APPLE HOMEPOD
With the HomePod, Apple is entering a big race after its competitors have already completed several laps. Amazon and Google have been iterating on their smart speaker hardware and software solutions for a couple years and have already sold tens of millions of Echo and Home devices.
After missing its initial “late 2017” release date, the HomePod has landed with glaring omissions and limited functionality. Apple’s smart speaker avails itself well with superior audio, but it’s a little startling to see a new product ship late, into a highly competitive market, in such an obviously unfinished and uncompetitive state.
The HomePod is tough to recommend, even to Apple enthusiasts, in its current state. Fortunately, its woes are related to software and services, so there’s nothing wrong with it that can’t be addressed in future software updates.
APPLE DESIGN ON DISPLAY
The HomePod is surprisingly small. It’s about the same size as the Sonos One, only slightly fatter. At 6.8 inches tall, it’s only about half an inch taller than an iPhone 8 Plus. And it’s exceedingly well-built, too. Typical Apple design and craftsmanship is evident, from the surprising heft to the soft padded mesh wrap to the over-engineered LCD that pulses as Siri listens to your commands.
There are no physical buttons, just a touch interface on top. There are plus and minus signs to adjust volume, and a glowing, undulating middle area for everything else—tap to play/pause, double-tap to skip forward, triple-tap to skip back, tap-and-hold to invoke Siri.
Even the power cord is better-made than that of its contemporaries, with a nice braided cover. But the cord is a great example of how “Apple design” can serve as both compliment and criticism: the cord is attached in such a way that users are not meant to ever remove it. If your dog chews it up, you have to
