HomePod

Bob24

AidenL wrote: »

But is that just Airplaying to it, selecting the station on a phone or IPad?

I wasn’t able to use Siri to control radio station selection when I had a HomePod, I presume that still not changed?

Yes that’s just AirPlay, no direct access from the HomePod.

Creamy Goodness

TuneIn doing Siri Shortcuts is the best you'll get. Apple - and rightly so - believe traditional radio is dead.

Bob24

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

TuneIn doing Siri Shortcuts is the best you'll get. Apple - and rightly so - believe traditional radio is dead.

Depending on what you mean by traditional radio I’d disagree with that.

If you’re saying it’s all going online and FM radio transmission is dead as a technology to broadcast the programmes, yes.

If you’re saying the idea of live audio broadcast is dead (which is what TuneIn is), I couldn’t disagree more.

OU812

Finding Siri less responsive since the update. Anyone else?

To be honest, it’s pretty useless as is. Much as I dislike google, I’m considering getting one for the home automation side of it & just keep Siri as a speaker

peteeeed

OU812 wrote: »

Finding Siri less responsive since the update. Anyone else?

To be honest, it’s pretty useless as is. Much as I dislike google, I’m considering getting one for the home automation side of it & just keep Siri as a speaker

nope mine is working fine

Franz Von Peppercorn

Bob24 wrote: »

Depending on what you mean by traditional radio I’d disagree with that.

If you’re saying it’s all going online and FM radio transmission is dead as a technology to broadcast the programmes, yes.

If you’re saying the idea of live audio broadcast is dead (which is what TuneIn is), I couldn’t disagree more.

She probably means via a FM receiver. Apple run their own live radio shows on t’internet.

Bob24

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

She probably means via a FM receiver. Apple run their own live radio shows on t’internet.

If that was the message I would agreee with it, but then I don’t see how TuneIn would be part of that old world as they are precisely in the business of live internet streaming.

Darwin

Just picked up another homepod from currys uk, got a nice discount as it was listed as package damaged but unused. They sound great in stereo but it was an awful faff to get the new one recognised and updated to ios 12. I already have a stereo pair of Beolit 15's, the homepods have just as much bass but definitely sound better on the high end. Haven't turned them up yet, but I get the impression they will be pretty loud.

prionnsias

If anyone's looking for a way to play radio through the homepod using siri an app called Radio shorties seems to do the job. You can create siri shortcuts for your stations. Your phone or iPad have to be on the same network for it to work and it still works over airplay but it seems decent enough.

Vudgie

I got a HomePod and I notice that you have to have the language on your iPhone set to UK for it to be able to access the calendar etc.

Are there any downsides to this apart from maybe Siri not recognising some Irish references etc?

jpt1980

None that I’ve noticed

Vudgie

When I ask the homepod to access my calendar it says that the language must match my iPhone.....both are set to English (UK)....am I missing something?

jpt1980

Vudgie wrote: »

When I ask the homepod to access my calendar it says that the language must match my iPhone.....both are set to English (UK)....am I missing something?

Siri has to be set to the English male or female voice on your iPhone first

flashf1

Selling one of these (white) over on adverts.ie if anyone interested, bought two, but find I'm just using the one. Bargain!!

they've just dropped the price where they sell it.
In UK its from £319 to £279,
still not available here however... at the moment :rolleyes:

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-homepod/homepod
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/04/apple-cuts-homepod-price-worldwide/

sean72

Hi all, I know the HomePod can connect to the Apple TV as an airplay device. I’m sure that’s fine for music but what’s it’s like for the audio from video sources like Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video etc. Are there any lip sync issues??

Also would you say it’s a decent replacement for TV speaker?

lynchd24

So the support for asking Siri to play radio stations is live. Can ask to play newstalk and a few other Irish stations (from TuneIn) but it can’t understand “Play radio station RTÉ .......”. If you say r, t, a to Siri in your phone it does sometimes work but the HomePod does not like fadá’s

Anyone figured it out yet or a work around?

5uspect

lynchd24 wrote: »

So the support for asking Siri to play radio stations is live. Can ask to play newstalk and a few other Irish stations (from TuneIn) but it can’t understand “Play radio station RTÉ .......”. If you say r, t, a to Siri in your phone it does sometimes work but the HomePod does not like fadá’s

Anyone figured it out yet or a work around?

You can search for radio stations from the Apple Music HomePod interface on your iPhone/iPad.

prionnsias

lynchd24 wrote: »

So the support for asking Siri to play radio stations is live. Can ask to play newstalk and a few other Irish stations (from TuneIn) but it can’t understand “Play radio station RTÉ .......”. If you say r, t, a to Siri in your phone it does sometimes work but the HomePod does not like fadá’s

Anyone figured it out yet or a work around?

I can get most Irish stations working okay. You have to be quite specific when asking for the station. Like with Newstalk I ask for newstalk 106-108fm and for RTÉ radio 1 I ask for the full station name.

whippet

sean72 wrote: »

Hi all, I know the HomePod can connect to the Apple TV as an airplay device. I’m sure that’s fine for music but what’s it’s like for the audio from video sources like Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video etc. Are there any lip sync issues??

Also would you say it’s a decent replacement for TV speaker?

A single unit wouldn't be a game changer - decent enough but i've a stereo pair in my living room with an AppleTV and for PrimeVideo and Netflix it is great - the two HomePods are at either end of the room behind the couch

brav

They are a great speaker but NOT a replacement for TV speakers as it is only AirPlay so not everything will play through them and in the Apple TV there are time you have to start the AirPlay again of you change to YouTube etc, but when you are Air playing to them they do sound great.

3DataModem

My entire family is in the Apple ecosystem and on a UK family music plan.

Considering getting a better smart speaker for the downstairs living area (audio quality on echo dot sucks).

Is homepod a no-brainer? Any drawbacks I need to know?

PaulT21

3DataModem wrote: »

My entire family is in the Apple ecosystem and on a UK family music plan.

Considering getting a better smart speaker for the downstairs living area (audio quality on echo dot sucks).

Is homepod a no-brainer? Any drawbacks I need to know?

I too am on the  ecosystem but would not buy the HomePod. Its expensive and not too versatile imo.

On the other hand I have a number of Sonos Speakers which work perfectly via Airplay 2 and you can get two of https://www.sonos.com/en-ie/shop/one.html for almost the same price of a HomePod. These can also be used for surround sound with a Sonos Beam or similar which I don't think Apple does.

These, https://www.sonos.com/en-ie/shop/one-sl.html are the exact same with out the voice assistant. Great speakers imo:D

3DataModem

PaulT21 wrote: »

I too am on the  ecosystem but would not buy the HomePod. Its expensive and not too versatile imo.

On the other hand I have a number of Sonos Speakers which work perfectly via Airplay 2 and you can get two of https://www.sonos.com/en-ie/shop/one.html for almost the same price of a HomePod. These can also be used for surround sound with a Sonos Beam or similar which I don't think Apple does.

These, https://www.sonos.com/en-ie/shop/one-sl.html are the exact same with out the voice assistant. Great speakers imo:D

Appreciate the advice. Can the Sonos play Apple music natively without airplaying from a phone?

PaulT21

3DataModem wrote: »

Appreciate the advice. Can the Sonos play Apple music natively without airplaying from a phone?

Not too sure if I am understanding what you mean, but Sonos have their own App with can play 20 and more streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer etc.

https://www.sonos.com/en-ie/home

https://www.sonos.com/en-ie/listen-your-way

3DataModem

PaulT21 wrote: »

Not too sure if I am understanding what you mean,

What I mean is, can I initiate radio stations, apple music playlists, etc with voice commands on the homepod without having to touch my phone?

3DataModem

Update: got homepod.

Really liking the voice recog feature so different family members can initiate calls, SMS, etc from their own apple ID... didn't think I'd use that.

Sound quality is amazing.

fifth

How did you manage to buy these, can you buy straight from the UK Apple site? I am thinking of getting two of these, but wondering if there'd going to be a model refresh soon.

Creamy Goodness

fifth wrote: »

How did you manage to buy these, can you buy straight from the UK Apple site? I am thinking of getting two of these, but wondering if there'd going to be a model refresh soon.

You can buy off the UK apple site, just use a delivery address in the UK like Parcel Motel / Address Pal etc.

You can also buy off the likes of places like John Lewis and Currys (again using Parcel Motel etc) as they're currently much cheaper there £199 vs £279.

I'd love to pick up 2/3 of them for the house, but what with https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#HomePod stating there has been rumours of a cheaper model incoming I'm holding off.

If a cheaper model exists I could see me getting 1 big HomePod and then 2/3 smaller ones for other rooms.

eeloe

Since i got these i've completely got rid of Alexa in the house.

Siri x homekit just works so much faster for Philips Hue. Only slight annoyance is i have to use Yonomi and Shortcuts to be able to use the Logitech Harmony Hub to control the TV and soundbar, as they aren't natively supported by Homekit.

The sound from them is amazing, have one in the living room and one in the bedroom. I'm holding off until this years event to see if a cheaper model is being released, if not, i'm gonna pick up at least 2 more for the kitchen and the landing.