I recently purchased an Apple HomePod for myself as a little b-day gift. After living with the speaker for a while, here is what I can offer. 1. Set-up is perhaps the easiest I've ever done for a network device. Plug it in, hold your iPhone near it, and it automatically starts the set-up for you. Click a few buttons on your phone to complete the set-up and you're up and running in like a few minutes. Very nice. 2. Once set up, using the speaker is amazingly simple, yet feature-rich. "Hey Siri, play some Coltrane", or "Hey Siri, play Music for Airports by Brian Eno" and in about 2 seconds, it starts playing. Too loud or quiet? Just say "Hey Siri, raise/lower the volume" and it'll take care of that. 3. Ask it the weather, or what your appointments are for tomorrow. It seems like it can pretty much do it all. 4. The "ring" issue. Some people have found that the speaker can leave a ring on some wood surfaces. You can go ahead and buy a little $10 stand to put it on. I just used a folded piece of paper. Works great. 5. Let's talk about sound. Plenty of reviews talk about the great sound, and for its size, the sound is impressive. Don't expect your HomePod to sound like Tannoys or a nice pair of vintage Klipschorns, but the sound is pretty good. It's an active speaker, so it adjusts its sound reproduction based on its surroundings. So don't worry too much about where you're putting it. It can adjust. Speaking of Coltrane, I played "A Love Supreme" and was actually impressed. The bass solo sounded pretty decent, not as muddy as I would expect a small woofer to be. The drum solo sounded relatively tight. The piano was missing a bit of brightness, but still more than passable. Sax just stood out nicely. Overall, the sound was more natural that I was expecting, and definitely better than the artificial sound you'd get from a similarly-sized speaker from Bose. 6. Volume control. You can tell it to raise or lower the volume, or tape the plus/minus sign on top. I do wish the volume increments were a bit smaller, though. Raising the volume sometimes is a bit too high and I wish it could raise it just a little bit less. But this is a minor issue in my book. 7. The power cord. OK, yeah, I'm making a point of the power cord. They actually give you a decent-length cord! I know this seems like a small issue, but I do get tired of getting electronics that have these short, dinky power cords. In all, I think this would make a fine addition to your home, assuming you are well-invested in the Apple ecosystem.

This speaker sounds amazing. I have a full Sonos 5.1 (Playbar, subwoofer, and two Sonos 1's) setup in my living room. Last night, I brought the HomePod into the living room to do a side by side test. While the $350 HomePod is not as good as the $1800 Sonos surround system, it really held its own. Unsurprisingly, the Sonos offers more separation of sounds. There's over a dozen combined tweeters and woofers in the setup, physically located throughout the room. In spite of the HomePod's distinct disadvantage, it still sounded good in comparison. I was expecting it's sound like a transistor radio next to the Sonos system, but it didn't. There's a $1400 difference between these systems, but the sound difference doesn't sound like a $1400 difference. It sounds like maybe a couple hundred dollar difference. The great thing about this speaker is how it can get loud without sounding like it's getting loud. The tones stay clean and undistorted. Thought it's one speaker, it distributes the sound throughout the room. If you were blindfolded, you could certainly tell the sound is coming from one point, but that's always the case unless you have a surround system. I've also owned the Google Home Max. I liked that I could get a family plan for Google Play Music and not really pay any more per month because we're also Youtube Red subscribers. One less subscription in my life is a good thing. However, the Max almost never worked as advertised. I was constantly on the phone with support, who did a valiant job trying to fix my problems (the speakers would no longer take casts from my phone, music uploaded to the Google servers would not play via voice commands, and multiroom was intermittent). On the sound front, the Google Home Max sounded great playing anything with lots of bass. If you're into dance music, rap, RnB, etc., and don't mind the bugs I've listed above, then maybe the Max is for you. My main complaint with the Home Max sound was that it sounded loud, even if it wasn't turned up all the way. I'm tempted to say it overplayed the mids, but I'm not a true audiophile. Maybe that's why I didn't think it sounded that great playing rock/metal/jazz. I've found the HomePod matches the Max in those categories of music, while soundly bettering the Max in playing rock, classical, and jazz. People make much of the Max's bass, but I think the HomePod delivers a better bass with less distortion, especially at loud volume. Now, there's Siri. She's a mess at most things. However, when it comes to getting music to play on the HomePod, she's quite good. Google Home and Alexa might know more, but Siri is better than both of them when it comes to responsiveness for playing music. When I had the Home Max, I'd have to yell at it in the morning to turn off my alarm (I also had white noise playing in the room as it helps me sleep). You have to speak about as loudly with the Home Max as the music it's playing. With the HomePod, I can whisper for her turn off my alarm and she gets it. Would I ask her for directions, or who's playing in the game tonight? Or add an event to my calendar? Or set multiple timers? No. I wouldn't. She's not that smart. But, asking her to play a song from my music library or shut off an alarm? Absolutely. Much has been made of the fact that HomePod doesn't "support" Spotify. However, that's only true in the sense that you can't voice command Siri to play your Spotify playlist. You can play media from any app that supports Airplay. That includes Spotify, Audible, podcast apps, and even Google Play Music. Much has been made of the fact that HomePod doesn't support Bluetooth, to which I say, good! Bluetooth is a horrible technology, and anyone who's struggled to get their phone to play nice with the Bluetooth setup in their car knows exactly what I'm talking about. Airplay is a much superior technology and Bluetooth should go away. I'm giving 5 stars because I'm completely satisfied with my purchase and plan on getting more of them in the future (I have two right now). It's not a perfect speaker, but it does what I want it to do without hassle and it does it well. Pros: - World class sound for a small speaker. - Attractive design. - Easy setup. - Works as advertised without constant calls to customer support. - The speaker has great ears and can hear you whisper commands. - Executes music related commands extremely well. - Doesn't support Bluetooth but executes via Airplay flawlessly. Cons: - No multiroom yet. (Apple has promised it in Airplay 2) - No multi HomePod stereo. (Again, promised in Airplay 2) - Siri is a poor excuse for a personal assistant. It can't make calendar events or multiple timers.

I started out with a HomePod. Eventually, I caved after reading all of these reviews on the Google Home Max and returned the HomePod to purchase the Max. I ended up regretting it of course and went right back to the HomePod after just over a week. The Google Home Max certainly feels premium and it sounds great if you sit right in front of it, but that's not ideal when moving about the home/room. Also, in the space allocated in my room, it just didn't look or sound right. The speaker sat on a desk in my room (reference photos) and then angled across the room to another much larger corner desk. The sound was inconsistent, but very pleasant if I sat directly in front of it. I enjoyed interacting and learning various aspects of Google Assistant… indeed, quit a bit more enjoyable to use than Siri outside of basic commands. I also appreciated that there was a lot of smart home support and that I could purchase cheaper Home Minis to set around the house and not break the bank. I had planned on even converting to an android phone just for better support with Google Assistant and the pursuit of a smart home (glad I didn't, actually upgraded to the iPhone X instead of S9 after ultimately deciding on the HomePod). Well, the Google Home Minis could hardly respond or hear me with music playing (they performed fairly well in a silent room). Unfortunately, the same occurred with the Google Home Max. Voice commands became a disappointing chore and I didn't like walking up to the speakers and strategizing how they could best hear me to respond since they were hit or miss when the speakers were actively playing sound... this was the fatal flaw for me… Yelling at the speaker while playing music to get a response was ridiculous. Also, there's no text support as of yet with the Google Home Max. Siri offered text support and I use it fairly regularly. I would appreciate it if the HomePod added support for initiating calls by voice as well. I also liked that Google could differentiate between various users. At the end of the day though the HomePod won my heart with such effortless and seamless use. I enjoyed being able to talk with a normal tone and use commands with Siri hearing every word while I studied to soft music, added reminders, requesting business close times and phone numbers to local stores/restaurants, giving basic calculations, listening to the news or just jamming out to an upbeat song. Another refreshing aspect of the HomePod is that it just sounds consistently amazing anywhere I am in the room and that's an all new experience for me with any sound system. It also looks descent nearly anywhere I place it due to the circular/tubular design… I appreciate not having to angle/position it. Ultimately, I choose HomePod because it just works, and it works well as a music player that can share basic info, text, set reminders/timers. My impressions were that Siri is borderline mindless compared to Google's AI, but Siri is dependable, understands me the first time and works flawlessly and beautifully with what she does do. She does most of the basic tasks I need. There may be hope for Siri in the future in regard to the lacking intelligence. Apple most certainly has the financial resources, won't sit ideally by, has the manpower to improve Siri in due time. I ask Apple to improve these things: A more interactive and intelligent Siri. Add ability to add events to a calendar. Add support for multiple users. Cheaper speakers for smart home use. Add the ability to call out with voice commands.

Pros: - Sound quality is great; far superior to my existing Echo. - Product feels high quality, all the way down to the fabric textured power cable. I’d have been upset if this came with the generic Apple plastic white cable that inevitably gets dingy/yellow and begins to fray. - You can use other music services outside of Apple Music (via AirPlay), just not natively. I’d prefer natively, but listing this as a pro because I have seen some misleading posts saying services like Spotify cannot be used at all. That is incorrect. Cons (most regard it severely lacking as a smart speaker): - Cannot set multiple timers. Especially when cooking, I’ll often have multiple timers going on my Echo. - Inability to recognize different people. This one is especially annoying if you want to be able to receive/send calls or texts through the HomePod. The speaker is linked to my phone. Even if I’m not around, anyone with access to the speaker can send or receive messages from me (if the option is enabled), despite the fact they are not me. My options are to either disable the feature entirely, or be aware that anyone (friend or family) who is near the HomePod, would have unfettered access to my messages/calls. - Siri in general is lacking. For instance, if I ask Siri if it is going to rain, all I get is a “yes” or a “no”. If I ask Alexa the same thing, I get a percentage chance of rain and expected amounts. Several other instances, but just one example. - No ability to use other music services (i.e. Spotify, Tidal, etc.) natively with the device. As listed above, it is doable through AirPlay, but this comes at the cost of more in depth voice commands. - Was foolishly hoping the Nest would become HomeKit compatible since Apple made HomeKit authorization digital now (no longer requires physical hardware). That is not the case. Another thing to keep in mind, Apple’s control over smart home items is limited to HomeKit devices. More may come soon with recent changes to HomeKit, but if you have anything from Google (like the Nest) don’t get your hopes up and factor into your purchase decision. Conclusion: Overall, the speaker is great, for a speaker. As an introduction to a smart speaker? Not so much. I would only recommend this (currently) to users who are subscribers to Apple Music, primarily use Apple mobile devices, and who have HomeKit enabled devices. Many of my complaints can be resolved via over the air software updates. However, I’d say don’t buy and wait for that to happen, wait for that to happen and THEN buy. Apple is far less likely to address these complaints if they get solid sales of the device out the door.

The HomePod is something really special that will expand its options as updates come available over time. The sound on this impeccable piece of engineering is absolutely INCREDIBLE. I’m a audiophile at heart. I have to have the best of the best when it comes to sound. This has 7-speakers that offer crisp and clear keynotes that can make you hear things that you normally couldn’t in the smart speaker world. I also have a Sonos and believe me when I say this that the sound comparison between the Apple’s HomePod and the Sony’s Sonos has a marginal gap. I was blown away by how impressive the HomePod sounds. The microphone also has pretty good range. I was 3 rooms away and Siri picked up what I said (with kids running in the background) and played 80s Rock. That was impressive for a small but heavy speaker. Speaking of heavy. That is due to the magnet that is in this speaker. The bass that comes from this thing is MIGHTY impressive. I’ve had friends come over during the weekend and they never guessed it was coming from the HomePod. They thought it was my Bose Home Theatre system that I usually have on. Needless to say they were blown away as it knows where it’s sitting by using sound waves reporting back to the device so that’ll it’ll adjust to any room setting. On another note. This is is limited for now. If you don’t think Apple won’t open the HomePod up to other apps and add new features then you obviously don’t know Apple. For now if you can be a little patient until Apple releases updates this year and can just admire the sound quality the HomePod has then its for you. It’ll eventually be able to connect to other devices within time. Everyone just has to be patient. That shouldn’t stop anyone from buying a speaker to listen to music via Apple Music, iTunes and Spotify. Overall, The HomePod is an incredible sounding machine. Apple spent 6 years in development to get the sound perfect and they did just that. Now they will focus on updates throughout the year to improve what’s already THE best sounding device in my home. Go get one especially if you’ve invested in iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music!!

I waited nearly a year to purchase the HomePod until it went on sale for a not inexpensive, but much more reasonable price for an innovative and well executed speaker design. I took some time to “burn in” the speaker components with a variety of music styles, something done with higher end speakers in expectation of bringing out audio warmth and fidelity. I even placed it in a bay window enclave to act as a sort of speaker horn enclosure so as to enhance the projected sound. Such were my high hopes for how well the HomePod might perform. After all, it had been hyped and compared to higher end stereo equipment due to its genuine technical advances in speaker design. Its WiFi only input maximized the digital music information the advance computer chip could upscale for the multiple speakers calibrated for each personalized listening area. Well, it turns out not to be the aural renaissance of bookshelf audio systems, an unrealistic expectation Apple perpetrated upon itself for this device. Nonetheless, it is a compact and competent sound system that produces music with enough quality to lose yourself in it, absent of harsh or distracting distortions in the musical reproduction. It is a joy to merely ask for whatever song or album comes to mind from memory or suggestion and then be able to listen effortlessly to faithfully reproduced music. That said, and despite being a fan of the Apple ecosystem who harbored high hopes for how well the HomePod would perform, it is evident that it is not, and never will be a high-end bookshelf speaker system that transforms the music from the mundane into some superlative version. Moreover, it is ironic and frustrating that in trying so hard to be more than it is via strict audio source inputs, it is transformed into less than it could be if only Apple would “jailbreak” the HomePod. For starters, it could at least allow Bluetooth 5 audio connections for input. That would unleash it as a top-notch Bluetooth speaker free from depending upon a WiFi network, freely accessing whatever sound sources were available to the listener. A USB-C input would be a cinch winner also, simultaneously inputting audio and charging the audio input device. Yes, I know that would impinge on the revenue stream from Apple Music that is the real money to be made by Apple with the HomePod, but it would enable a moderately high-end audio system and an ultimate midway audio system. It would likely be the preeminent sound system for small-spaces like apartments, dorms, offices, RV’s, work spaces, sheltered exterior spaces, etc. At the same time, doing so would not prevent it serving as the aspirational sound system Apple envisioned. It would dovetail nicely into maximizing their high-dollar X series phones that now have Bluetooth 5, which seemingly allows virtually lossless digital streaming rather the the garbage in, garbage out hyper-compressed digital formats inherent in previous Bluetooth iterations. As it is, the HomePod has garnered a precious small percentage of the smart speaker market as they have virtually required an Apple Music subscription to make use of their speaker. In pursuit of their version of the perfect sound system, Apple has destroyed the very good, and for most customers of a device like this, good enough is perfect. That still leaves the not-so-smart-speaker problem of poor, dear, simple Siri’s incompetence at summoning anything but Apple Music (or most anything else reliably) that severely limits HomePod's utility as a go-to music and other listening device. That one will not go away until Apple develops the in-house talent to build Siri out as seemingly envisioned originally, or the in-house vision to develop her by building out that talent however those billions of earnings might increase product value. Then Siri might just tell me she does not have access to Willie and Lobo in her music catalogue rather than giving me some random Willie Nelson album.

I have never been reserved about investing in new Apple products, up until now. This product had me perplexed, but my curiosity got the best of me. I pre-ordered, cancelled, then pre-ordered again and received the product on Feb 9, despite shipping info that it would be Feb 12. I am a "modified" audiophile. Having grown up in the 70's, I experienced and purchased all things audio. Albums, tapes, CD's, and hardware. Was dissapointed with the degradation in audio quality. Digital files killed me, but it is what it is, or was? I gave up my "heavy" audio equipment a few years ago and went to a home of small pods that were supposed to sound "amazing." and be accessible in a digital fashion. None of them excited me, but they did the trick. I went through B&O, B&W Zeppelins, etc... It all sounded great, but not soul filling. Opened the Homepod from Apple and set it up. It was totally easy to set up, but confusing to understand where in my "space" to put it. I chose a corner. After the setup, it took a day to appreciate the sound quality. It was different, not good or bad, just something my ears have not heard or been used to. Played with different genres of music to get a better feel for it. Miles Davis, Journey, Coldplay, Brad Paisley, Led Zeppelin, and of all things, the Churches (who have amazing electronic music). It almost felt like the Homepod needed a day to "breathe" and get its lungs. The Homepod woke up, and started to provide amazing sound that I cant describe, just amazing depth. This is a "small" speaker, but the sound that comes out of it is not only unreal (for its size) but beats anything I have owned before. I am embarrassed to say that I want to gift my B&W zeppelin and B&O small BT speakers to family, because they served me well for a while. No matter where I am in my home, I never have to yell at the homepod. Its a simple "Hey Siri, do this" and it gets done. I have not had any mistakes out of the voice recognition, which simply amazes me. I have been yelling at Amazon Echo's from 20 feet away to get a simple task done. I would suggest buying this, easily. I am still amazed at what Apple did with the sound quality and its ability to "listen carefully" to commands. So far, so good. I am a firm believer Apple is poising this device to take over home automation. This is a test period for them to understand what HP capabilities are.

To get this out of the way upfront, I am in the Apple ecosystem. I have iPads, iPhones, and MacBook Pros and like the way they work together. In its current form, this is not a product for everyone. I would think it would be practically unusable if you weren’t at least partially in Apple’s ecosystem. If you want the device to stream music from an internet source, you need to have an Apple Music subscription. I don’t, but I have iTunes Match so this device can stream my music from the cloud. Unlike other devices, like my Echo, it doesn’t support Pandora, Spotify, etc at this time. You can use AirPlay and send these sources to your HomePod from your phone, iPad, MacBook, but not without. The sound quality is very good for its size. It is able to fill the room, sounds clear and crisp, with a good overall sound. Some reviews complain about too much bass. I can see this being true, as it does seem to emphasize bass a little bit. I haven’t noticed it to be a problem in the genres I listen to (Country and Classic Rock primarily). As far as a smart speaker, it does a great job of hearing your spoken commands. I think it exceeds the competition here. Siri almost never miss hears me or ignores me. I can’t say the same for Alexa. Siri has gotten a lot better since this was released. There are still some things she ‘can’t do on this HomePod’ but overall is pretty good. I have to take away one star because of one problem. Being in the Apple ecosystem, I wanted to have Siri add things to my grocery list, reminders, send texts, etc, and I get told the iPhone that was used to setup HomePod must be on the same Wi-Fi network much too often when it is sitting right next to me. I do think it is a 4 star product with the other limitations mentioned above because it generally does everything it promises to do very well. If you are unaware of the limitations, you may be disappointed. Another thing to consider is the color. I went with the black because the white was dirty immediately after being taken out of the box.