Thoughts on the Homepod
Black HomePod photo from the Verge
Apple announced the Homepod 🏡 would go up for preorder last Friday. I have mixed feelings on the Homepod. One one hand I use Apple Music and all my connected lights and thermostat are HomeKit compatible, but on the other than I am happy with my Google Home Mini’s. I would like a nicer sounding speaker 🔊 and the extra Apple integration with stuff like Reminders, iMessage, and phone calls, but I’m not sure if it’s worth it to me. I was an early adopter of the Apple Watch ⌚️ and loved it. The only difference I guess is that I have always been a fan of watches and never really an audiophile. I listen to a lot of podcasts on Pocketcasts 🎙 and Audible Books. 📚 on my phone. I’ve seen the Apple being the yin to the Airpod’s yang 🎧 , meaning the AirPods are portable audio for everyday use outside the house and the Homepod be quality experience. Renie Ritchie from iMore has referred to it as “Retina for your ears”. I guess I’m more interested in the Homekit controls than I am the audio controls. If I buy one the premium audio is an extra plus, but I guess what I would really love is a HomePod half the price that I can distribute through my apartment. I’m moving down to a 1x bedroom apartment in a few months and while I do most of my listening in my living room, I would like to listen to music in my bedroom at night. If Apple announced a smaller $150 HomePod I would be all over that. I just don’t see myself buying $700 in speakers 🔊 for my place. There are other smart home gear I would like eventually purchase like an August Smartlock 🔐 and the Logitech Circle 2 Cameras 📷. I don’t know. I’m looking forward to seeing what reviewers have to say about it. Maybe if it had Spotify I wouldn’t be as hesitant to purchase one. I got Spotify family for my family as a Christmas 🎄 gift last year and would like the option to be able to fall back to that if so desire. The lack of non-Apple Music 🎶 options kind of annoy me I guess. I mean, I’m all in on the Apple Ecosystem, but one of the things I’ve always enjoyed about using Apple 🍎 hardware is getting to use the software 💻 and services that I prefer. For years I have been mixing Apple hardware/sofware and Google + Microsoft services. I have found that works best for me professionally, academically, and personally. Maybe with WWDC we’ll see more APIs for 3rd party music providers and podcast providers to plug into Siri. Maybe that will make me more interested in putting down that kind of money on the HomePod.
