HomePod review

In response to the voice of the user, you do something research or play music remotely.A convenient item that can assist a little human life, "Smart Speaker".

Since the emergence of "Amazon Echo" and "Google Home", it has been spreading mainly in Europe and the United States, but since these products have landed in Japan for the first time in 2018, the existence of smart speakers is gradually in Japan.It has begun to penetrate.

In such an atmosphere, Apple also released the company's first smart speaker "HOMEPOD".It was originally scheduled to be released in December 2017, but its release was delayed to improve quality, and it was finally sold on February 9, 2018.

HomePod has many rated, such as "excellent speakers but not good as smart speakers", but how much is that true ability?

In this review, we will explain what kind of performance HomePod has.I hope it will be a source of judgment whether to buy HomePod.

HomePod is equipped with a familiar audio assistant "Siri" in Apple products.By calling "Hey! Siri!" As usual, it is possible to perform various operations with voice, such as playing music with Apple Music, setting a timer during cooking, and examining the weather of the day.is.

Check the appearance of HomePod

HOMEPOD is released only in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, unfortunately, Japanese users cannot purchase (postscript: It was released in Japan in August 2019. The price is 36,080 yen).。I usually live in Japan so I couldn't buy it, but fortunately I stayed in New York in the United States from the beginning of this month, so I was able to buy a little foot at the local Apple Store.is.

By the way, I want to check the product design of HomePod at once.This is HomePod purchased locally.The package is 17cm in width, height 23.A 5cm rectangular body.Weight is 2.Zushiri with more than 5kg.

The package has a large print of HomePod and the product itself.

When I opened the package, there was a foundation for fixing HomePod, and HomePod was so fit there.

The power cord is wrapped under the HomePod, and when the HomePod is lifted, it can be taken out with the HomePod itself.

I put it on the desk.HomePod has two colors, white and space gray, but this time I purchased a space gray model.There is a sense of luxury like the iPhone and Apple Watch space gray model.

Everyone knows that Apple is particularly particular about the design of the main unit, but it is the same in HomePod.

First, about the mesh fabric that covers the cylindrical body.Not only is the tactile feeling very pleasant with a fluffy softness, but it is easier to hold the body for the size and weight.The mesh fibers also seem to be used with high quality, and there is an overwhelming luxury compared to other smart speakers.

Many smart speakers have an operation button at the top of the main unit, but the same HomePod is equipped.

However, in the case of HOMEPOD, it is a large touch screen instead of a button, and some operations can be performed by touching with fingers.It is indistinguishable where the edge of the screen is, and the design is completely integrated with the body and the screen.

This touch screen has a mechanism that changes the display depending on the situation, and the animation that beats is displayed when starting up, and it tells you that it is being set up.

In addition, after the setup, the light is basically turned off, but if you say "Hey! Siri!", You can call Siri with a rainbow -colored icon.In addition, it is possible to call by continuing to press the middle of the touch screen.

The volume control button is always displayed during music playback.In addition, the icon is not displayed, but the music can be played or stopped by touching the " +" and " -" buttons that adjust the volume.It can be used when stopping the timer, so you should use it when you are in a hurry.

By the way, most of the Apple products, most products have Apple Lingo, but I don't know where HomePod is usually placed.Because it is on the bottom of HomePod.

The bottom is silicon material

If you turn the body over, this is the street.However, it seems that no one is used horizontally in this way, so there will be few opportunities to see the logo unless you put it on a transparent table of glass.

What I personally surprised was that the HomePod power cable was very sturdy.Speaking of Apple products, the familiar Lightning cables used to charge the iPhone or iPad, and the USB-C cable for charging MacBook come to mind.

The power cable can be pulled out by pulling it quite strongly, so it is not tested because it is afraid of failure.

These cables are famous for their ease of disconnection.Especially the Lightning cable.However, the HomePod power cable is covered with a mesh, and there is no image that is quite sturdy and broken.If you want to break it, it seems that it will be intentionally destroyed by tug -of -war or jumping rope.

I don't know why I'm using such a sturdy cable, but the reason is probably 2.It is thought that the cable is made so that the cable is not easily disconnected when a 5kg HomePod falls.By the way, the repair cost when the power cable breaks down is set to $ 29 (about 3,300 yen).

The length of the power cable was 160cm or more

There is one point that HomePod is better than other smart speakers.It means that there is no need to worry about filling other outlet holes when connected to an outlet because the power adapter is built into the main unit.

For example, Google Home.The body size is compact and cute, but in fact, the power plug is quite large, and if it is an outlet of a general home, multiple holes will be occupied.This is very important, although it may be detailed, assuming that there are many rooms with many appliances such as living rooms and kitchens.

Setup is the easiest in the smart speaker industry

HomePod setup is very easy.

When HomePod is connected to the power supply, HomePod starts with a pleasant sound effect.After that, when the iPhone is approached, a pop -up for setup is displayed on the screen.The image is an AirPods setup screen.

There is not much to say that it is a setting, just set the language used and the room to install the main unit.

By the way, HomePod is only compatible with English so far (postscript: currently compatible with many languages such as Japanese), but all settings can be done in Japanese.After the setup is completed, the settings can be changed from the "Home" app.

HomePod also has a function called "Personal request", and if you turn it on, you will be able to send or read the message described later and create a reminder memo, so if there is no inconvenience, the function is turned on.It would be nice to keep it.

If you have any inconvenience, you may be read by your family and others.If you have privacy that you don't want to be known in your family, we don't recommend turning on the function.

What is the performance of "HOMEPOD"?

By the way, I have mentioned the design of the HomePod itself so far, but I would like to mention the feeling of use and performance of HomePod from here.

Hearing ability is quite excellent among smart speakers

First, about the basic performance of HomePod.Smart speakers are basically operated using voices, but to use them comfortably, they need the ability to accurately hear the user's voice.It is a part that can be said to be the "liver" of a smart speaker.

In this regard, all smart speakers are relatively excellent, but HomePod is quite excellent.However, the best one is the microphone instead of the Siri, and the microphone picks up the voice even from a place that is more than 3m away, so you can call Siri anywhere in the room.

The important Siri's ability is the same as Siri on the iPhone, for better or worse.The English version of Siri has a higher understanding of the Japanese version and can deal with some unreasonable tasks.I got the impression that it was very easy to use because the answer could be quite slow.

However, the Japanese version of Siri cannot be answered as flexibly as English, and can operate messages, reminders, listening to weather forecasts, stock prices, investigating, and operating smart home appliances.That's how you can do a general smart speaker.

"HomePod" is the industry's highest level of sound quality

This time about the sound quality of HomePod.When talking about HomePod, the story of sound quality is indispensable.Because Apple sells HomePod as a smart speaker that emphasizes sound quality.In fact, the staff of the Apple Store Grand Central Station, which I purchased HomePod, was fully appealing to it.

HOMEPOD is equipped with large woofers and seven tweeters facing each direction, and has a rich bass and a high -pitched treble throughout the room.When I actually listened to the sound, my ability was considerable compared to other speakers, and I clearly found out why Apple sells sound quality.

Apple features a well -balanced earphone and speakers, but this time HomePod is more powerful and increased.It is a sound that resonates on the floor and the floor, and is ideal for music with the bass.I haven't tried it yet, but it may be suitable for watching an action movie.

The expression of the treble is also quite good.The beautiful melody line of the piano can faithfully reproduce the sound, so it's as if you are listening to live performances in front of you.

What I particularly liked was that the sound spreads uniformly throughout the room, so I can enjoy music in the same sense in any position.It was a difficult experience with other speakers, so when he first played music with HomePod, he was deeply impressed.

I have Amazon Echo Plus and Google Home, but the sound quality of HomePod is incomparable to these products.I compared it with Google Home Max, which also emphasizes sound quality, but its ability is almost the same.It's OK to think of it as the highest level in the smart speaker industry.

Is it surprisingly small that you can do "HOMEPOD"?

Speaking of smart speakers, it may be useful in all phases, such as being able to say weather forecasts, hands -free calls, reminding important schedules, and can also shop with voices like Amazon Echo.However, as mentioned above, HomePod is a smart speaker with high sound quality as a weapon.

The current situation is that there are only a few things you can do, not like "anything shop" like Amazon Echo.The functions that I actually used are mainly as follows.

Such

Unfortunately, you can't shop with your voice, but HomePod can do basic things such as reading news and emails, listening to the weather forecast, and telling the stock price like Amazon Echo and Google Home. ing.

The "Reading of News" functions can play the news podcast.It seems that it is not possible to regenerate Japanese podcasts yet, but when I tried it locally, it was possible to play podcasts in major news such as the Washington Times, the NY Times, and USA Today.

However, in the case of HOMEPOD, each function is various restrictions.For example, if you want to play music, you can play music purchased from Apple Music or iTunes Store, but when you play music in the iPhone, you need to play with AirPlay every time.In other words, it is necessary to manually output from the "Music" app.

また、SpotifyやGoogle PlayミュージックSuch他社の音楽配信サービスから直接の再生は不可能。これらも、AirPlayを使ってiPhoneやMacから音楽を流すことはできるが、声による指示で音楽を聴くことができるのはあくまでApple Musicもしくは購入済みの曲のみに限られる。

さらに、Bluetooth経由による音楽再生ができないため、Android端末Suchを使って音楽の再生をすることは実質的にできないようになっている。この辺りは、まさにAppleらしい仕様だ。

HomePod has other inconveniences.What I personally feel dissatisfied is that "hands -free calls cannot be smart."

Currently, most Apple products can receive incoming calls on the iPhone on other devices on the same network, but this is not possible with HomePod.To make a hands -free call with HomePod, you need to manually change the audio output destination from the phone app to HomePod.

However, as mentioned earlier, HomePod's built -in microphone has a very high hearing performance, so calling with HomePod is very comfortable.You can continue the conversation wherever you are in the room.Also, except when you are talking so that you do not pick up the voice of the caller, it seems that HomePod is automatically turned off the microphone, so even if the other person's voice is loud, howling is caused.It does not cause discomfort to the other party.

This is a sober and amazing function, but I personally dissatisfied the inconvenience of the hands -free function.Maybe it's Apple's consideration to prevent anyone in your family from coming to the phone, but I would like you to make a phone call from HomePod and receive it.

Another inconvenience that feels inconvenient is that it is hardly possible to use other than Apple services because the door is not open for third party.

例えば、Google HomeSuch他社のスマートスピーカーは「radiko.Radio real -time playback is possible from JP ", but HomePod is not available.Eventually, the day may come to the third party, but it's a pity that such expandability has not been prepared so far.

Using HomePod requires control of smart home appliances.It should be noted that only products that are compatible with "Homekit" can be controlled, but if you are compatible with HomePod, you can remotely control home appliances in the house with voice.

I tried to measure the temperature of the room using EVE DEGREE, a smart thermometer, but I was able to safely say the temperature of the room.He also succeeded in controling the air conditioner in the room and the lighting of the house.These can be done from iPhone and iPad, but HomePod, which has a high reaction rate of "Hey Siri", will be suitable for smart home hubs.

If you touch the touch screen, you may be clearly visible due to the light hit of the fingerprint.

By the way, it is natural that it is natural, but until HomePod is officially compatible with Japanese, Japanese users are restricted in some functions for using English HomePod.That is, if you use a reminder and schedule creation, messages reading functions, and the creation and transmission function of messages and emails, it is necessary to match the Siri language settings of the iPhone with the HomePod setting language.

At the moment, HomePod is limited to English only, so if you use this feature, Siri on the iPhone will not be able to speak Japanese.If you don't want to change to English, you'll have to wait for HomePod to respond to Japanese (postscript 2019/08/23: HomePod was released in Japan and officially supported Japanese).

Is "HOMEPOD" lower than other companies' products?

Apple, who has continued innovative products to the world, has been unusual for smart speakers.

Already in the market, the Amazon Echo family and Google Home families have been widespread, and many other third -party manufacturers have appeared in many smart speakers.In order for HOMEPOD, who appeared in the form of a follow -up, win the performance to defeat these existing products.

However, contrary to expectations, HomePod's ability as a smart speaker is not so high, and some people may find it disappointing.

There were many evaluations among preceding reviewers that "the performance as a smart speaker is not good but the sound quality is high", but I think this evaluation is generally matched.

This evaluation may be within expectations for Apple.Most of the smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home can only be done with iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Maybe Apple was not so aggressive in the development of smart speakers, because he thought that there was no need to create a product that separated only Siri.

In fact, Apple has little HomePod dedicated functions, and the user who pays $ 349 (approximately 37,000 yen) is Siri, who always listens to the user's voice.And it is a speaker for music playback with a very high sound quality.It's a shopping that is never a good deal.

However, it seems that HomePod is not a bad terminal if it can be regarded as a "versatile helper" who can handle anything, but as a high -quality expansion speaker.

Of course, there are many issues for HomePod to be recognized by everyone.However, depending on the future update, they should be able to evolve as much as possible.At present, although the inside (software) loses to other companies, the outer surface and qualities (hardware) have quite good.

Within 2019, the implementation of the "multi -room audio" function and the "stereo speaker" function is promised, and I personally look forward to these updates.In addition, since its release in France and Germany has been announced this spring, it will not be so far away that it will be released in Japan if the number of compatible languages increases at this pace (postscript 2019/08/(postscript 2019/08/.23: HomePod was released in Japan and officially responded to Japanese).

However, I just want to say this.If you care about the price, such as "buying if the price is less than $ 200," you will surely be happy not to buy HomePod.

Because they listen to what they say rather than HomePod, there are many more "smart speakers" products in the world.My personal recommendation is "Amazon Echo Plus".There are many things that can be cheaper than HomePod, and the sound quality is the highest in the "Echo" series.

Certainly, the price of HomePod seems to be too expensive than other products.Therefore, if a cheap HomePod comes out, it may find it attractive, but probably a low -cost model will not be more convenient than HomePod, and the sound quality will probably deteriorate.

If you are wondering which smart speaker to buy, the answer is easy.If you value your skills as a smart speaker, you can not only have a function as a smart speaker but also a high sound quality speaker.I would be grateful if it could be helpful for choosing a smart speaker.

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