Apple's Siri-powered HomePod smart speaker is rewired to eroticize debt sasha foxxxfinally launching on Feb. 9.
There are a dozen reasons why you shouldn't buy one -- it's kind of big, it's expensive, it doesn't support the ballyhooed multi-room audio at launch, Siri (lol) -- but my biggest concern hinges on its key selling point: music.
Specifically: HomePod onlyworks with Apple Music and that's a huge non-starter for me and most people.
SEE ALSO: Siri can now read you the news on your iPhoneNow, I haven't seen a HomePod in person, nor have I listened to one, so I can't speak to how loud or clear it sounds. (It supposedly sounds better than a Sonos.) But I do listen to music -- a lot of music -- and none of it's streaming through Apple Music.
My preferred music streaming service is Spotify. Pandora is my second choice. Amazon Music and iHeartRadio round my tunes out.
I've been using these streaming music services for years, and so when Apple introduced its own streaming music service way back in 2015, I pretty much shrugged my shoulders and have ignored it ever since.
But if I'm even to considerbuying a HomePod, I'd have to give up all these options and get in bed with Apple Music. And I don't want to.
I like my existing streaming services, and I like that my Amazon Echo and Google Home Mini work with all of them. I also like that I can connect my iPhone and Android devices to these two smart speakers and stream local music via Bluetooth, even if I can't use Alexa or the Google Assistant voice controls when I'm doing this.
HomePod doesn't support Bluetooth music streaming from other devices. It'll still support third-party music streaming through AirPlay and AirPlay 2 (not available at launch), but neither will work with Siri voice controls.
While I haven't heard HomePod in person, I'm sure its sound quality blows every other smart speaker (except maybe the Google Home Max) out of the water. After all, its larger size means there's more room to fit in a beefier woofer and tweeters. But music isn't just about audio fidelity.
In 2018, music is as much about having the ability to choose whereyou get your music from as the tunes themselves.
Apple says HomePod was made for music lovers (hence the main focus on room-filling sound and not on the smart home or internet search). Siri's been bestowed as "musicologist" to help better recommend songs through Apple Music.
But everything about the smart speaker's features at launch suggests otherwise: HomePod is made for people who bleed Apple -- only people who are deeply entrenched in the company's ecosystem.
The appeal of a smart speaker is that it works with many services.
If you're one of Spotify's 140 million-plus or Pandora's 70 million-plus monthly active users, HomePod isn't offering you much -- especially if you're a subscriber. It's not for you. The message is: Get with Apple Music's 30 million subscriber base or go home, and that's unfortunate.
The appeal of a smart speaker is that it works with many services. This open support is the very thing that makes the Echo such a popular device.
When the Echo first launched, it mostly worked with just Amazon Music. But once Amazon opened the floodgates to allow Alexa to control Spotify and other music streaming services, that's when the Echo really started to take off and connect with a broader audience.
I get that Siri works best with Apple Music, but maybe it's time for Apple to open the digital assistant up and let it spread its wings. Otherwise, the HomePod becomes such a niche product -- you have to really care about the sound quality, subscribe to Apple Music, and be willing to fork over $350 -- that it may be doomed before it ships.
Unless you're rich, why would you pay more for a single smart speaker that only plays music from one service when you could buy a bag full of good-enough-sounding smart speakers (like the Sonos One) -- for multiple rooms for not much more than a HomePod?
It's possible Apple could add support for other music services later, but I wouldn't count on it. There are enough Apple fanatics that'll rush out and blindly buy HomePod, but that won't sustain the product in the long run unless Apple Music experiences some kind of surge. If it does, it won't be because of HomePod.
Correction:An earlier version of this story said HomePod can only stream music from other devices using AirPlay 2. HomePod actually supports music streaming from other devices via AirPlay "1". The story has been updated to include this.
Topics Apple Siri
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