Apple HomePod Review
Apple's HomePod ($349) sounds great, but it's shortsighted. It's a high-quality smart speaker for your Apple Music account and iTunes library, with some Siri voice assistant features that help especially with smart home usage. The hardware is excellent, but right now, Apple doesn't have the broad vision for voice-assisted living that the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant platforms show.
Looking at voice platforms as the next world of computing, the HomePod seems very lonely. Alexa and Google Assistant are systems, and they become more powerful as they spread through your house. Your living room Home Max is complemented by your kitchen Home Mini, which you use to broadcast, "It's dinnertime," to the kids' rooms. Your bedside Echo Spot wakes you up to music, and then you tell the Echo Dot in the foyer to turn off the lights when you head out on your commute. The HomePod is priced, sized, and skilled to be a living room music speaker for other Apple devices.
In that context, the Hom...
The HomePod excels as a high-quality smart speaker for listening to Apple Music, but trails behind Amazon and Google when it comes to voice control.
Powerful audio performance with rich, full bass; Measurement mic adjusts audio according to your room's acoustics; Visually pleasing design
No Bluetooth streaming; No aux input; No voice control for non-Apple music services; Siri is behind the competition; Leaves rings on some wooden surfaces