HomePod versus Echo and Home Speaker

Forum Moderators: travelin cat

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HomePod versus Echo and Home Speaker

travelin cat

3:52 pm on Jun 6, 2017 (gmt 0)

I'm a big fan of Apple products, having owned dozens of them over the years including the first gen Mac. However, I don't get paying about $350 for the HomePod when Amazon sells the main version of the Echo for $180 and Google's Home speaker goes for $130.

Am I missing something?

keyplyr

6:51 pm on Jun 6, 2017 (gmt 0)

I'm not a fan of anything Apple (although I used a G2 and and iPhone years ago.)

Google Home is fantastic. I use one in my music studio, customized to run several functions (playback, track lists, turn on/off different devices etc.) It's great because it couples with Chrome & Chromcast.

Apple has Siri and I guess they felt left-out of the home assistant market. Like everything Apple, they have the overwhelming need to overcharge.

not2easy

7:36 pm on Jun 6, 2017 (gmt 0)

I have never felt overcharged for any of the many Apple devices I've bought, always felt that I got my money's worth. Even used devices. Just my opinion. So I went to see what's up with the HomePod [apple.com]

It is not quite the same type of device as the others, as it was engineered from core out for high performance sound delivery (and better security). Apple designed the new a8 chip which uses AI to assist the UX. It incorporates a high excursion woofer, 6 microphones and an array of 7 beamforming tweeters to create smarter sound distribution. You can play it full blast and it can still hear your spoken commands from another room. I generally don't like the IoT and smart devices, purposely sought out the 1st generation of AppleTV - to be more compatible with my fringe - iffy internet service. IF I wanted one of these devices, I'd go for Apple's in an instant. Amazon and Google are both marketing companies, why would they specialize in high-end sound equipment on the cheap?