Why HomePod?

Recently, the hype around Apple products has been high, with new and exciting technologies being released every few months. In 2016, we got a huge new factor for the MacBook Pro line, the touch bar. And, from then on, it seems like the only improvement that we have seen would be the iPhone X, though it was a large improvement. And, at WWDC 17, Apple released the HomePod, but, is it anything new?

The simple answer is no. Throughout the past few years, we have seen a surge of smart speakers come to the market, a new form of tech that could and most likely will have a huge impact on our lives. Smart speakers have the ability to reduce the amount of phone and screen time, instead, you are talking to a speaker, or your personal assistant, to ask it the questions that you would normally ask your smartphone or laptop. We have all heard of the Amazon Dot lineup, and the Google Homes, but recently the most hype that the Apple community has heard would be the HomePod. Finally, we have got a smart speaker with our favorite personal assistant on it, but, is it all that it is cracked up to be?

If you were to open your iPhone right now, and ask siri a question, chances are that you would get a short audible answer with a visual link or extended information attached. Now, this seems like it is going to make a tough transition for Siri to a speaker. While the assistant who sometimes freaks us out, is still meant for a screen, we are pushing it towards a speaker. This seems to be a lot like when Siri was brought to the Apple watch, it was always telling you to pick up your iPhone to continue the search. That was annoying, and it seems like this problem is going to continue right over to the HomePod.

A third problem with this lies in the main reason that you buy this. We want music. And, Apple was able to listen to that when it brought Apple Music to us, a paid service, unlike any of the existing music softwares, which… seemed to solve the problem. Now, our expectation comes that we should be able to enable an external music source to this HomePod, an expensive speaker and assistant, but, that is not the case. We are limited to only the Apple Music service. While this seems to not be a large issue, not being able to enable third party skills, such as with the Amazon Alexa’s, is. We are limited to only the software and code that Apple has put into this product, and as of now, developers are still unable to work with HomePod, even though it has been announced for a little over 9 months.

Now, there are some definite downsides to the new Apple HomePod, but there are also some fair positives to it as well. Firstly, by looking at the specifications of this device, it is something that is going to make any sound geek gawk, for sure. The built in newer technologies are something that is going to improve your experience as well. The fact that the ability for the speaker to understand the acoustics of the room is amazing, being able to adjust it’s many speakers to best suit the area it is in; as an ability that the best dream of having.

As well as great sound and abilities, the HomePod also comes with an ability that no other smart speaker on the market has. The ability to both send and receive both phone calls and text messages, as well as iMessages, directly from the HomePod. While, this may seem like a downside, you are not calling another HomePod, you are calling or texting another individuals number or Apple ID, meaning that they are going to receive it on any of their products. This is a huge improvement for it, as it is going to set itself as having an upper class ability compared to the others. Also in this area, the speaker and smart assistant has the ability to enter a hands free mode, meaning that it could read your incoming text messages for you, if for say, you were in the middle of baking a cake.

All in all, the new HomePod is an amazing feat of engineering yet again. The cost of this is something that is going to drop you on the floor, $349, comparatively speaking to the Amazon Echo, having a lot of the same features at a fourth of the cost. Though there are a few improvements that we would all like to see in the possible future generations and software updates, it is still a machine that is going to be able to out do a lot of what you need it for. Right now, would I get a device? Simply put; No. I believe that the HomePod is going to be a great device for everyone to use, but right now, I think that it is not quite there, and it still is going to need some work. The future of HomePod awaits...