🔴 CHECK OUT 🍿- Top 10 Everyday HomePod Uses! Why You Need One - ua-cam.com/video/oty5zxs0uoc/v-deo.html 🍿- Top 10 Everyday Apple Watch Uses! Why You Need One - ua-cam.com/video/687RhgGGSiY/v-deo.html
Hello Vincent, yeah I didn’t mention it since Amazon came out with the feature last year around this time. It sounds like a cool feature I plan on implementing tonight. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the overview! I love my Homepods, paired up in stereo in the living room of my cottage. I know that I haven’t used much of the other features, and I’ve learned a few things today. Gonna get a mini for the kitchen. Good video!
Hi Craig, I have Beats Solo Pro. It’s like having HomePod for my ears. With Her Siri I can control my music, run shortcuts, make phone calls and send messages. I love it.
I’m am deeply submerged in the Apple ecosystem. I have two HomePods and just got my HomePod mini and I love them! Like you were saying, if you are a serious apple user you can’t beat it and the sound quality is the best. Even on the mini. The only negative is the lack of current integration with other smart devices. I hope apple really opens things up in the future.
I purchased the HomePod last week, tried it, and returned it. Regrettably, I found it was too limited and lacked true integration with other devices. I hope Apple seriously expands HomeKit and brings the HomePod down in price. Then, combined with the Minis, it may be more justifiable.
I do not have one. Shortcuts are crazy. They can be really simple or get deep. Here is a guy that worked for the shortcuts company Apple bought. ua-cam.com/users/MatthewCassinelli For a more down to earth HomeKit channel with some shortcut tutorials in there is this channel. Tell Shane I said hi if you check him out. ua-cam.com/users/ShaneCreates Thanks for watching.
Favorite smart speaker? I use Alexa a lot, but I like Google for answering questions. And I'd like Homepod for the integration. Ok so I use all three. I'm a geek, so why not? I'm just glad that Apple finally released a more affordable speaker. I think we will start to see more products and features now that it's in the every day user range.
My HomePod mini was attempted to be delivered today but I was in the shower when the postman came... Doh! Really looking forward to getting started with it tomorrow and hoping to fully transition from echo devices and generic smart plugs to HomeKit enabled stuff!
@@PatrickMondor do you have any recommendations for products? I’m undecided whether to go with the Eve energy or Philips Hue smart plugs and similarly I don’t know whether Hue, LIFX or Nanoleaf bulbs are the best! Any idea what I should go for? :)
Not sure if the feature was already out, but another key feature is the HomePod spatial audio feature , also know as theater mode. Then you can use the HomePod together with your Apple TV for virtual Dolby atmos sound!
4:30 I like how siri says "OK Craig" I know it always say "OK, what's the message" or "OK, it's done" never heard it responding "OK " Is this exclusive to HomePod or does Siri always respond you that way?
It's because home pods can recognize up to 6 household voices. Siri puts their name in her phrase, to confirm the person the text or phone call is coming from
HomePod is a fantastic speaker-phone because, in addition to the great speakers it has, it also has an incredibly sensitive array of microphones paired with advanced software that can isolate speech from background noise. You can see this in action when giving voice commands to it speaking softly from far away in a noisy room. It is able to hear and understand you. This same capability makes using it as a speaker phone a good experience for the people on the OTHER end of the call as they can hear you clearly and without the usual echoing effect when using a speaker phone function.
I have a homepods mini on my desk. When I connect it to my mac mini and click the Siri icon, the homepod glows as if I want using the mac. The integration is the part I like.
if you want to use other devices, you can use homebridge (open source and free on a Raspberry pi) allows you to control these devices with Apple's Home.
I've ordered a HomePod Mini, due for delivery in December. Have an Apple TV4K that's my HomeKit hub. Have a smart TV w/AppleTV built-in so don't need A-TV-4K. How do I transfer HomeKit Hub from A-TV-4K to make my new HomePod Mini my new HomeKit Hub?
No need to transfer. When you add the HomePod, it will become the primary hub and your ATV will become a secondary hub/standby if the HomePod is unavailable.
Shortcuts might be the reason why I will stay with an Apple phone. They can do so much. Nice work around for non homekit stuff. Curious, can you tell your phone to announce something and will that announcement announce on the homepod? Great video. Thanks for the info.
The level of demand for these tiny HomePod minis is quite high, the more homes they are in the more feature requests apple will get, which will in turn lead to the HomePod feature set growing quicker than it has been, which will eventually lead to 3rd party app support. It in happened with the iPhone and with the watch. Fingers crossed it comes soon
Can the mini homepods do everything the regular homepods do? I have a regular sized homepod, considering an echo for another room to connect to a larger older speaker, but the mini speakers are pretty cheap!
Yes and no. You can’t connect the minis to an Apple TV and use them as the audio source for the ATV, and the way it generates the audio is a bit different than a HomePod. However, minis act as a HomeKit hub, can connect in stereo pairs, use intercom and have Airplay handoff just like its big HomePod brother. If you already have a HomePod, a mini would be a no brainer.
Great review. You brought up many good points for iPhone users. I was wondering whether this can be used in a stand-alone mode by just speaking to it or does it require an iPhone for Siri & connectivity. For example, could it be used by a person in a nursing home without an iPhone over Wi-Fi
Hi thank you for your help with the apple shopping list it’s working great. Good video today my home pods mini are on order. If I’m out with my iPhone will the wife be able to ring me using home pod. Thanks
Thanks for a great overview of HomePod's special features! I love handoff and I can't wait to try the others. HomePod's audio quality is superb - my favorite original feature!
Hey Craig, actually if you have an AT&T mobile account you can make and receive calls with Alexa. Just have to attach your account under communications.
Thanks Rodney, I have heard a couple people saying that. I think it is cool if you have att and can use it. But since Amazon hasn’t implemented it across all Alexa supported phones, I personally don’t consider it a feature to base a purchase on. But that’s just me. Thanks for checking out the video.
My Hand off feature does not work at all for me, I have reset the settings and device, also restarted the HomePod and phone and still nothing. anyone have any tips!!
As per our chat on Twitter (smart home collective) I really think Apple have touched on something that Amazon/Google have missed. Yes it's pricey but the tech and integration to iPhone is the premium element
I don’t think you’ll be able to do that. But I haven’t tried it. It would be another audio source And in theory should work. But you might find some lag and not be able to actually talk back using the HomePod. I think the Mike is only going to work if you make a phone call
For 1:25 Amazon recently partnered with AT&T, so you can answer phone calls on your echo speakers. HOWEVER, ATT pre-paid users are not able to do so, and I am one of them... sad;)
Craig, I appreciate your review but I honestly feel those 5 features aren't significant enough to justify switching from Alexa or Google to Apple. I think Apple has done too little too late for them to be viable contenders in this space. And honestly, the Homepod doesn't integrate as well with other IoT as the other guys.
Thank you. I can appreciate what you are saying. I think their are a lot of Echo and Google Assistant users that are very content. Then there is a small percentage that are jumping ship now that the HomePod mini is out and Apple is doing more. Apple is definitely way late to the game. I can’t imagine a lot of people to do the switch. But I do think for people who are looking for options, there are some great features that Apple offers too. I know I am in a unique spot I get to play with all the smart speakers. So it’s easy for me to say get them all and enjoy the benefits of each. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
I have to disagree. As Craig pointed out the integration with the iOS platform is excellent. If you have an iPhone and are in the Apple ecosystem, the HomePod is a natural evolution. In regards to IoT devices. I have tried Wink, SmartThings, Google Home and Alexa. All have pros and cons. In general all present issues in bringing in devices and getting routines and robots to fire correctly. I recently started setting up my home using HomeKit devices using the HomePod as the hub. There is nothing that can touch the ease of getting devices into the Apple Home app. You scan the barcode and your off. I even have a Sengled Hub for Sengled Zigbee devices and just added a Window and door sensor. I added it via the Sengled app and it automatically showed up into the Home app. Within 5 mins I added an automation using the sensor. There might not be 20000 devices that work with HomeKit, but the ones that do work, work very well.
Those features are more about convenience and I can buy a cheap Bluetooth speaker and answer my calls. I would chose a Google or Amazon smart speaker before considering . However, I am going to get the HomePod Mini since it is affordable. I’ve passed on the HomePod at $350 and will co time to pass unless it drops to $200 only because it has great audio plus the HomePod mini has better features that is big brother
Great video as usual, it’s the ecosystem that’s the issue for me . Bing a android user the best features it has to offer wouldn’t work for me. . And besides the wife has gotten used to me calling her by another woman’s name as long as it’s Alexa If I brought Siri into the mix it would creat some sort of love triangle.
Dude outside USA especially in Asian countries, Amazon and Google are way better. This is due to the fact that Prices of Apple products are very high and Apple home kit/ Apple's smart home isn't available widely and it's also overpriced in those countries. Apple is also very restricted in the sense of allowing others in its ecosystem. All these factors make Amazon/Echo devices better than Apple and even Google's devices.
Agreed and same with US. apple HomePod is still crazy expensive compared to alexa devices. Also if HomePod goes down good luck for any of you smart devices to work. If my Alexa echo goes down when I’m not home. I still access all my Alexa devices via my phone remotely and check on things. I had a god awful experience once away from home on a road trip and could not access any smart devices due to the HomePod being out.
I hope so, but I think Apple will need to trip over themselves for a year or two, then realize they have to open it up to be competitive. Then it will be like Airplay everywhere on TVs. That’s my theory. What do you think as someone in the HomeKit space? Thanks for checking out the video.
The best for me is definitively the HomePod. But mine dies after only 16 months and Apple don’t want to repair it. I’m in Canada, so it’s very expensive and I don’t think I will spend an other 500$ on it.
Sorry Craig, wrong on the first one - I can make and receive calls on my echo as it’s connected using Vodafone’s free “one number” service. All the echos around my house can be used to answer phone calls!
Sorry, not a stock feature. I stand by what I say. Here in the US they partner with AT&T. Which is great if you is AT&T. But it is not a feature that anyone who buys an Echo can use. You may think I am wrong, but technically I am more right since majority of people buying the echo cannot use incoming calls.
@@CraigsTechTalk thanks for taking the time to respond Craig! I see what you mean, I was just a little confused as I knew it worked for me. I didn’t realise it wasn’t usable for most people. Keep up the good work!
still can't set a podcast or radio as an alarm without an Apple Music subscription. So disappointed. Such basic functionality but they are too greedy. I love the ecosystem but dont want to pay for a 2nd music subscription when I have a UA-cam sub.
In the US the same can be done with AT&T. With that limited availability I can’t count that as a feature for the echo and anyone buying one to be able to make calls. But for someone on AT&T, Vodafone or another supported carrier it would be great. I think a limitation people are going to run into on the echo is not being able to have any family member answer their phone on any Echo. I don’t have AT&T and can’t try to it.
The only thing I can say is that you get what you pay for. There is a reason the HomePod mini cost that much. It sound significantly better and has way better hardware. Amazon hasn’t future proofed or put anything beyond the basics. Soon with the HomePod mini you will be able to walk into a room and have it recognize it’s you because you are wearing an Apple Watch or have an iPhone. Features like that will never happen on an Echo Dot. No software can fix what hardware lacks. Most people, will let price determine their purchase and they will not know what they are not missing. Which is cool. But it is definitely worth the price for better sound and better hardware.
@@CraigsTechTalk apple was always good on reasonable and natural upgrades but bad on price. Sure you get what you pay for but it tends sometimes you pay too much for a basic user. I use my 3rd gen echo dot for basic. I don’t need any crazy features. Long story short you can have what you pay for if you can take the skills for it and price. I don’t.
Alexia undoubtedly has a better price. HomePod has a better value. Sometimes price can be the only factor. Personally given the choice I would go with a HomePod. It is perfectly integrated with other Apple devices (only relevant if you are already in the Apple ecosystem), has a great sound, will probably last longer, and won’t listen to you when it’s not supposed to. Of the many things Amazon is known for, privacy is not among them.
I am all about Alexa personally very versatile and a jillion and one devices that take advantage of it. Super simple and reliable. Used to be a Siri guy with HomePod in the past and got fed up with connection issues and shit needed to be reset very frequently. Alexa and echo experience has been pure bliss for me and super friendly to the wallet. Got 5 echos and probably like 50 devices linked to them for my smart home.
Out of the two, I am with King Arthur and the Echos. Amazon has offered a very open device with a lot of functionality at a great price point. You are not going to go wrong with either. But I would go Echos.
Bruh, 5 things? That's it? It costs 3 times more than Alexa. It needs to do three times as much, amirite? And you know handoff is no biggie it's mainly for phone calls which is number one AND two on your list. We are still on a pandemic economy so price matters more right now. I use Gosund lights all over the house and smart outlets on all 3 floors and the app works just fine on my iPhone. Added bonus, I don't have to worry about support in two years "Ahem, Apple!"
Majority of third party streaming services and apps are not available. You can’t put gmail email on there. You don’t get to make Spotify your default player. Other than airplay this is not much interaction with apps. In my opinion the 3rd party app support is bad enough that It should not be a deciding factor on a buying a HomePod unless you know the app is one of the few supported non apple apps available.
Ahh got ya ok thanks. I been using Apple products for years now and 1 thing that’s so annoying is the restrictiveness on their products. I’m planning on making my home and entire smart home, I think Alexa going to be the bettered option since it’s more versatile.
That is the annoying part about Apple. It’s great if you are good with their services. Alexa is definitely more open and gives you plenty of 3rd party apps to pick from. You still can link you iPhone contacts and your calendars.
I'm exciting and and can't wait to get my deliver. I ordered them since the first day on Nov 6th but haven't received them yet. and I totally agree with you on the phone call, especially with google assistance, it's almost impossible to set the google assistance up for the phone call.
Yeah, i got the echo dots on amazon on prime day for less than $20 each... for $20 ill deal with the limitations lol. But idk i do have everything else “apple” but... thats probably the other reason why I chose to not go with them for a home assistant. I have already tried siri and shortcuts and well... its pretty underwhelming. You say it can do all these things but... its actually not as great as you think. Half the time siri asks you to unlock your phone to run the shortcut... or it fails... i will grant you its more thought out in terms of even letting you code stuff but the integration is terrible. Hardly any apps support integration into shortcuts while on the other hand pretty much ALL smart home devices at LEAST work with alexa. And thats what it all boils down to... the ecosystem. We always use that word to describe the physical devices in the system but thats not what makes or breaks a product like that... its the app store. And alexa has the best “store” for an assistant. Apple has... well nothing whatsoever. They say its because theyre soooo concerned about privacy but I dont buy that for one moment... they “care” about privacy by not playing nice with others about as much as they “care” about the environment by not including a charge brick. For real the signs that apple has piqued are all over the place. They’re still trying to act like top dog while scrambling to R and D the “next big thing” and failing. Silicon valley itself has hit a bubble that will burst very very soon. Theres only so much “tech” can do to improve our lives. We’ve dreamt about “the future” but we never thought to ourselves... whats after that? And now we are faced with having to answer that question.
Sound great but don’t have Bluetooth is a big down for me never answer my phone with any a stay with mine studio only used for play music I’m a iPhone user too but a used Alexa to controls my device AppleWorks great but a need to spend little more for extra device
It does not support native incoming calls from your cellphone. AT&T and Amazon have recently partnered for incoming calls or you can use a land line with an echo connect. If you can choose one of those options you can answer calls. But you cannot take any phone and link it to an Echo and be able to answer incoming calls.
The reason why I got an Alexa is because I can add two languages. My first language is Spanish and Siri never my requests for songs in Spanish and English at the same time.
Before you full on start getting rid of the echos. Try one HomePod and make sure you’re happy with connectivity and reliability for a couple months or so.
Honestly I use my homepods for a LOT. I should do a ‘hacks’ video... The home theater with 2 is very very fucking good if you have NOTHING. Tested it on Lion King and felt like I was inside the African planes
Can someone explain to me just how much smarter Alexa and google is than Siri? I ask Siri a bunch of stuff and she has had an answer for everything. I am very curious...
🔴 CHECK OUT
🍿- Top 10 Everyday HomePod Uses! Why You Need One - ua-cam.com/video/oty5zxs0uoc/v-deo.html
🍿- Top 10 Everyday Apple Watch Uses! Why You Need One - ua-cam.com/video/687RhgGGSiY/v-deo.html
Should I get alexa or google
Mrs Craig sound so excited to be included in the demo! :)
Are you being sarcastic?
Don’t forget that theses are fundamentally “speakers” and nothing beats the sound of the HomePod!!
Lol not true
@@EPGCORP yes it is what other speaker could do spacial awareness and make dolby atmos?
@@paksangtse1131 try the echo studio 😹 tunes to the acoustics of the room and has Dolby atmos
@@paksangtse1131 educate yourself apple fanboy so does the google home max
@@EPGCORP HomePod sounds much better than either
Looks so familiar - like Elon Musk + Arnold Schwarzenegger
John Barrowman!
john travolta
Honestly, the handoff feature alone makes this thing just super worth it. It's like Spotify's device selection feature, but actually intuitive.
It is such a cool feature. I think it is undervalued since nothing else transfers that easily.
You didn't mention HomePod(s) and Apple TV 4K can be integrated together for Home Theater. Just recently released.
Hello Vincent, yeah I didn’t mention it since Amazon came out with the feature last year around this time. It sounds like a cool feature I plan on implementing tonight. Thanks for watching.
@@CraigsTechTalk amazon can dolby atmos too?
Thanks for the overview! I love my Homepods, paired up in stereo in the living room of my cottage. I know that I haven’t used much of the other features, and I’ve learned a few things today. Gonna get a mini for the kitchen. Good video!
Hi Craig, I have Beats Solo Pro. It’s like having HomePod for my ears. With Her Siri I can control my music, run shortcuts, make phone calls and send messages. I love it.
I’m am deeply submerged in the Apple ecosystem. I have two HomePods and just got my HomePod mini and I love them! Like you were saying, if you are a serious apple user you can’t beat it and the sound quality is the best. Even on the mini. The only negative is the lack of current integration with other smart devices. I hope apple really opens things up in the future.
Thank you for cutting out “hey Siri” 😂😂
You are welcome. I try to avoid triggering peoples devices. Thank you for checking out the video.
I purchased the HomePod last week, tried it, and returned it. Regrettably, I found it was too limited and lacked true integration with other devices. I hope Apple seriously expands HomeKit and brings the HomePod down in price. Then, combined with the Minis, it may be more justifiable.
Do you have a shortcuts tutorial video? I’ve always wanted to try it but I don’t even know where to start 😂
I do not have one. Shortcuts are crazy. They can be really simple or get deep. Here is a guy that worked for the shortcuts company Apple bought. ua-cam.com/users/MatthewCassinelli
For a more down to earth HomeKit channel with some shortcut tutorials in there is this channel. Tell Shane I said hi if you check him out. ua-cam.com/users/ShaneCreates
Thanks for watching.
Your handoff works so much faster than mine. Great video.
I’m anxiously refreshing target’s website to order my mini!
Favorite smart speaker? I use Alexa a lot, but I like Google for answering questions. And I'd like Homepod for the integration. Ok so I use all three. I'm a geek, so why not? I'm just glad that Apple finally released a more affordable speaker. I think we will start to see more products and features now that it's in the every day user range.
My HomePod mini was attempted to be delivered today but I was in the shower when the postman came... Doh! Really looking forward to getting started with it tomorrow and hoping to fully transition from echo devices and generic smart plugs to HomeKit enabled stuff!
I’m doing the same and HomeKit is an EXCELLENT platform. It works very well and setting it up is a breeze.
@@PatrickMondor do you have any recommendations for products? I’m undecided whether to go with the Eve energy or Philips Hue smart plugs and similarly I don’t know whether Hue, LIFX or Nanoleaf bulbs are the best! Any idea what I should go for? :)
So when Siri answers a request, it says "Okay Craig".
What if your name is "Google"...?
Listening to this after using handover on the HomePod
Very cool. Handoff is awesome. Thanks for watching.
Not sure if the feature was already out, but another key feature is the HomePod spatial audio feature , also know as theater mode. Then you can use the HomePod together with your Apple TV for virtual Dolby atmos sound!
i just want to listen to music podcasts news. homepod is best for me. i dont need to talk to my speakers a lot.
4:30 I like how siri says "OK Craig" I know it always say "OK, what's the message" or "OK, it's done" never heard it responding "OK " Is this exclusive to HomePod or does Siri always respond you that way?
It's because home pods can recognize up to 6 household voices. Siri puts their name in her phrase, to confirm the person the text or phone call is coming from
At 8:43 can you elaborate on ‘HomePod lacks 3rd party app support after 2 years... 🤔
HomePod is a fantastic speaker-phone because, in addition to the great speakers it has, it also has an incredibly sensitive array of microphones paired with advanced software that can isolate speech from background noise.
You can see this in action when giving voice commands to it speaking softly from far away in a noisy room. It is able to hear and understand you.
This same capability makes using it as a speaker phone a good experience for the people on the OTHER end of the call as they can hear you clearly and without the usual echoing effect when using a speaker phone function.
I have two HomePods and I love them 100% and nobody can touch them (but me) at home. hahahahah
You have taught me a lot about HomePod but I have had learn the different words for Australian and not all words change.
Great review. What’s that cool video strip light in the background? Thnx
I have a homepods mini on my desk. When I connect it to my mac mini and click the Siri icon, the homepod glows as if I want using the mac. The integration is the part I like.
I'm only assuming it only works inside the apple eco sys?
Yes
but the easiest way to listen to Greek music is MAIC by MLS!!! ;)
I can answer phone calls on my Google home, though I'm pretty sure it's only in Australia with Telstra as your phone carrier at the moment.
Cant on mine, weird.
Who’d have thought, drunken beach trash have ever so slightly more advanced Amazon Echoes? 🤷♂️
if you want to use other devices, you can use homebridge (open source and free on a Raspberry pi) allows you to control these devices with Apple's Home.
I think the HomePod has great audio, but personally I will trade some audio quality for the video capabilities on the Nest Hub or Echo Show.
I've ordered a HomePod Mini, due for delivery in December. Have an Apple TV4K that's my HomeKit hub. Have a smart TV w/AppleTV built-in so don't need A-TV-4K.
How do I transfer HomeKit Hub from A-TV-4K to make my new HomePod Mini my new HomeKit Hub?
No need to transfer. When you add the HomePod, it will become the primary hub and your ATV will become a secondary hub/standby if the HomePod is unavailable.
Thanks I have one and it’s great to learn more
My favorite Bluetooth speaker was Bose home speaker 500 till I got the
homepod
do you have to have an iphone for these functions?
Shortcuts might be the reason why I will stay with an Apple phone. They can do so much. Nice work around for non homekit stuff. Curious, can you tell your phone to announce something and will that announcement announce on the homepod? Great video. Thanks for the info.
The level of demand for these tiny HomePod minis is quite high, the more homes they are in the more feature requests apple will get, which will in turn lead to the HomePod feature set growing quicker than it has been, which will eventually lead to 3rd party app support. It in happened with the iPhone and with the watch. Fingers crossed it comes soon
Can the mini homepods do everything the regular homepods do? I have a regular sized homepod, considering an echo for another room to connect to a larger older speaker, but the mini speakers are pretty cheap!
Yes and no. You can’t connect the minis to an Apple TV and use them as the audio source for the ATV, and the way it generates the audio is a bit different than a HomePod. However, minis act as a HomeKit hub, can connect in stereo pairs, use intercom and have Airplay handoff just like its big HomePod brother. If you already have a HomePod, a mini would be a no brainer.
Great review. You brought up many good points for iPhone users. I was wondering whether this can be used in a stand-alone mode by just speaking to it or does it require an iPhone for Siri & connectivity. For example, could it be used by a person in a nursing home without an iPhone over Wi-Fi
It could but would have to be setup with an iPhone’s first. Then it could act as a stand alone.
Can I use this like a sound bar?
If paired directly to an Apple TV
@@CraigsTechTalk what about the echo studio ? I can not find the home pod.. 😓
Hi thank you for your help with the apple shopping list it’s working great. Good video today my home pods mini are on order. If I’m out with my iPhone will the wife be able to ring me using home pod. Thanks
Thanks for a great overview of HomePod's special features! I love handoff and I can't wait to try the others. HomePod's audio quality is superb - my favorite original feature!
Hey Craig, actually if you have an AT&T mobile account you can make and receive calls with Alexa. Just have to attach your account under communications.
Thanks Rodney, I have heard a couple people saying that. I think it is cool if you have att and can use it. But since Amazon hasn’t implemented it across all Alexa supported phones, I personally don’t consider it a feature to base a purchase on. But that’s just me. Thanks for checking out the video.
My Hand off feature does not work at all for me, I have reset the settings and device, also restarted the HomePod and phone and still nothing. anyone have any tips!!
As per our chat on Twitter (smart home collective) I really think Apple have touched on something that Amazon/Google have missed. Yes it's pricey but the tech and integration to iPhone is the premium element
HomePod is very useful 🥰
Good video, thanks
Are you also to transfer conference call from iPhone ‘s WhatsApp , zoom and Skype to HomePod ?
I don’t think you’ll be able to do that. But I haven’t tried it. It would be another audio source And in theory should work. But you might find some lag and not be able to actually talk back using the HomePod. I think the Mike is only going to work if you make a phone call
I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the great work!
Thank you, I appreciate you watching.
For 1:25
Amazon recently partnered with AT&T, so you can answer phone calls on your echo speakers. HOWEVER, ATT pre-paid users are not able to do so, and I am one of them... sad;)
Craig, I appreciate your review but I honestly feel those 5 features aren't significant enough to justify switching from Alexa or Google to Apple. I think Apple has done too little too late for them to be viable contenders in this space. And honestly, the Homepod doesn't integrate as well with other IoT as the other guys.
Thank you. I can appreciate what you are saying. I think their are a lot of Echo and Google Assistant users that are very content. Then there is a small percentage that are jumping ship now that the HomePod mini is out and Apple is doing more. Apple is definitely way late to the game. I can’t imagine a lot of people to do the switch. But I do think for people who are looking for options, there are some great features that Apple offers too. I know I am in a unique spot I get to play with all the smart speakers. So it’s easy for me to say get them all and enjoy the benefits of each. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
I have to disagree. As Craig pointed out the integration with the iOS platform is excellent. If you have an iPhone and are in the Apple ecosystem, the HomePod is a natural evolution. In regards to IoT devices. I have tried Wink, SmartThings, Google Home and Alexa. All have pros and cons. In general all present issues in bringing in devices and getting routines and robots to fire correctly. I recently started setting up my home using HomeKit devices using the HomePod as the hub. There is nothing that can touch the ease of getting devices into the Apple Home app. You scan the barcode and your off. I even have a Sengled Hub for Sengled Zigbee devices and just added a Window and door sensor. I added it via the Sengled app and it automatically showed up into the Home app. Within 5 mins I added an automation using the sensor. There might not be 20000 devices that work with HomeKit, but the ones that do work, work very well.
Those features are more about convenience and I can buy a cheap Bluetooth speaker and answer my calls. I would chose a Google or Amazon smart speaker before considering . However, I am going to get the HomePod Mini since it is affordable. I’ve passed on the HomePod at $350 and will co time to pass unless it drops to $200 only because it has great audio plus the HomePod mini has better features that is big brother
The Homepod is nice if you are in the Apple ecosystem, but that fact that an iphone is required just to set the thing up is a bummer.
Great video as usual, it’s the ecosystem that’s the issue for me . Bing a android user the best features it has to offer wouldn’t work for me. . And besides the wife has gotten used to me calling her by another woman’s name as long as it’s Alexa If I brought Siri into the mix it would creat some sort of love triangle.
omg what. why is this so funny for me
Does handoff work with all smartphones or just iPhones? I am referring to phone calls?
Just iPhones
@@sgoon-cjohnson5834 Which models?
HomePod dispenses chocolate ice cream.
looks good... if if wasnt for Apple.
Dude outside USA especially in Asian countries, Amazon and Google are way better. This is due to the fact that Prices of Apple products are very high and Apple home kit/ Apple's smart home isn't available widely and it's also overpriced in those countries. Apple is also very restricted in the sense of allowing others in its ecosystem. All these factors make Amazon/Echo devices better than Apple and even Google's devices.
Agreed and same with US. apple HomePod is still crazy expensive compared to alexa devices. Also if HomePod goes down good luck for any of you smart devices to work. If my Alexa echo goes down when I’m not home. I still access all my Alexa devices via my phone remotely and check on things. I had a god awful experience once away from home on a road trip and could not access any smart devices due to the HomePod being out.
If it worked with bulbs that weren’t overpriced, vivint, locks that work with vivint, basically anything., I would like it.
Do you think that the Home app will come to the Play store one day? Similar to the Apple TV app on supported TVs.
I hope so, but I think Apple will need to trip over themselves for a year or two, then realize they have to open it up to be competitive. Then it will be like Airplay everywhere on TVs. That’s my theory. What do you think as someone in the HomeKit space? Thanks for checking out the video.
oh HOW EXCITING ._.
The best for me is definitively the HomePod. But mine dies after only 16 months and Apple don’t want to repair it. I’m in Canada, so it’s very expensive and I don’t think I will spend an other 500$ on it.
Its sucks you cant mute it. It can set mute anyway?
Subscribed just cas u cut the ALEXA!
Very sorry for disturbing Mrs Craig 😊😊
Sorry Craig, wrong on the first one - I can make and receive calls on my echo as it’s connected using Vodafone’s free “one number” service. All the echos around my house can be used to answer phone calls!
Sorry, not a stock feature. I stand by what I say. Here in the US they partner with AT&T. Which is great if you is AT&T. But it is not a feature that anyone who buys an Echo can use. You may think I am wrong, but technically I am more right since majority of people buying the echo cannot use incoming calls.
@@CraigsTechTalk thanks for taking the time to respond Craig! I see what you mean, I was just a little confused as I knew it worked for me. I didn’t realise it wasn’t usable for most people. Keep up the good work!
Thank you very much. It would be great if it worked with all providers. It sounds cool.
Thank you sir.
Thx Craig!
I just want skills like Alexa!
still can't set a podcast or radio as an alarm without an Apple Music subscription. So disappointed. Such basic functionality but they are too greedy. I love the ecosystem but dont want to pay for a 2nd music subscription when I have a UA-cam sub.
Can you use Spotify with Home pod ?
No
I wish they would integrate Mac mini, Apple TV and Honepod in one device. That would be great
Here in the UK you can hook your Alexa up to your Vodafone account and make outgoing and incoming calls
In the US the same can be done with AT&T. With that limited availability I can’t count that as a feature for the echo and anyone buying one to be able to make calls. But for someone on AT&T, Vodafone or another supported carrier it would be great.
I think a limitation people are going to run into on the echo is not being able to have any family member answer their phone on any Echo. I don’t have AT&T and can’t try to it.
@@CraigsTechTalk that makes sense. what ever happened to the echo connect? It made you be able to connect your land line to alexa
I’m so EXTREMELY disappointed in the HomePod.
There’s soooo many things it can’t do 😑
Sorry to hear that. You should check out the echo. Lots of content hear that may help you decide on the switch.
Alexa now supports ATT calls in and out
Lady A, don’t fail me and pay attention!
18.99 for a 3rd gen Echo dot. But 100 for home pod mini. Even with the extra accessories I Alexa is better by price
The only thing I can say is that you get what you pay for. There is a reason the HomePod mini cost that much. It sound significantly better and has way better hardware. Amazon hasn’t future proofed or put anything beyond the basics. Soon with the HomePod mini you will be able to walk into a room and have it recognize it’s you because you are wearing an Apple Watch or have an iPhone. Features like that will never happen on an Echo Dot. No software can fix what hardware lacks. Most people, will let price determine their purchase and they will not know what they are not missing. Which is cool. But it is definitely worth the price for better sound and better hardware.
@@CraigsTechTalk apple was always good on reasonable and natural upgrades but bad on price. Sure you get what you pay for but it tends sometimes you pay too much for a basic user. I use my 3rd gen echo dot for basic. I don’t need any crazy features. Long story short you can have what you pay for if you can take the skills for it and price. I don’t.
Alexia undoubtedly has a better price. HomePod has a better value. Sometimes price can be the only factor. Personally given the choice I would go with a HomePod. It is perfectly integrated with other Apple devices (only relevant if you are already in the Apple ecosystem), has a great sound, will probably last longer, and won’t listen to you when it’s not supposed to. Of the many things Amazon is known for, privacy is not among them.
Should I get Alexa or google, which one is better overall
I am all about Alexa personally very versatile and a jillion and one devices that take advantage of it. Super simple and reliable. Used to be a Siri guy with HomePod in the past and got fed up with connection issues and shit needed to be reset very frequently. Alexa and echo experience has been pure bliss for me and super friendly to the wallet. Got 5 echos and probably like 50 devices linked to them for my smart home.
Out of the two, I am with King Arthur and the Echos. Amazon has offered a very open device with a lot of functionality at a great price point. You are not going to go wrong with either. But I would go Echos.
Bruh, 5 things? That's it? It costs 3 times more than Alexa. It needs to do three times as much, amirite? And you know handoff is no biggie it's mainly for phone calls which is number one AND two on your list. We are still on a pandemic economy so price matters more right now. I use Gosund lights all over the house and smart outlets on all 3 floors and the app works just fine on my iPhone. Added bonus, I don't have to worry about support in two years "Ahem, Apple!"
What do you mean by the homepod lacks third party app support after 2 years?
Majority of third party streaming services and apps are not available. You can’t put gmail email on there. You don’t get to make Spotify your default player. Other than airplay this is not much interaction with apps. In my opinion the 3rd party app support is bad enough that It should not be a deciding factor on a buying a HomePod unless you know the app is one of the few supported non apple apps available.
Ahh got ya ok thanks. I been using Apple products for years now and 1 thing that’s so annoying is the restrictiveness on their products. I’m planning on making my home and entire smart home, I think Alexa going to be the bettered option since it’s more versatile.
That is the annoying part about Apple. It’s great if you are good with their services. Alexa is definitely more open and gives you plenty of 3rd party apps to pick from. You still can link you iPhone contacts and your calendars.
Thanks for the response. Love your videos really helped me understand what I need to do in order to build my smart home!!
I'm exciting and and can't wait to get my deliver. I ordered them since the first day on Nov 6th but haven't received them yet. and I totally agree with you on the phone call, especially with google assistance, it's almost impossible to set the google assistance up for the phone call.
I hope you enjoy your HomePod when it comes in. It’s exciting to get new tech like this. Thanks for checking out the video.
It
Yeah, i got the echo dots on amazon on prime day for less than $20 each... for $20 ill deal with the limitations lol. But idk i do have everything else “apple” but... thats probably the other reason why I chose to not go with them for a home assistant. I have already tried siri and shortcuts and well... its pretty underwhelming. You say it can do all these things but... its actually not as great as you think. Half the time siri asks you to unlock your phone to run the shortcut... or it fails... i will grant you its more thought out in terms of even letting you code stuff but the integration is terrible. Hardly any apps support integration into shortcuts while on the other hand pretty much ALL smart home devices at LEAST work with alexa.
And thats what it all boils down to... the ecosystem. We always use that word to describe the physical devices in the system but thats not what makes or breaks a product like that... its the app store. And alexa has the best “store” for an assistant. Apple has... well nothing whatsoever. They say its because theyre soooo concerned about privacy but I dont buy that for one moment... they “care” about privacy by not playing nice with others about as much as they “care” about the environment by not including a charge brick. For real the signs that apple has piqued are all over the place. They’re still trying to act like top dog while scrambling to R and D the “next big thing” and failing.
Silicon valley itself has hit a bubble that will burst very very soon. Theres only so much “tech” can do to improve our lives. We’ve dreamt about “the future” but we never thought to ourselves... whats after that? And now we are faced with having to answer that question.
My favourite smart speaker I guess Siri Siri because it’s sassy
Sound great but don’t have Bluetooth is a big down for me never answer my phone with any a stay with mine studio only used for play music I’m a iPhone user too but a used Alexa to controls my device AppleWorks great but a need to spend little more for extra device
Yes you can call and answer via Alexa echos.
It does not support native incoming calls from your cellphone. AT&T and Amazon have recently partnered for incoming calls or you can use a land line with an echo connect. If you can choose one of those options you can answer calls. But you cannot take any phone and link it to an Echo and be able to answer incoming calls.
Surround reproduction on home pod
shortcuts -> IFTTT?
Definitely in my opinion. Go watch videos on the really good people at making shortcuts. It goes deep and IFTTT can’t get deep on an OS level.
would this work with zoom or skype?
The reason why I got an Alexa is because I can add two languages. My first language is Spanish and Siri never my requests for songs in Spanish and English at the same time.
He kinda looks like Elon musk ngl.
I’m in the process of getting rid of my echos and using homekit
Before you full on start getting rid of the echos. Try one HomePod and make sure you’re happy with connectivity and reliability for a couple months or so.
Honestly I use my homepods for a LOT. I should do a ‘hacks’ video...
The home theater with 2 is very very fucking good if you have NOTHING. Tested it on Lion King and felt like I was inside the African planes
Bring it on😀👍 I am up for learning more uses.
Such a shame that Siri is crap
She is getting better. It isn’t all that bad.
But can it read eBooks? By far my favourite feature of my echo dot is having Alexa read books to me.
Great point Brendan. That will have to go in the why echos are better video.
Can someone explain to me just how much smarter Alexa and google is than Siri? I ask Siri a bunch of stuff and she has had an answer for everything. I am very curious...
Hey you resemble elon musk ! Maybe you can make a biography movie😝😎..good review,
Why are you censoring the alexa/siri names? Are they trademarked or something? You’re still talking about the apple and amazon products per se
That way if you own one of the devices it is not triggered by my videos. Thanks for watching.
@@CraigsTechTalk lol, yeah that makes sense. Happens way too often. Thanks for the videos, really helped me making a choice.
I s drove people crazy early in the channel because I didn’t censor. Glad to help. Thank you
Yeh for more than 3 times of the price , it should be 3 times better !
I like handoff allot.