Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
If you are looking for a excellent speaker to playact your iTunes euphony , or you have an Apple Music subscription , the HomePod is a good selection . With the incentive that it integrate with Siri so that you’re able to control playback , ask doubt of the voice supporter , and perform some actions . If you are hoping that Apple ’s smart talker would be smart enough to call you a cab , rescript pizza , let you know power train times , and purchase the milk , you ’ll be disappointed . Which would n’t be so risky if the other sassy speaker unit on the market did n’t do those things , although it has to be say , none of the smart assistants are all that chic . If Apple open up the HomePod political platform up to third party so that they can make their apps ferment with the unit ( beyond the current restriction to message , bank note and reminders ) and if more home automation products start out to work with HomeKit , there may be hope for the HomePod , but until it does the market is going to be specify to the same people who might have bought a iPod HiFi back when Apple sold that stereoscopic photograph . And give that the iPod HiFi cope a year - and - a - one-half on sale before being give up we hope that the HomePod is n’t destined for the same fate .
Best Prices Today: Apple HomePod
Back in February 2018 Apple joined the rush of companies give rise smart speakers that reply to voice commands with the HomePod , a Siri - power speaker that boasts top audio quality as well as sassy functionality . But was Apple too tardily and is the HomePod smart enough ?
Apple made the unusual move of pre - announce HomePod back in June 2017 , promising that the speaker would be available by Christmas 2017 ( and failing to rescue on it ) . But the HomePod is out now , having set in motion in the UK , US and Australia on 9 February 2018 . It afterward get in France and Germany , and launch in Spain and Mexico on 26 October . ( If you ’re concerned in what features the next example might volunteer , take a expression at ourHomePod 2 rumor roundup . )
Pre - announcing the HomePod meant that there was a set of talk about Apple ’s smart verbalizer in the foot race up to the launch , but rather than building prevision as to which smart features the HomePod would extend , it became obvious too soon on that Apple ’s focus with the HomePod was in the main audio quality . When it plunge , the HomePod was a verbalizer with the benefit of some Siri features build in , rather than a voice activated assistant that just happens to play euphony .
The independent challenge face HomePod are people ’s expectation of what a smart verbalizer should be capable to do ( and whether Apple ’s smartspeaker is up to ) and the fact that a lot of people already own an Amazon or Google smart talker . When it launch HomePod Apple was banking on the fact that people require a good sounding speaker , and that they are happy to spend a flock of money to get one .
For Apple , it ’s a case of audio character first and smarts secondly , but is that really what mass want ?
In our review of Apple ’s HomePod we ’ll assess sound quality and audio quality , also expect at the stereo options that became useable with a software program update in June 2018 , and other fresh features that come to the twist when iOS 12 found in September 2018 including enhancements to what you’re able to ask Siri on the HomePod .
Price
The HomePodcosts £ 279 in the UK and $ 299 in the USfollowing an April 2019 Mary Leontyne Price - drop from £ 319 and $ 349 severally . That ’s a lot more expensive than its already well established rivals , in part to reflect its superior audio quality . TheAmazon Echo ( more info)is price at £ 89.99/$99.99 and theEcho Plus ( more info)is £ 135.99/$149.99 . WhileGoogle Home ( more info)is £ 129/$129 .
The HomePod has the vantage that its effectual quality is considerably dependable than any of those ( as you will see if you translate on ) , but even with that benefit , it is unlikely to rationalize the extra $ 250 over the Echo for a batch of people . Not that the price is wholly without parallel : its tight rival is actually theGoogle Home Max , which costs £ 120/$100 more at $ 399/£399 and also prioritize sound quality – and finally launched in the UK back in August 2018 ( you canbuy it in the UK here ) .
On the other hand , most people willing to drop that much for sound quality in all likelihood already have a great phone system – and soon they will be able to hook it up to the approaching Echo Input , which will countenance a music fan turn any speaker into Alexa powered fresh speaker for a fraction of the cost of a HomePod – smart functionality for just $ 35 . A more expensive option for premium stereoscopic picture equipment is the coming Echo Link and Echo Link Amp which will upgrade an existing speaker for $ 200 or $ 300 . These new merchandise will set up in 2019 .
For everyone else , the cost of getting a smart speaker does n’t even have to stretch out to the price of an Amazon Echo . There ’s also a £ 49.99/$49.99Echo Dot ( more info)or a £ 49.99/$49.99Google Home Mini ( more info ) . We have compared the HomePod to the other smart speakers out there in ourroundup of Best Smart Speakers here .
Apple also has challenger in the form of the Sonos One , which offers gamey - lineament audio and voice mastery ( via Amazon ’s Alexa , plus compatibility with Apple Music ) for just£199/$199and often at adiscount at Amazon – read Tech Advisor’sSonos One reviewif you ’d like to learn more .
HomePod Design
It seems to us that when hoi polloi see the HomePod for the first fourth dimension their reaction is predictable : they either say that it ’s bigger , or smaller , than they imagined . Standing at 172 mm tall , it ’s about the three quarter of the height of a bottle of Evian , and at 142 mm wide it has a gravid diam than a cadmium . It ’s the variety of sizing that means it will suit nicely on a shelf .
The HomePod is almost entirely covered in a “ unlined 3D mesh fabric ” that is acoustically gauzy ( which imply it wo n’t impede a profound waving ) . At the top is a touching - sensible display used to control the speaker ( when you do n’t find like taking to Siri ) . You ’ll also see a Siri waveform here when the personal assistant is hard at work .
For the most part we wish the look , although we have to accommodate it looks a bit squat liken to Amazon and Google ’s more slender equivalents . Still , it ’s attractively bare , and has that comfortingly Apple - y sense of punctilious design .
The HomePod comes in two of Apple ’s favorite colour : whitened and Space Grey . That blank is n’t a sodding lily-white either , but a creamy form of white that will fit nicely in a advanced , or a magnolia , mise en scene . ( Find outhow the HomePod design liken to the Samsung Galaxy Home ) .
HomePod Music
The HomePod is chiefly a music player , and the first affair you require to adjudicate when set up a new HomePod is where you are going to get your medicine from . Apple ’s dandy that you furcate out £ 9.99 a calendar month for Apple Music subscription , but that ’s not really necessary . If a lot of your music collection is purchase from the iTunes Store then you will be able-bodied to toy any of those tracks on your HomePod .
If you have lots of music in your iTunes depository library that you ’ve purchased from other services , or ripped from candela , another option is to pay £ 21.99 a year for iTunes Match . If you do this then Apple will either match the tracks you own with the same track in the iTunes Store and appropriate you to trifle that on your HomePod , or it will upload the track to the cloud for you to stream .
If you are a fan of services like Spotify or Amazon Music you could practice AirPlay to swarm right away from your iOS twist to the HomePod , and while you will lose out on some of the Siri - enabled vocalisation ascendence , the playback will sound just as good as anything else trifle via the HomePod , according to Apple . We have more info aboutusing the HomePod without an Apple Music subscription here . Also , understand about thedifference between Apple Music and iTunes Match here .
We wondered whether Apple ’s call would stand up to tests , assuming that some of the quality could be lost during the AirPlay steaming . We essay by playing a course we ’d purchased from Apple ’s iTunes Store directly on the HomePod , as well as stream the same track from iTunes on our iPhone via AirPlay , and using AirPlay to playing the same track from Amazon Music . We ’re happy to confirm that there was no detectable difference in timber , although there can be some latency number with AirPlay which might be detectable if you are well out audio from a YouTube TV , for instance . This may have been improved fairly by AirPlay 2 , which go far with the iOS 11.4 update to the iPhone and the associated HomePod software on 29 May 2018 , but we still feel that there is a little slowdown . We ’ll talk about audio quality in more detail below .
When it come to the origin of the euphony you roleplay on the HomePod , the only real difference is the controls you have access to . If you are using AirPlay to rain buckets a racetrack from your iPhone via a service like Spotify , or from your iTunes library on that machine , you’re able to still need Siri to reverse the auditory sensation up or down and break the track , and you’re able to even ask Siri the name of the song . But if you are streaming a caterpillar track to the HomePod from Apple Music , iTunes in the Cloud , or your iCloud Music Library , for example , you will be capable to do more , for example , you could skip forward 20 seconds .
If you are act as music from Apple ’s library , you ’ll be able to assure the HomePod not just to play specific songs or record album , but also to resolve a whole legion of queries , including when a strain was record , who it ’s by , and even who the drummer on a cart track is . It seems that Siri can apportion dozens of details about the artist and the track that is work at the tiime . Unfortunatley it tends to forget what just played , so when we asked what the last racetrack roleplay was called , Siri was unable to recite us anything , pronounce : “ I ca n’t think back the last vocal you listened to ” . And yet , when we take Siri to repeat the last lead it was quite capable of doing so . Perhaps we are being pedantic , or possibly Siri just is n’t as clever as we hoped .
Initially when we get Apple Music up and running the HomePod experience still seemed to be overlook something . The first few time we ask Siri to “ Play some music ” it play incisively the same track from our library , as if it was set on a particular playlist . perchance it miss info about our favourite rail to be capable to build up a profile of our medicine savor . We hoped it would get a bit more sound after a few more daylight of use , in fact it has taken months of employment for it to be a short spot less predictable when we postulate it to play some medicine . This may have been due to a software update or it may just have learned more about our druthers .
There should be no dearth of euphony to play once you have Apple Music set up – but how easy is it to find music to listen to ? It ’s all very well being capable to expect Siri to play one of 50 million tracks , but does that mean you take to know what you want to listen to ? as luck would have it , you could discover medicine by asking a few questions .
We ask : “ Hey Siri flirt more by this creative person ” and “ Hey Siri play more like this ” . You could also try asking “ Hey Siri encounter some classical pianoforte music , ” or “ Hey Siri what euphony ’s popular flop now ” . If you do n’t like it , just ask Siri to “ act the next track ” . An update in iOS 12 brought the option to necessitate Siri to play a track for which you only know a lyric – we had some success with this , but it does n’t always work on . understand to play euphony on HomePod here .
What HomePod can do
It ’s proficient that you’re able to play medicine from third - political party services on your HomePod , but it ’s not a seamless experience and that ’s unbelievable to change any sentence soon as Apple does n’t appear to be quick to open up HomePod up to third - company apps .
What we would like to see is an app ecosystem around the HomePod , as is the guinea pig with the iPhone , iPad , Apple Watch and Apple TV . It is frankly abysmal that Apple has n’t allowed third - party developers to plug away their apps into the HomePod ( beyond request that developers with messaging , note demand and inclination take a crap apps test their SiriKit integration to make certain that the voice - only experience is up to rub ) . Even with that request , there ’s not really much in the elbow room of third party HomePod extensions .
For lesson , we ’d wish to be able to listen to receiving set stations on the HomePod . We are capable to do this on the Amazon Alexa because it shape with the TuneIn Radio app . But this is not potential with the HomePod unless you stream them from your iPhone via AirPlay . This may well change , the BBC ’s Worldwide VP Product Strategy Andrew Webb has said ( via this Apple Communities post ) that the BBC has the dream to “ integrate with HomePod and allow our consultation access to BBC service , but as yet , we have a go at it of no plans to allow third party software to operate via the HomePod / Siri ecosystem . ”
In term of third - party apps that do work with HomePod , we ’ve been able to get off a WhatsApp content via the HomePod , but initially we were n’t capable to get it to take one to us . afterward on , after more extensive usance , this protrude to exercise , perhaps due to an update on WhatsApp ’s part .
In price of Apple app support , you’re able to use the HomePod to get at your Messages , Reminders and Notes . Apple add together Calendar keep in the iOS 11.4 update and it also became potential to make phonecalls via the HomePod after the iOS 12 update . regrettably , even desegregation with those apps is n’t unflawed .
For example , while we can enquire Siri to read and reply to Messages we do n’t take heed an alert on the HomePod when one arrives , which seems like it should be part of the equation .
you may enquire Siri on the HomePod to prompt you to do something – although you have to give it a prison term to cue you if you require to get an actual qui vive . For example , we require to be reminded to go to a Doctor of the Church appointment at 11.10 . Siri on the HomePod told us that this had been lend to our reminder . However , we did n’t get a reminder from the HomePod .
Siri can create a line , and tot to the note . You could ask the HomePod : “ Hey Siri , create a note To do lean ” and then involve “ Hey Siri , append review HomePod to my to do list note ” . The usefulness of this look on how well Siri is capable to transcribe what you say and how much patience you have when Siri keeps create unexampled notes rather than add together to the one you are trying to edit .
As we observe above , since iOS 12 it has been possible to make a speech sound call from the HomePod – perviously you could use it as a speakerphone – but you first had to part or take the call on your iPhone before handing it over to the HomePod . Now you do n’t even need to pick up your iPhone , but you wo n’t hear the HomePod ‘ ringing ’ to have you know you have a call to respond , which seems like it would be coherent . We ’d love to be able-bodied to enquire Siri “ Who ’s call ” and then choose whether to answer it hands - costless on the HomePod .
you could ask Siri to diddle a podcast . We expect to act the UK Tech Weekly Podcast and it play the most late episode . We ask what the name of the podcast was and were told the episode title of respect . However , when we asked “ Hey Siri wreak the previous Podcast ” , it did n’t play the premature sequence of the Tech Weekly Podcast , instead it played The News Quiz , which is quite a unlike thing . Equally good , of course .
you may inquire Siri to set an alarm . you’re able to also place a timekeeper for 10 minutes , and having done so , ask Siri how much sentence is bequeath . We were able to set alarms and timers well . At least , unlike with reminder , Siri play the alarm on the HomePod . Another update in iOS 12 was the power to set more than one timekeeper , which could be utile if you are cooking in the kitchen , for deterrent example .
Siri can tell apart you about the Weather . You could ask “ Hey Siri : Will I need an umbrella today ? ” for example and be prepared before bequeath the house . We expect what the weather will be like on 1 March , which at the clip was 10 days off , and we were impressed that Siri was able to give us a forecast . We were less impressed when we expect : “ Hey Siri will it check rain down afterward ” and the reply was “ Yes , there will be rain later ” .
you may also ask Maps related questions , such as “ How long will it take me to get to body of work ” ( which will give you an estimation base on the clip it would take to aim to the location you have lay as your work address . ) It is n’t able-bodied to give you public transport instruction though , such as when is the next motorcoach to Ipswich . Nor can it give you details about your route , so “ How can I get to oeuvre ” wo n’t get you any helpful answers .
Siri will also help you out with data about local restaurants . call for : “ Is there a Indian restaurant nearby ? ” for example . Or “ Where ’s the closest Fish and chip shot shop ” . It will secern you the road it ’s on and the phone number of hotshot it ’s been ease up . We find out the destination details slightly confusing as it would give us the local townspeople , rather than the village or suburb it was located in . you could also involve for the detail of the closest restaurant to work , and “ What ’s a skillful eating place in Felixstowe ” ( worryingly the answer here was McDonalds , intimate that the local review and valuation should be take with a pinch of common salt ) .
If you are interested in summercater then you’re able to ask for the lots of the latest game . We ask : “ Who ’s winning the Winter Olympics ” .
We expect Siri on the HomePod if Black Panther was playing nearby and got the times it is playing at two local film . Randomly we also got details of the times it is playing at a cinema in Coventry , 121 miles off .
Speaking to Siri
Our biggest trouble was recollect to say Hey Siri . It ’s like the opposite of playing Simon Says with the HomePod brush aside you when you do n’t use the charming words .
There ’s also a bent to phrase your question to Siri if you want to get a useful response . Despite Apple ’s endeavour to get Siri to understand natural nomenclature , it for sure seems like Siri is listening out for sure key parole and phrases and it will opt to misunderstand you if you do n’t use them in the way you should .
One affair we noticed when Apple was present HomePod to us was the way that they were careful to pause after saying Hey Siri , at which dot the sound would lour and you could be sure that Siri was heed before contribute your instruction . It ’s full pattern , but it is n’t really necessary – Siri can hear you from the other side of the way despite how loud medicine is playing . But your experience will be a lot good if you give Siri a bit of aid when it comes to interpreting what you are asking it to do . In other give-and-take , gravel to the script .
Even when we espouse the formula , we were frequently frustrated by Siri ’s inability to understand what we articulate . Often it was n’t even an obvious case of mishearing us , sometimes the results seemed so far remove from what we ’d take for that we were curious about how Siri was interpreting our petition . take our tilt ofquestions you’re able to ask Siri on the HomePod here .
It is n’t just Siri , though . blab out to any Amazon Echo or Google Home owner and you ’ll hear the same tales of frustration . Put simply , no current voice supporter is truly intelligent . They merely have the show of intelligence . Read our comparability of the Google , Amazon and Apple speakers to seejust how honorable or bad the well-informed assistants in smart speakers are.(Spoiler : none of them are actually that good ! )
There are also issues with how Siri speaks to you : we found that Siri ’s pronunciation was n’t exactly spot on much of the sentence . Given that you’re able to necessitate Siri for local info about restaurants , and details about band , we ’d desire that its pronunciation of public figure would be a little more precise . We asked Siri to play “ Somewhere over the Rainbow ” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole just to see how it coped with the name . Perhaps if there was a Native Hawaiian Siri it might have made a dear attempt at the pronunciation .
you’re able to ask “ Hey Siri , tell me about the vocalist ” , and it will give you the first paragraph from Wikipedia . you could get Siri to retain to read the Wikipedia entry . For all Apple ’s attempt to make Siri sound more born , the vocalization still sounds very robotic . This is dissatisfactory when compare to Alexa and other alternatives , which go much better .
Perhaps the best example of Siri ’s inadequacies issue forth when we call for “ Hey Siri change off ” and got the reply “ I ’d like ‘ tuh , but I can not , my apologies ” .
Sometimes it feels like Siri is still in beta .
HomePod and HomeKit
As for HomeKit equipment , the HomePod works with the Home app to control any overbold devices in the house , such as turning off lights , or ending blind . As long as the wise gadget works with HomeKit you should be capable to control it by verbalize to Siri on your HomePod .
We have an Elgato Eve Degree gizmo for monitor temperature and humidity , and it mould as expect . Once it was set up in the iOS Home app we were able-bodied to ask Siri on the HomePod to severalise us what the temperature was in the way where it was located .
Since the HomePod is also a Home Hub , its ability to communicate with the Evo gimmick is not dependent on the iPhone being on the mesh . It can peach directly to HomeKit devices and allow you to control them remotely when you ’re out and about .
The disappointment when it comes to HomeKit is that many sassy base devices do n’t put up the touchstone . If your heating plant is control by a Nest thermostat , for example , you are out of circumstances because that does n’t work with HomeKit . If you have a house with band of HomeKit gadgets , the HomePod will slot into your set up nicely . But when it comes to controlling those gadgets you do n’t need the HomePod to do so , you could just as easily expect Siri on your iPhone or Apple Watch .
This is an important level . HomePod is a speaker with Siri built in . It ’s Siri that control your heating system , answers questions , add to notes , and reads Messages . It ’s not the HomePod . These are all things you may do without having a HomePod in your house . Just ask Siri on your iPhone , iPad or Apple Watch .
HomePod sound quality
First and first off the HomePod is a speaker . Everything else it does is a bonus . Apple ’s focus on design the unit was forthright on audio rather than make an avatar of Siri that would scat your animation from your kitchen ( though it can also do that ) . Some people may be disappoint that Siri ’s artificial intelligence has n’t reached genius level yet , but we do n’t that anyone will be disappoint by the sound grow by the HomePod .
Apple secernate us that HomePod was designed to make for music the manner the artist intended you to hear it .
Inside the HomePod is a gamey - outing woofer with a custom amplifier . In unmistakable English , it signify that despite being a relatively small utterer , it can move a lot of gentle wind . In twist , this means it can produce a lot more bass and volume than you ’d expect .
To do this , there ’s a motor labor the contraceptive diaphragm so it moves 20 millimeter peak to peak – which quite a feat in a speaker this size . There ’s also an array of seven beamforming tweeter , each one with its own amplifier . The design allows for “ precision acoustics with tremendous guiding control , ” according to Apple . That means that the HomePod can render eminent - absolute frequency sound in all directions and create profoundness .
But it ’s the software go on the A8 check locate inside the HomePod that makes it potential for the HomePod to cede the high - faithfulness audio frequency . The A8 is the same central processor that powers theiPhone 6andiPad mini 4 . Apple explains how “ innovative algorithms powered by the A8 chip analyse the euphony , dynamically and endlessly tuning the low frequencies and mechanically conform the acoustics for the good sound experience . ”
Apple does n’t just adapt the bass voice and treble according to the track the HomePod is act as though , alteration are also made agree to where the talker is located . HomePod ’s spatial knowingness technology run across it scan the infinite it is in and optimise its audio output to take into account the size of it , soma , and any obstacle . This will even work if you have more than one HomePod in the same way , and they ’ll work together to each output the idealistic audio for the room ( this feature film will hail as part of a future software update ) .
As a outcome HomePod should sound just as good hide on a shelf as it would placed on a table in the centre of a way . And if you move the HomePod the work up in accelerometer will tell it so , and it will mechanically calibrate again .
We listened to the lively variation of Hotel California by the Eagles and it really did feel like we had the dance band in the room with us , and the detail was astounding . The HomePod sounds awesome with just about any musical style of euphony , from jazz to classical to pelvic arch - hop and tonic .
Part of what the audio frequency processing does is to separate out the tool and vocals so you could see each one individually – if you listen carefully . It also conduct to a much cleaner , less muddy phone compared to other smart speaker . Obviously , it ’s in another league from anything in Amazon ’s range but as we mentioned before , but you’re able to hook up a £ 49/$49 Echo Dot to a high - end HiFi if you like .
An iOS 11.4 update at the oddment of May 2018 buy new audio feature to the HomePod . Apple ’s speaker is now be capable of multi - room support and stereo system separation , features that were n’t available at launching , despite being offered by the challenger . The software update also introducedAirPlay 2 . We take a feeling at how this new lineament works here : How to set up two HomePods as a stereo yoke . It ’s also possible to set up two speaker in different rooms for multiroom stereo .
To size up the rivalry you might like to read ourbest multi - elbow room utterer articleand our comparability with the other fresh speakers on the market here : Apple HomePod vs Google Home vs Amazon Echo .
Whether you are an audiophile or just a music fan , you ’d struggle to detect a good go speaker at this terms . Let alone one that also offers smart speaker features . We have someuseful HomePod tips here .
