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The amount of discussion going on in the comments section of my First Impressions videos of Apple’s new HomePod is super cool. But there are a few questions surrounding Apple’s new HomePod concerning how will it work and what exactly can you do with it outside of listening to music that apple has conveniently left unanswered. Now, I'm not hating on the HomePod we’ve gotta see how it does when its released in December. But These are my top 7 questions concerning the Apple HomePod. If you have any questions of your own comment below and lets keep the discussion going! And please hit that like button!
First up is connectivity, reporters that got a first look at the HomePod after Apple’s WWDC17 keynote got some good up close and personal video. In those videos you can clearly see theres only one cable going into the HomePod, the Power cable. But I didn't see any USB ports or Auxiliary ports on the HomePod. Granted the ports might be hidden on the bottom of the device, but interestingly enough Apple’s site makes no mention of the device having either of those ports. I’m just saying, having either of those ports might be important. What if I wanted to use my HomePod as an external speaker for my iMac Pro and i wanted to use a wired connection cause I wanted to get the best sound quality from what ever is playing off of my computer? and the same goes with my TV.
Photo Credit: Mashable.com
Also, Apple’s site makes no mention of the HomePod having bluetooth so how is it going to connect to your phone? And please don't say magic… Under the wireless specs it says that the speaker has 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi with MIMO. So will I be able to connect non apple devices to the HomePod? Or is the HomePod going to be exclusive for apple devices? If you're just communicating with the HomePod over Wifi does that mean if your wifi is down then you cant use your HomePod?
And what about streaming services? Obviously it’ll work with Apple Music but can you use Spotify or any other service? Cause I have an iPhone, but I’m a huge fan of Google Play cause you get to stream all the music you want, you can store music locally, and you get a subscription to YouTube red which means you can watch youtube videos ad free all while supporting creators. And can you store music locally on the HomePod? Cause again, what if the wifi is slow or down or you're just not in an area with wifi. How are you going to play music if the HomePod has no connection.
Also what about the wake word? if you have multiple apple devices and you say “Hey Siri” are they all going to activate? Or is siri going to be smart enough to know that if your iPhone is connected to your home wifi default to the HomePod? But what if you’re home and your HomePod is in the living and you’re in your bedroom with your iPhone and you say “Hey Siri” to your iPhone is the HomePod in the living room going to start talking? Or is siri going to be smart enough to know you’re in a different room in your house and it should default to your iPhone. The simple solution is just using the mic to determine which device should activate, but what if you're standing near both devices and you want to activate a specific one?
And are you going to be able to connect multiple apple accounts to your HomePod? cause apple made it very clear that they want to make the HomePod your musicologist. So if i say “Hey Siri DJ for me” I'm going to expect it start playing some Rap, EDM, HipHop, or R&B. But if my dad comes over and says “Hey Siri DJ for me” he's going to expect some completely different music. And if i say “hey Siri add so and so event to my calendar” I'm going to expect that event to go on my calendar and not someone else’s. or is the HomePod going to be locked to just one account?
Also what about its spatial awareness, will the HomePod automatically know where it is or are you going to have to calibrate it yourself? and what if you move it? are you going to have to recalibrate again? Cause with my Xbox One, if I move the position of the camera i have to recalibrate it very single time or else the voice commands wont work.
Also what about ordering stuff online? with the echo i can say “Hey Alexa, order 5 pounds of flaming Hot cheetos” and it’ll order that from Amazon for me. I’m not saying I do, but its a hypothetical. Does Apple’s and Amazon’s new deal go a little deeper than just having Amazon Prime Video on the Apple TV? Will you be able to pair your amazon account to your Homepod and order stuff with the sound of your voice? or less likely, is Apple going to jump into e-commenrce and start selling stuff on line too. I doubt it.
Look, Apple has never been first at releasing their products. They weren't first when they released their MP3 player, they weren’t first when they released their smart phone, they weren't first when they released their tablet they weren't first when they released their smart watch, and now they weren't first when they released their smart speaker. But they always took their time so they could deliver the best user experience ever. Apple is going all in on music consumption when it comes to the HomePod. And new information and changes will come until Apple’s HomePod is released in December. And until then we wont get the answers we’re looking for. But it sure is fun to speculate.