Early HomePod Consumer Reviews High on Sound Quality, Mixed on Siri Functionality
After HomePod's first week on the market, customer reviews are coming in for the Siri-controlled speaker, with sound quality leading the “pros” lists and a variety of complaints topping the “cons.” The smart speaker had 89 reviews Thursday afternoon at Bestbuy.com. HomePod had an average 4.1 rating out of five with 79 percent of customers saying they would recommend the product. Reviewers were heavily skewed to the Apple ecosystem, we found.
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Customer Krahnin, with only a two-star review, applauded HomePod for sound quality “far superior” to the Amazon Echo’s and a high-quality feel “down to the textured cable.” Krahnin referenced some incorrect reports that HomePod doesn’t work with music services other than Apple Music, noting it plays other services, “just not natively.” Cons were about functions not related to music: Unlike the Echo's Alexa digital assistant, Siri can’t set multiple timers for cooking, and HomePod can’t recognize different people in a household, said the reviewer. “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.” Krahnin also lamented smart home control is limited to HomeKit-compatible products.
User Aaron gave HomePod five stars for sound quality but said, “Siri is not as smart as Alexa.” Expanding on the streaming music limitation, Aaron noted voice commands work only with Apple Music: Spotify users, for example, have to connect via AirPlay on their phone before they can issue basic voice commands to Siri such as “pause” or “turn up the volume,” he said. But if a Spotify user asks for a particular song, the speaker goes directly to Apple Music, he said.
In a four-star review, JR243 praised sound quality and Siri functionality. The one drawback: When HomePod is paired with Apple TV to use as a sound bar, it will unpair when used as a music speaker “so you have to keep going back into the settings on the Apple TV to pair again.”
Techjunky, who owns several Apple products, said HomePod “just misses the mark,” with sound quality equal to that of the Sonos One. Siri, said the reviewer, “does very little”: It can’t check or add calendar items, recognize a song that’s playing and can’t answer a call. Although a call can be switched to the speaker, performance as a speakerphone is lacking because callers said “I sounded far away,” wrote the reviewer.
On the aesthetics side, Techjunky complained of the black HomePod’s tendency to collect dust “like crazy” on the shiny circle atop the unit. “You can wipe it off and 10 minutes later it’s all cloudy looking and dusty” detracting from the overall look, said the person.
Aesthetics was an issue among tech media reviewers Wednesday, with outlets including Wirecutter reporting the base of the HomePod leaves whitish rings on some wood surfaces. Apple added a section devoted to placement of HomePod in its support section on what was trending on Twitter as #RingGate. “It is not unusual for any speaker with a vibration-damping silicone base to leave mild marks when placed on some wooden surfaces,” Apple said. “The marks can be caused by oils diffusing between the silicone base and the table surface, and will often go away after several days when the speaker is removed from the wooden surface. If not, wiping the surface gently with a soft damp or dry cloth may remove the marks. If marks persist, clean the surface with the furniture manufacturer's recommended cleaning process. If you’re concerned about this, we recommend placing your HomePod on a different surface.”
Apple-focused outlet MacRumors posted Thursday a Tom’s Guide photo showing that competitor Sonos One also leaves a mark on wood furniture. “It is not clear why Apple did not inform customers about the possibility of white marks on wood, as this is presumably an issue the company had to know about following the HomePod's extended beta test with Apple employees and the years of development that went into the product,” MacRumors said.