SPEAKER A SMOOTH OPERATOR
IT’S smaller than a football yet loud enough to wake the neighbours.
So is Apple’s HomePod smart enough to beat Amazon or Google?
Apple’s first smart speaker, HomePod, is so exacting, so finely tuned, that you may stop mishearing words to your favourite songs.
The tech giant’s compact speaker so clearly excels in the audio department it decimates the muddier, sometimes distorted efforts of its rivals.
But in a world in which smart speakers promise to do everything from washing our clothes to deciding what’s for dinner, does HomePod do enough to catch up?
HomePod is a solid and compact unit with no feet to stick out, no gaudy branding, and no ugly buttons – just a touch-sensitive panel and light atop the device.
Setting up Apple’s speaker is just as simple, involving a power source and instructions that appear on your Apple iPhone, iPod or iPad.
It’s no accident one of its first suggestions is to request music: This is a device created to get Apple Music subscribers streaming tunes throughout their homes, and it works whether you ask for a particular song, artist, or musical genre or mood.
At full volume, you’ll wake, annoy or win over your neighbours – and perhaps their neighbours too.
You can quiz Siri about a track’s title, its artist, or its album while a song is playing and she’ll read you reviews or biographical details from Wikipedia and other sources.
You can also command Siri to play the news from sources including the ABC and SBS, ask her about cricket or soccer, find the nearest sushi restaurant, locate movies screening near you, convert dollars into euros, or set alarms, appointments or reminders.
However you must use an Apple device to set it up, and Google Android users will only be able to send songs to the speaker using Airplay.
HomePod also only streams songs directly from Apple Music rather than the wider choices offered by Amazon and Google.
Given its volume, this smart speaker could easily replace an old-school, outdated stereo system – cassette decks and all – and would deliver better sound.
HomePod is also simple to use, rarely misunderstands users, and provides enough intelligent additions to prove a useful household member.