Why I'm not excited about the HomePod
It's about damn time Apple got into the smart-speaker market. I've been waiting to see what they come up with, but I'm not buying one. Let me tell you why.
Truth be told, it doesn't satisfy any need I have. That's the primary reason. I've been watching reviews of the HomePod to see if there was some other feature that I've been missing, but it's essentially just a great speaker with Siri. Nothing more. It streams music (only via Apple Music or Airplay from another Apple device) and has Siri. Nothing else as of yet.
I have AppleTVs in my living room and master bedroom. In my office, I've got my PC running iTunes. When I want whole-home audio, I use iTunes on my PC to play music and stream it to both of my ATVs. While I have looked at Airplay-compatible speakers for other areas like one in my kitchen or in my bathroom, I'm waiting until we move into a house before I jump on anything. While the HomePod would satisfy that need, I don't really care to have Siri in every room (see my Siri reasons below), and I can get an Airplay-compatible speaker for cheaper than a HomePod.
If you're buying a HomePod, you've already got at least an iPhone or an iPad. You're already somewhat in the Apple product-sphere. For myself, I already own an Apple Watch and an iPhone 7 Plus, so I've already got Siri on my wrist and in my pocket at just about any given time. I think it's redundant to have her in a speaker as well. You've got her even more if you've also got an iPad, an ATV, and a Mac, in addition to a watch and an iPhone. In my case, I use Siri mostly for replying to texts and iMessages, or setting timers. Additionally, I intend to use her for initiating HomeKit scenes (again, waiting on a house). With Siri already all over my house (though technically Siri on the Mac doesn't support HomeKit commands), I don't care to spend so much for a speaker that I'm not using half the functionality of.
While I don't see how I can take advantage of one, it IS a really good speaker, sounding significantly better than any of the Alexa or Google Home devices. So, I'll give it that credit.
Truth be told, it doesn't satisfy any need I have. That's the primary reason. I've been watching reviews of the HomePod to see if there was some other feature that I've been missing, but it's essentially just a great speaker with Siri. Nothing more. It streams music (only via Apple Music or Airplay from another Apple device) and has Siri. Nothing else as of yet.
Music Streaming
I have AppleTVs in my living room and master bedroom. In my office, I've got my PC running iTunes. When I want whole-home audio, I use iTunes on my PC to play music and stream it to both of my ATVs. While I have looked at Airplay-compatible speakers for other areas like one in my kitchen or in my bathroom, I'm waiting until we move into a house before I jump on anything. While the HomePod would satisfy that need, I don't really care to have Siri in every room (see my Siri reasons below), and I can get an Airplay-compatible speaker for cheaper than a HomePod.
Siri
If you're buying a HomePod, you've already got at least an iPhone or an iPad. You're already somewhat in the Apple product-sphere. For myself, I already own an Apple Watch and an iPhone 7 Plus, so I've already got Siri on my wrist and in my pocket at just about any given time. I think it's redundant to have her in a speaker as well. You've got her even more if you've also got an iPad, an ATV, and a Mac, in addition to a watch and an iPhone. In my case, I use Siri mostly for replying to texts and iMessages, or setting timers. Additionally, I intend to use her for initiating HomeKit scenes (again, waiting on a house). With Siri already all over my house (though technically Siri on the Mac doesn't support HomeKit commands), I don't care to spend so much for a speaker that I'm not using half the functionality of.
While I don't see how I can take advantage of one, it IS a really good speaker, sounding significantly better than any of the Alexa or Google Home devices. So, I'll give it that credit.
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