Timeliness is not the most important thing. At least for Apple. This was once again proven by the first smart speaker
Apple was not the first company to releasean advanced smartphone, but it radically changed the entire market by presenting the iPhone. The company has successfully changed the industry more than once. Take the Apple Watch, for example. Smart watches were able to achieve such success that competing companies even stopped trying to get close to it.
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HomePod has hit the market for smart speakers prettylate, but this does not mean that no one was waiting for her. The Google Home and Amazon Echo columns have so far dominated, and this is due to the fact that manufacturing companies focus on their virtual personal assistants, and also keep prices within reason.
Apple chose a completely different path. Technically, HomePod is a smart speaker, but its sound quality is definitely better than any smart features. This Apple once again wants to change the situation in the market.
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In short, the HomePod impresses with its technical capabilities. Below we talk about this in more detail.
Setting up a column is quick and easy. To do this, just click on the cards that appear on the smartphone screen several times. You must give permission to use the information of your Apple ID, and if you want, you can turn on the Personal Inquiries feature. You will be prompted to sign up for Apple Music right away. After that, the HomePod column will be ready for use.
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Apple is right when she says her columnsounds great. And it sounds good in any room, wherever you put it. Apple used new technology for the speaker, and the result exceeded all expectations.
Perhaps this was the most important point for Apple. HomePod should sound great. Not because this is the only reason to buy a speaker, but because if you pay $ 350 for a device, then it should be in line with the company's promises.
HomePod really sounds great. However, opinions may differ, because it is rather difficult to objectively evaluate the sound of a speaker. This is still a matter of taste. We can say that HomePod sounds much better than Google Home or Amazon Echo, but not everyone agrees.
In our opinion, the sound quality of HomePod in itself justifies its price.
A separate item for Siri's abilities we highlightdid not, because it would have turned out to be very short. Siri works, but the capabilities of the virtual assistant can not be compared with competitors. The fact that Siri can do much more on an iPhone than on a speaker is very frustrating.
If you rarely use Siri, then significantno problems should arise. The virtual assistant can answer questions, etc. Moreover, the microphones built into the speaker hear the “Hi Siri” command very well. You can turn on the music at high volume and pronounce the words in a normal voice so that you can hardly hear yourself, and Siri will react.
Apple wants to change the smart speaker industry. The company wants customers to know that Siri is in the HomePod, but the main reason for the purchase is the sound quality. Companies like Sonos will insist their speakers are better anyway, and many will agree. However, Apple will not give up and will improve other features of the HomePod.
And this is the most interesting. Obviously, Apple will improve Siri and other smart column features. Siri will be able to execute more teams, but the company will always be able to hope that buyers will bribe high quality audio.
Don't forget about the FullRoom features with AirPlay2, which may later become key for HomePod. The ability to sync multiple speakers will be a nice bonus, even though you have to spend more than $ 700 on them.
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It is worth mentioning the closed ecosystem of Apple. HomePod is a device designed specifically to keep users in this ecosystem. Yes, the inability to control Spotify music with voice commands is very inconvenient and stupid. As well as the inability to order a taxi from a special service through the column.
- Hi, Siri, order a taxi.
- I would like to, but I can’t order a taxi.
I would like to? This is a strange answer, given that Apple intentionally did not add support for third-party services.
Apple wants to change the industry again, and,perhaps she will succeed. In the past, this has worked many times, so the company is surely able to repeat its success even in the smart speaker market. Of course, for this Apple will need to release a really high-quality device at the level of iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
HomePod is a great speaker, but there is still something to strive for. Apple has yet to make a ton of changes to get the most out of it. Let's see if she succeeds.