but to blankly state ‘waste of money’ when I have doubts that the poster has even seen and touched one just because it’s fun to mock Apple for being expensive.
Aside from the issues that I may have with the product the sound quality is very impressive for such a small device, not enough to sway me to buy one because of the limitations but you could just as easily say that Bose QC35ii or Sennheiser PXC550 aren’t worth it because they’re ‘over priced’ compared to run of the mill headphones.
At the very least the fact that the HomePod exists creates competition that will drive the google home 2 series to be better when it does eventuate.
it will be the sound quality that becomes the selling point especially for users of apple music subscriptions. apple devices are built up to a standard not down to a price…. even their smart watch uses sapphire glass where cheaper alterntives exist.
, and they usually set a benchmark …. so now amazon and google need to up their game in sound quality.
google devices never targeted sound quality as it’s more voice commands that is their market so get get people interacting more with google who dint like using keyboards or tiny phone screens.
sure you can buy other blue tooth speakers but it’s apple music integration and sound quality that will be the selling point for some.
i won’t buy one just because i don’t use apple music ……. i own $3000 home speakers and all these bluetooth devices are a dive ….. but my friends some people are happy with 256k mp3 other want flac ……
This guy didn’t present the argument well, but he is right. The main thrust of the HomePod is highly accurate audio. Already “audiophiles” (I’m rolling my eyes) are frothing over it. The sound on alternative units is terrible (I owned a Google Home, just before anyone states how “awesome the bass is”).
To be clear, Siri is rubbish. But this isn’t really a Siri box.
@LoopyLou: I didn't jump in to argue for or against the HomePod, just wanted to make clear that one's view or point can be conveyed without unnecessary references. In this case "$3000" could have been easily replaced with something else.
[@LoopyLou(/comment/5651788/redir): sure the Google home devices don't sound great and I do not doubt that the home pod sounds good. Still, it is super over priced! And yes Siri is rubbish. The compromise might be going for a Google home device made by Sony or JBL which are no where near as expensive as the Homepod but sound a lot better than the Google home/ mini.
@LoopyLou:
The only thing a audiophile should do with a HomePod is return it. You need a half decent cable e.g. https://goo.gl/iKdTp5 for good digital audio reproduction."You need a half decent cable e.g. https://goo.gl/iKdTp5 for good digital audio reproduction."
If it's digital it doesn't matter much what sort of cable you have. Audio puts extremely low demands on bit rates and any form of wifi has the bandwidth to cope.
What competition? Please don’t say Google Home or Amazon, because if you wanted a smart speaker that was actually a decent speaker, you wouldn’t waste your money on those. This is possibly one of the best sub $500 wireless speakers around, just a shame how tied in to Apple’s ecosystem it is.
Google apple homepod review
This is what others said when AirPods were first released. "Don’t buy it. waste of money"
AirPod can be used with android and apple without any issues. HomePod can only be used with Apple and Apple music and no bluetooth
no bluetooth? wtf
The people at Apple said that bluetooth didn't have the bandwidth for the bitrate signal they wanted to send.
Bluetooth = 25Mb/s
@SirDale: But every other bluetooth speaker can handle lossless audio without any issues.
But can play back audio via Apple music over NBN 5mb/s ;)
To each his own, but I would still never buy them.
I dont usually encourage these type of comments but i incline to agree with you. Homepod are locked to the walled garden. Only works with Apple music and no bluetooth connection. Holy hell
Me: "Hey Google - should I buy Apple Homepod?"
Google: "Hand in your OzBargain membership you dipshit!"
So, buy the Apple Home Pod.
or
Buy an Alexa Echo and a Alexa Dot and a Google Home and a Google Home mini.
and have money left over to pay for some music streaming service.
Tough decision.
i think you miss the point, apples goal isn’t just music streaming from voice commands, it’s the best quality sound reproduction also …… it even adjusts for the room acoustics …. just like my $600 denon amp ….
down side is these things aren’t stereo, none are , so there goes channel separation …..
the tech work leading us back to the 1950s world of mono sound.
I'm not missing the point at all.
This is first and foremost a smart speaker, not a sound system. For $900 (on sale) you can buy two of these and link them together for stereo sound, but you can also spend $900 and get a much better sound system.
If you want a smart speaker that can take voice commands there are much cheaper options and they don't lock you into a single operating system & music service.
For what it is, the homepod is way overpriced.
Don’t know much about other speakers. But I know people on /r/audiophile are saying this is the best speaker you can get for under $1K. Historically, they’ve shat on Apple a lot, so I’m kind of inclined more to agree with them.
/u/wintercharm wrote the initial extensive review, but that's been critiqued by lots of other people, and the review has been updated with links to those comments. (see https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/7wwtqy/apple_ho…)
Basically they said "It might be that good, but you can't really say that without a better testing environment".
I think it's probably a very good speaker, and unlike xev who says…
"This is first and foremost a smart speaker, not a sound system."
it probably is a sound system first (that's certainly what Apple thinks) - it's an extremely clever bit of equipment.
@SirDale: you’re right. But I somewhat disagree with their logic about testing in a different environment. The big reason being that the proposed environment - an anechoic chamber is better suited to “dumb speakers”. The HomePod and many new speakers make use of sound correction, so unless you’re using your speakers in an anechoic chamber, it’s somewhat irrelevant. In the end though, the perception of what’s better is going to be debatable. Many people will favour bassy sounds when the original sound (as recorded) was pretty flat. But I think tests should be done so that they take advantage of what the technology in question offers. I mean, we don’t test the safety of new cars by ripping out seatbelts and airbags just because that’s what original cars were like, we’ve adapted our testing methods to account for new technology in this space, and we should do so in others.
Personally though, I don’t have any intention of buying any smart speaker. The idea of the HomePod having great sound appeals to me, but I don’t have any interest in Siri, Google Now or Alexa. I was most interested in the HomePod because I know how good the MacBook Pro 2016 speakers sound, so I’d assume Apple has some decent engineers in their sound R&D team. But the lack of any I/O means everything has to go through my Apple TV, unfortunately that doesn’t fly well with consoles or free to air television (which I don’t really watch, but still).
it’s the best quality sound reproduction also…. just like my $600 denon amp ….
Jesus, hand in your OzBargain/'I claim to know anything about sound quality' membership
I think you can justify a point or make a statement without bragging quite easily. Try it some time :)
Don't buy it, it's not worth it.
Here's a decent review by one of the best tech guys out there, MKBHD: https://youtu.be/mpjREfvZiDs
lol i just watched this last night, the negatives seems endless
Always interesting reviews although I also found uraverageconsumer to be good aswell. At the moment with its lack of features and price it is clearly not worth it, to a person who just wants a simple speaker that can to go with their apple music subscription its an option. For it's size though and ease of use people do like it as they don't want to spend time connecting and calibrating other options.
This is the new premium product for anyone who doesn't have kids who ruin your furniture so want something else that can do it for you.
Apple know we're all gullible but there lack of testing of this product is criminal. At least there's an accessory for it though.
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2018/02/theres-already-a-leather-…
And Sonos speakers do this too. In fact, all silicone reacts with certain wood finishes. So any speaker with a silicone base will need a coaster. Anyone who owns furniture with certain finishes should be aware of what will react and cause damage.
Copy and paste from Apple. I had some old JBL speakers that also had a silicone base, and I left it on my PC table which is solid wood all the time (and bedside table also).
Never a stain.You might find the HomePod also doesn’t stain your table. The HomePod doesn’t stain wood… it stains certain finishes, such as Danish oil, as does all silicone.
Psst! Don't buy these things. They're just a glorified listening devices.
Siri sucks compared to Google, product designed purely for rich iSheep that blindly buy anything Apple makes. Yeah, sounds good but no I won’t buy one !
Holy Crikey, didn't realise how expensive this was. Eek.
For an alternative go for Sonos One Wireless AU$299. Will be launching with Alexa support soon in AU and future upgrade for Google Assistant support later in the year.
Thanks for the heads up. I take my Bose soundlink mini 2 to work. Would the Sonos work without wifi? Do I have a link? Thanks
Nope. The Sonos One does not have Bluetooth and needs internet.
Hmmmm I wonder if t will work by running the speaker on the wifi network from the hotspot the Iphone running Spotify?
I bought the Sonos One from AddictedToAudio in Dec when they had it on sale for $268. It has Alexa AU support now. Waiting for Google Assistant support to come through. I compared it to HomePod at the Apple store and my non-audiophile ears couldn’t tell much of a diff. The Sonos One actually sounds better for the type of music I listen to.
It does suit a certain subsection of Apple customers, and for those this is a fantastic device.
Would love one if it weren’t for the price and Siri. Siri is useless. I’d be way more likely to use it if you could get google assistant to work on it. And this is coming from a guy who has just about all Apple hardware.
This better be the best music speaker in the market for the bloodeee price 🔊
Sounds like this is grey import? 5-7 days to despatch ?
Everything’s grey import to Trump. Time to build a wall to stop them.
No Trump here but I would prefer 2 years warranty from Apple. If this is local stock, I will grab one.
According to Apple AU it’s a one year warranty.
https://support.apple.com/en-au/homepod/repair/service
The Apple Limited Warranty
The Apple Limited Warranty covers your HomePod against manufacturing defects for one year beginning on the purchase date. You may also have consumer law rights.
Our warranty doesn't cover damage caused by accidents or unauthorized modifications. You can see your warranty status from Apple's coverage checker. If there's an error in our records, update your information online.
Update your proof-of-purchaseI know they say the same for iPhones and other product but actually covers them for 2 years, it is what they claim, I doubt reseller has the right to change the statement to 2 years.
If the catch deal is not local stock (ie Grey import), then only 1 year warranty.
If it local stock, it will be 1 year Apple Warranty + 1 year under Consumer Warranty.
Also consider that if you’re buying from Catch in Australia then they must provide statutory warranty even if it’s grey, but you’ll be dealing with them rather than Apple after the first year.
This apple care for this product is $59 aud which is more expensive than Google home mini price from latest deals 😮
That’s one expensive paper weight
That’s a bit much, could of just said a very expensive dumb speaker
As long as you don’t mind coffee stains on your paperwork 😂
Every one whinging about the price. Meanwhile, Google Home Max is the same price, for an apparently worse speaker, with a better assistant.
Most reviews seem to say the Google Home Max sounds better.
Which review says that? Links?
Google search: Google Home Max homepod
@xev:
No. Show me the links. Hopefully they are from professional reviewers rather than android fans.
@xev:
Since you are too lazy to link, let me tell you. Only one professional website claimed that Google Home Max sounds better which is Consumer Report. The rest, Homepod wins.
https://thenextweb.com/apple/2018/02/14/apples-homepod-beste… Apple’s HomePod bested by Google Home Max, Sonos in blind test
When the dust settled, not one of them rated Apple’s speaker as best. Two liked the Google Home Max, and three ranked Sonos as number one.
@asa79: the vast majority of reviewers have put HomePod ahead of Google Home Max in the sound quality department. Just Google it
If you actually clicked the link above, it has a roundup of reviews from Whathifi, TechCrunch, Cnet, Verge, The Loop, WSJ, NYT, USA Today, iMore, Telegraph, Pocket Lint, The Independent, and iJustine.
Try to click it.
Yeah asa79, actually click the link, don't just try to click the link,
actually click the link, don't click around the link, click the link it self,
don't just pretend your clicking the link, click the link.
Try asa79, try to click it, try really, really hard.Click the link to the apple website and read the hand picked reviews from people who desperately don't want say anything that may cause them miss out on an advanced review product from apple in the future.
Tech journalism!
Google Max is more similar to a Sonos Play:3 which is similar money.
HomePod is more similar to a Play:1
Siri is awful. The wife was trying to use it a few days ago and had about six attempts at a fairly simple request…..every time Siri came back with something completely unrelated.
I handed her my Note 8 and told her to ask the same thing (I think it may have been the whereabouts of a restaurant) and it came back immediately with the correct response.
If I need a speaker to play my music through, I'll buy a dedicated speaker. If I need to know something, I'll ask Google…..on my phone.
I am just here for people whinging about the price. Lol
Why buy Benz sedan when you can have civic sedan. lol
Why but mac computer for 5k$ when you can have the same desktop specs for 2k$. lol
Why am I here. lol
lol
lo
llöl
when the Benz is limited to only drive on certain roads and cant cross over?
Sonos One and with the spare money put towards another Sonos One
Apple makes good phones and Tablets but home assistant and automation they are way behind.
It was a big mistake for Apple to drop partnership with Sonos and try and take over that fieldive barely used my google home now the noveltys worn off a better sounded 360 speaker to replace stereo wouldnt be too bad
It wont replace stereo, apple will supposely bring out stereo mode like sonos stereo pairing in next update
Will also be covered by a statutory warranty which one would assume would be a lot longer than 12 months (based on the provision requiring it be covered for a "reasonable period" for the type of product it is etc).
I dont think you will get much back in warranty from catch
Homepod and Sonos come from the same factory in China.
But not the same quality. Guess HomePod is Friday works, and Sonos is Mondays
I'm tempted to get one speculatively in the hope that they will soon make it more functional… Spotify would be a deal breaker.
I need a hub for apple Home Kit and don't think I would ever use Apple tv. Are there any Catch coupons? Shipping costs reduces the savings :(
I've just bought one from apple and with the 14 days trial i can take it back if I'm not happy I'm happy. At first no bluetooth was an issue but because I'm in the apple ecosystem I can airplay from my devices.
First impressions. the sound is incredible! Actually it was the weight but the sound, it has to be heard in the environment that you are going to use it in to fully appreciate it. A brief comparison to the sono 1 vs the pod at JB didn't do it justice.
I made a playlist specifically with various genres and moved it around my apartment and into other rooms to test this and I'm not planning to return it!
So far I've used it as the TV speaker with apple Tv and airplay my music from my iPhone or MBP. I'm not a apple music subscriber nor Spotify so this isn't an issue for me.I do listen to TuneIn radio and I just airplay it. Can you airplay Spotify?
At $500 is it value for money. I'll leave that up to the individuals budget.
I wasn't after a smart speaker just a great sounding speaker, but being able to ask siri to turn up the volume is very handy especially, when cooking.
I'm no music expert nor audiophile.
Bring on the ………………………..Sonos One kills the Homepod in everything and cheaper
Don’t buy it. waste of money