Apple HomePod
APPLE’S WAY OR THE HIGHWAY
APPLE ONLY HAS the one smart speaker on the market at the moment, the HomePod. Consistent with the Cupertino company’s strategy in other product verticals, this is not the most full-featured entrant in the market, nor does it compete well from a value-formoney perspective. However, Apple has correctly identified that driving sales in this category isn’t necessarily going to hinge on the smart assistant capabilities. At least, not this early in the game.
The HomePod is unabashedly a premium audio speaker first and smart voice assistant second, and as such, it’s packed to the brim with enough audio components to make other speakers in this category cringe with embarrassment. A unique array of seven beam-forming tweeters — each with their own amplifier and transducer — produces a remarkably wide soundstage that reaches you wherever you happen to be in the room, while the built-in spatial awareness technology automatically optimises the audio output based on the speaker’s location in the room (ie. whether it’s against a wall or not). It’s also clever enough to equalise the sound levels based on the song it’s currently playing.
If you’re upgrading from a portable Bluetooth speaker, the HomePod’s audio quality will be a revelation for your eardrums. The bass reproduction is tightly controlled, but boomy enough to pull off bottom-heavy tracks with gusto. We’re not talking Beats-level bass here, but the HomePod opts for a more accurate sound over emphasising the lower registers. In fact, all of the frequencies are reproduced equally well with exceptional clarity.
But if you’re looking to play songs through anything other than Apple Music, it’s a bit of an uphill battle. You really only have two choices: you can play music directly through the speaker using an Apple Music subscription, or you can stream any music that’s currently playing on an Apple device (including MacBooks and iMacs, or a Windows PC running iTunes) via AirPlay.
The lack of auxiliary input means you can’t connect an external music player (such as a TV, laptop or smartphone) with an audio cable. Nor is there a Bluetooth option.
Importantly, you won’t even be able to set the HomePod up in the first place if you don’t have an iPhone or iPad. Not even a MacBook and iMac will suffice — it has to be an iOS device.
As a smart assistant, the HomePod has some serious catching up to do. While it can perform most of the functions available on an iOS device using Siri, there are notable exceptions, such as making calls (you can only hand over calls that have already been initiated from your iPhone) and checking your calendar. The HomePod can control smart home devices like Philips Hue lights, Elgato Eve Motion and August Smart Lock using voice commands, but the list of supported devices are skimpy compared to its Amazon and Google rivals.
If you happen to fall within the small niche of users who won’t be phased by the HomePod’s limitations, the good news is that it’s an outstanding audio speaker. But if you’re specifically looking for smart assistant functionality, you’ll get much better value from one of the other platforms.
THE HOMEPOD IS UNABASHEDLY A PREMIUM AUDIO SPEAKER FIRST AND SMART VOICE ASSISTANT SECOND, AND AS SUCH, IT’S PACKED TO THE BRIM WITH ENOUGH AUDIO COMPONENTS TO MAKE OTHER SPEAKERS SIZE CRINGE WITH EMBARRASSMENT.