Sonos is currently better value, especially with Google Assistant and Airplay 2 support on the way. If you've cut the cord and all in with Apple then homepod sounds like best bet. Then you're stuck with Siri the least capable of the AI's.
My only thing is that I have definitely gotten used to having Google's software update on their own hardware much sooner than that of third parties. Also, from what I've read and watched, it seems to me as though, a single Sonos One isn't really comparable to the Home Max, whereas if you buy two, then there's a better comparison. Ideally, I think I might be most interested in buying a Sonos One instead of the regular Google Home and then buying two Home Max's if I was wanting the smart speakers in a stereo pair. But of course, that would end up being between $800 to $1000 and idk if I'd really be up for it at that point.
True I don't understand why reviews don't review 2 Sonos ones compared to the Google max and homed than the Sonos sounds better has true stereo true multi room support and streams anything and costs the same or compare the higher priced Sonos to be fair if you are doing single speakers as it seems purposely unfair otherwise I also wish all of these speakers had aux in rca in and most of all optical in for the best audio quality no WiFi or Bluetooth latency and easy hook up to your TV Xbox Playstation sad DVD audio portable hires audio player laptop phone tablet And of course the feature everyone would love is a usbc battery base you sit the speaker on that allows you to get rid of the cord for those times portability is a must like at a beach outside parties work church school presentations and with 2 usbc ports you could also charge your phone tablet or laptop Qualcomm apt HD Bluetooth streaming should also be included at this crazy high prices Ironically at these prices you get wireless only but must have an ac cord while Bluetooth speakers like the awia exos 9 and diamond box m are ac or battery Bluetooth or aux in (still no optical in)but no wife but a simple chrome cast dot or echo fixes that and they sounds world's better than all of this so called smart speakers
I agree. Now that Sonos Speakers support Airplay 2 and the One is getting Google Assistant later this year, this is a no brainer. 2 for $300 or one for $175-200 is a great price. Let's compare by price here. I personally think they sound fantastic and as an Iphone/Ipad user that streams audiobooks, youtube and Spotify, not having to use the Sonos app is a huge win. I watched another reviewed that broke down the homepod and showed that after a certain volume level the bass actually decreases.
I have the amazon echo but will probably upgrade to the sonos one (or maybe two of them) eventually. The fact that I can buy two of the sonos speakers for the cost of one HomePod makes the sonos the best deal for me
“When was the *Apple product* released?” “A visit to apple.com should be able to answer that for you.” “Siri, sing happy birthday.” “I don’t write rhymes, I write checks. Actually, I don’t write those either.” It’s a smart speaker that’s tired of laziness.
That comparison lacked on some points. You can for sure not compare these three. Sonos Play 3 or 5 would have been more accurate. Why the Play 1? It is way cheaper and not designed to have the same sound quality in therms of power and volume than the other ones.
@@nme6725 there is a reason why apple''s quarters are disappointing. They have the worst quality to price ratio in almost every category. People are starting to wake up and realize this.
IMO, it really just boils down to what you have in your home *before* you start buying these smart speakers. My home has ubiquitous Echo and Sonos coverage, but I had to test the Apple Homeboy. And literally minutes after unboxing it and placing the Homeboy next to my Sonos One, the wife walked down the back stairs into my lounge, and immediately said, "Is that a giant roll of toilet paper?" The timing was brilliant and her words were genuine. Once I explained I was testing an Apple smart speaker against my Sonos, she said, "I married a man, not a fanboy. Please get that thing out of my house." For the $350 you would spend on the Apple Homeboy, you can add $50 and get a pair of Sonos One's for full stereo sound. And it would outperform the Homeboy, hands down. It's not even a close comparison at that point. But I'll admit a single Homebody vs a single Sonos One -- the Apple would win. But spending $350 for that single speaker, and be stuck in the Apple ecosystem? No thanks. I'll upgrade to a pair of Sonos One's instead. And let's face it, Amazon's Alexa is winning the Smart Home war against Google and Siri, so for Sonos to add Alexa onto their Play One, that was a good move. I have an iPhone Xs Max that my employer gave me. I also have a Note 9 as my personal phone. I use both daily, but I prefer Android because the Apple ecosystem just doesn't work as effectively with everything I have in my home. Smartthings, Hue, Fire TV, Rachio...all work better outside the Apple ecosystem, and that's the sole reason I didn't keep the Apple speaker. And at the end of the day, I don't think Apple or Google can outperform Sonos' sound quality. Not when you add in the Playbar, Sub, Play 5, etc. It's more effective for me to buy the smaller Echo Dot's and plug the 3.5mm audio into a Sonos Play 5 speaker, than it would be for me to use Siri and the Apply Homeboy.
I bought both the HomePod and Home Max. Sound quality, in my opinion, wasn’t even close. The Home Max is by far the better sounding. Realistic but not overpowering bass, clear mids, crisp highs. I paired two of them together and was surprised by the immense sound stage and incredible stereo separation. I wanted to like the HomePod, but the ecosystem limitations (designed for Apple Music and I use Spotify), the nearly daft Siri, and the Home Max’s superior sound sealed it for me.
i would choose sonos out of the other 2 coz sonos has been around way before the HomePod and Google Home . Alexa was just an added software function so if you bought a sonos speaker before alexa was introduced, you just need to update your sonos app and your speaker's software will be updated. plus the quality of the sound when playing music is already so so good.
I've settled on the Echo Plus 2nd Generation for the following reasons: 1. shopping integration with my amazon prime account 2. The LED notification ring that lights different colors for different events 3. The overall sound of the built in speakers is good enough for most things, if I want better, I pair over Bluetooth to an external sound bar with 5.1 4. The Echo Plus 2nd Gen, has a hub + temperature sensor built-in, so i don't always have to find my way to the thermostat to know what the temp is. By the way, I did see the Sonos speaker at Best Buy today, but because it doesn't have any kind of notification lights, that's what made me choose the Echo Plus instead. I haven't tried the home pod, I'm annoyed by Siri enough just on iOS, or macOS now compared to Google or Alexa and what they can do. Plus, I don't subscribe to Apple Music, I have an iTunes library, local and cloud based because I prefer to own my music, even though I also use Amazon music as well as other streaming services (including Pandora.)
I have 2 pairs of old Sonos 1. The stereo configuration is good. I don't know HomePod - In Switzerland is not yet arrived. Anyway the software to manage music in Sonos is really great. You can setup to play two different music in the same time or the same as you wish. And that all form the same iPhone, iPad, Mac .... More important is that once you started to play your music, you can take your iPhone and go away. The music continue even if your phone is 20 km far from your home. That means your battery is safe is not working .... with airplay 1 your phone is drained...with airplay 2 what will happen? And stereo setup ?? For the moment I think nothing better than Sonos.
After reading some comments, I would agree that if you’re a person just jumping into the smart speaker market then an echo dot hooked up to your existing speaker set -up would be the best cheapest option. I currently have the google mini, google home and a chrome cast connected to my bookshelf speakers. When it comes to listening to music I almost always turn my google smart speakers down so I can’t hear them and crank the bookshelves up. The smart speakers are definitely useful for the smart element or if I have people over and some background music they do the job but, if I’m looking to listen to some music and want a quality sound e.g well balanced high, mids and lows then the bookshelves are the winners. Although there seems to be a lot of new third party smart speakers coming out right now and if you wanted to get rid of the bulky bookshelves for something with a smaller profile JBL and LG both have some google based speakers out that beat the Max on price, I haven’t compared them but I tested the LGs in the store briefly the other day and they sounded quite good (for a small smart speaker that’s is).
I need a voice assistant with the best far field microphone array for home automation. Am using Google Home Mini now and its partially deaf. It cant hear me when there is any other noise. Should I got for Sonos One? Or just buy an Echo Dot? Any real Sonos One user can tell me how good is the mic?
Do you need to bed in these speakers like you did back in the day? I read somewhere you can connect with Bluetooth on the Google Home Pod, is this correct? Also, can you turn the bass down on the Google Home Max like you can for the Mini in the Google Home app?
Hi all, what about a new product, which is in prototype phase, but firts units should be availalble in December 2018. it is called the smart speaker BBX1
moehio I love Google Assistant and she's been such a helper. However, I'm invested into the Apple ecosystem very much. I have an iPhone and I have Apple Music. I have a Google Home and I think my assistant is just sheer brilliance. She helps me with literally anything!!! So it is EXTREMELY hard for me to choose between HomePod and Home Max. I sampled both and it's hard... though Siri's a better DJ. She can do more things when playing music. For example: "add this song to my library".
Yes, I'm with you. Been in the Apple system since 1985 if you can believe it when my grandfather bought me my first Macintosh at 15. I've converted more people to Macs than probably anyone and even I'm having a real hard time selecting which speaker. My heart says Mac, my brain say Home Max. Hard to believe how much better the assistant is than Siri and I'm ashamed to see just how far behind Siri is to Google. Even Alexa in such a short time seems more intelligent. I'm a Spotify guy (I tried to love Apple Music, and just can't pretend its not as good as Spotify, no matter how many 30 day trials I use!) so it muddies the waters even a little more for me. I'm just not a fan of Google anything other than the search engine itself... and the assistant based on what little i've seen.
moehio I have used a free trial for Spotify on Google Home, and it didn't work as well as Google Play Music. I had a 4-month trial for Google Play Music and I loved it. My Assistant would let me skip to certain parts of a song like Siri does on HomePod. However, Siri is better when it comes to DJ skills. Also, Apple Music is just more convenient for me because I could easily add songs to my library and create playlists without a problem. I've used Apple Music for years and it's been lovely. I huge selection of songs in my Apple Music library, and if I switch to Spotify, my library becomes quite limited. Still, it's quite hard to decide on which smart speaker I should get... so I'm testing each one out and comparing them at stores so I can decide what's right for me. So far, I am leaning towards Apple HomePod because I already have a Google Home (regular) and I have my smart assistant. So, maybe Siri can join Alexa and Google Assistant so I've got all three assistants on smart speakers. But then, Google Home Max also has SO MANY MORE ADVANTAGES!!! I can have it join my multiroom audio system if I wanted to, and stereo sound is another advantage.
So the quick and dirty here, if you have a smart home built around Apple to begin with and you love Apple get the Homepod. However there is really only 2 questions to ask to choose between the other 2; first Google or Amazon, which do you use more often? Second how each company uses your personal data? (Amazon shares everything with 3rd parties) Personally I'm still using the original Google Home, I like the continued conversation feature Google uses and I don't shop on Amazon if I can avoid it, as mentioned above I don't agree with how they share my data. Sadly I have 4 Ring cameras around my house that I bought before Amazon purchased them 😞
I took 2 Sonos ones set up as a stereo pair over the the Max and HomePod because 2 Sonos ones are about the same price as the other 2 speakers and sound so so much better.
Apple stated the homepod was a speaker first and that’s what I bought it for. It’s sound is outstanding and it handles Apple Music brilliantly. Don’t care about the smart speaker part.
I have the Google home mini and the echo dot. I prefer the dot for music because it connects to my Bose soundtouch speakers or any other Bluetooth speakers. It also has a 3.5 aux output. It runs my automation better than than Google or Siri.
I have a Google Home, four Google Home Minis and an Insignia Voice Smart Bluetooth Speaker and Alarm Clock with Google Assistant. I found that these integrated better in the home automation, along with whole sound and casting. What I have found and experienced, Google Home products are hands down the better products. I am currently looking at adding TicHome Mini for the bathrooms.
TLDR; Google and Sonos support full Spotify voice control even though it is owned by neither, so why not Apple? Also, Apple loves being exclusive so my understanding is that Apple chose to not allow Apple Music voice support on either of it's competitors as they have done before with Android especially (ie: no iTunes and pretty crappy Apple Music on Android ). I don't know the exact reason why, so what I'm about to say should probably be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, Spotify is without a doubt one of the most used music streaming platforms along with Pandora and iHeart Radio. Each of those three services I mentioned are not made by Apple, Google, nor Sonos. Google Play Music is a product of Google, whereas Apple Music is made by Apple. because of this, Apple and Google will obviously push for support of their music platforms respectively and optimize their systems for their use. However, while both Google and Sonos support multiple music services for people to control with their voices, Apple only supports Apple Music voice controls, effectively making it pointless to buy a HomePod to play your music with unless you exclusively use Apple Music and own an iPhone (or other iOS 11 device). Of course you can play whatever music you want through your HomePod with your iPhone and it will sound just the same, but if you didn't care about the voice controls, then you could either simply buy a bluetooth speaker or get a regular speaker setup that would allow you to control your music through another wireless method. Another important thought (this is where the grain of salt is probably needed) is that Apple really likes to push exclusivity. Even though there is an Apple Music app for Android, there isn't even Chromecast functionality through your iPhone or Android app. This being the case, my understanding is that Apple Music is not allowed on both Google's and Sonos' speakers through their respective smart systems. I believe it would probably be fine by Sonos and Google if Apple allowed Apple Music functionality on their hardware. If the fact that iTunes isn't even on Android and the Apple Music Android app is fairly jank while Google Play Music works just fine on iPhones is any indicator, I believe it's safe to say that It's Apples own fault that Google and Sonos don't have Apple Music support.
I have several HomePods and love them, but yes, I can’t wait for Siri to be more nimble on her toes with queries. HomePod integrates seamlessly with your Apple devices and HomeKit accessories.
Krippy Krippy Krippy Krippy Kush Kush Kush Kush Alexa is deaf. I own an Echo. She gets my Spotify wrong all the time. the Echo always buggers and goes quiet requiring a full restart. I’m gonna get the Home Pod instead. Siri will catch up via software updates. I’d buy the Home Pod for the hardware and wait for Siri to improve. WWDC is right around the corner.
Krippy Krippy Krippy Krippy Kush Kush Kush Kush how many times are going to ask how tall someone is? Thats stupid, its for music weather maybe an appt reminder for 99% of ppl
R X I wouldn't if I were you the homepod flubbs alot but Google homes use their AI to go through 800+ ways to say a single word so it almost never messed it up
I had to buy 3 Sonos Ones(I threw the 4th one in my bedroom) and the Sub to get decent bass and volume. My buddy has two HomePods and they sound just as good, maybe a little better. If I could do it again I probably would have sucked it up and got either one Devialet Gold or two Devialet 900 reactors.
The simple conclusion for me is the homepod stand alone is an excellent listening device. apple dropped the ball with Siri and the IOS application to make the homepod as good as Apple wants us all to believe it should have been...
Agree with @Matthew B Shaw here - why would you not have compared with the Sonos Play 5 which is at the same price point. Google and Sonos hit multiple price points and Apple has gone in at the higher end - of course. I would put money on the Sonos Play 5 blowing the other two out of the water for sound quality. I am personal looking forward to Google Assistant coming to Sonos products.
Alexa problem is US skill don’t work in other region... so in Germany, Italy and even UK a lot of basic “given“ Alexa feature are missing... google took a better approach to that
Not sure I'm 100% fan of fabric covered speakers. Might look great as long as it's new but as time goes by and dust and fingerprints will make it look.... lets say patinated for a neutral term.
Most people are going to have speakers in their home that blow away any of these products in the sound department. Go grab a cheap Echo Dot, hook it up to your system, and be happy you have a system that absolutely kills any of these standalone products in every single facet. Don't have a good sound system at home? Any decent quality bookshelf speak is going to sound better than any of these. Go grab those and a Echo Dot instead.
Considering that Sonos One is almost half the price, The Sonos play 5 would have put the other two at the same disadvantage as the Sonos One is in the review.
Libratone’s Zipp speakers work terrific with AirPlay two. I have two set up with Home Kit and they sound great. They’re not smart speakers but for music playback in stereo they offer another alternative for Apple users. I both two of the Zipp speakers for what I would have paid for one HomePod.
As an Apple ecosystem person, the HomePod is great. That said, just buy a cheap home mini or two and use that to ask questions or control products away from HomePod. You can even broadcast.
That was a good informative review. As much as I like the Apple ecosystem, I can't help but feeling they are falling behind. I do wish Apple would up their focus on their core ethos of 'making the user's life easier' which was very apparent just a few years ago. Siri's snide remarks and replies were funny for a while, but it's getting very tedious and obnoxious - especially when it fails to understand simple commands.
Wojtek Chojnacki that is a marketing tactic because they knew they couldn't compete in the smart speaker Field. It is by the very definition of its features a smart speaker.
First Last Fortunately/unfortunately I don’t have a problem in Poland. neither Siri nor HomePod is available here yet. And even Siri doesn’t know when it will be 😉
Dustin Colwell the play 3 doesn't have Alexa built in, so I'm assuming that's why he choose all speakers with voice assistants already included. I do agree a play 3 would compete better on sound quality, and probably be the best sounding out of all of them. A play 3 and echo dot together would be very competitive.
I have Samsung note 8.I have nest thermostat and smoke alarm.... not investing in anything else yet until I choose the system........and I've been waiting for Samsung smart speaker with bixby... but not happened.. I do have a Google hone in my bed room.. it's great at time and alarms. It sets appointments. It won't call or message which annoys me....
How annoying is it that the Google Max has to keep advertising the website it finds its information from.. Alexa just tells you the flipping answer! Siri just totally fails and might as well say ‘computer says no’.. kinda pointless having a smart speaker that isn’t actually smart. Alexa I think is the best by far because of this. In fact, considering how much money and resources Apple has, it’s about time they actually fixed Siri to be an actual assistant, not just control my stuff with my voice, I had phones doing that 20 years ago!
I bought the HomePod and the sound is amazing!! Mic’s for Siri work great picking my voice and my bad English accent much better than it does on the iPhone though as Dan states Siri still lags behind most assistants, hopefully it will get better.
I think smart speaker is the what this is about and home pod is not smart so why even consider it companies have Google and Alexa built in the best companies in the world bottom line is siri just sucks its a shame bc apple makes great things but its 1980 vs 2020 as far as I'm concerned
Sonos is currently better value, especially with Google Assistant and Airplay 2 support on the way. If you've cut the cord and all in with Apple then homepod sounds like best bet. Then you're stuck with Siri the least capable of the AI's.
My only thing is that I have definitely gotten used to having Google's software update on their own hardware much sooner than that of third parties. Also, from what I've read and watched, it seems to me as though, a single Sonos One isn't really comparable to the Home Max, whereas if you buy two, then there's a better comparison. Ideally, I think I might be most interested in buying a Sonos One instead of the regular Google Home and then buying two Home Max's if I was wanting the smart speakers in a stereo pair. But of course, that would end up being between $800 to $1000 and idk if I'd really be up for it at that point.
True I don't understand why reviews don't review 2 Sonos ones compared to the Google max and homed than the Sonos sounds better has true stereo true multi room support and streams anything and costs the same or compare the higher priced Sonos to be fair if you are doing single speakers as it seems purposely unfair otherwise
I also wish all of these speakers had aux in rca in and most of all optical in for the best audio quality no WiFi or Bluetooth latency and easy hook up to your TV Xbox Playstation sad DVD audio portable hires audio player laptop phone tablet
And of course the feature everyone would love is a usbc battery base you sit the speaker on that allows you to get rid of the cord for those times portability is a must like at a beach outside parties work church school presentations and with 2 usbc ports you could also charge your phone tablet or laptop
Qualcomm apt HD Bluetooth streaming should also be included at this crazy high prices
Ironically at these prices you get wireless only but must have an ac cord while Bluetooth speakers like the awia exos 9 and diamond box m are ac or battery Bluetooth or aux in (still no optical in)but no wife but a simple chrome cast dot or echo fixes that and they sounds world's better than all of this so called smart speakers
I agree. Now that Sonos Speakers support Airplay 2 and the One is getting Google Assistant later this year, this is a no brainer. 2 for $300 or one for $175-200 is a great price. Let's compare by price here. I personally think they sound fantastic and as an Iphone/Ipad user that streams audiobooks, youtube and Spotify, not having to use the Sonos app is a huge win. I watched another reviewed that broke down the homepod and showed that after a certain volume level the bass actually decreases.
What is wrong with Siri doing what it’s not supposed to or incapable?
@@Tigerex966 seeing this comment 4 years later, but you’ve literally described the Sonos Move! Ahead of your time haha
You must redo this with 2 Sonos in stereo since the price is the same
I got homepod for 180$ on a flash deal
I have the amazon echo but will probably upgrade to the sonos one (or maybe two of them) eventually. The fact that I can buy two of the sonos speakers for the cost of one HomePod makes the sonos the best deal for me
“When was the *Apple product* released?”
“A visit to apple.com should be able to answer that for you.”
“Siri, sing happy birthday.”
“I don’t write rhymes, I write checks. Actually, I don’t write those either.”
It’s a smart speaker that’s tired of laziness.
I love how only one of the tests for three SPEAKERS has to do with sound
Apple HomePod: I can't answer that, please ask Sonos or Alexa.
consumer reports rated the sound of the Google home max and Sonos one above the apple homepod.
This is a Macrumors page.... will always say the apple one is better...
I have 4x Sonos Play 1’s, and I wirelessly connected an Echo dot to them. Works super well and the sound is incredible.
That comparison lacked on some points. You can for sure not compare these three. Sonos Play 3 or 5 would have been more accurate. Why the Play 1? It is way cheaper and not designed to have the same sound quality in therms of power and volume than the other ones.
Well said. I have two play 5 and nothing is touching those speakers.
You should have compared TWO sonos speakers to one homepod and google's thing. Thats what you get when spending the same money.
Matthew B Shaw Agreed !
Absolutely
or put them up to a similarly priced sonos like play 3 or 5. That would be funny.
Very unfair review
Some people it’s not about the money but the best thing that works for them
@@nme6725 there is a reason why apple''s quarters are disappointing. They have the worst quality to price ratio in almost every category. People are starting to wake up and realize this.
IMO, it really just boils down to what you have in your home *before* you start buying these smart speakers.
My home has ubiquitous Echo and Sonos coverage, but I had to test the Apple Homeboy. And literally minutes after unboxing it and placing the Homeboy next to my Sonos One, the wife walked down the back stairs into my lounge, and immediately said, "Is that a giant roll of toilet paper?" The timing was brilliant and her words were genuine. Once I explained I was testing an Apple smart speaker against my Sonos, she said, "I married a man, not a fanboy. Please get that thing out of my house."
For the $350 you would spend on the Apple Homeboy, you can add $50 and get a pair of Sonos One's for full stereo sound. And it would outperform the Homeboy, hands down. It's not even a close comparison at that point. But I'll admit a single Homebody vs a single Sonos One -- the Apple would win. But spending $350 for that single speaker, and be stuck in the Apple ecosystem? No thanks. I'll upgrade to a pair of Sonos One's instead. And let's face it, Amazon's Alexa is winning the Smart Home war against Google and Siri, so for Sonos to add Alexa onto their Play One, that was a good move.
I have an iPhone Xs Max that my employer gave me. I also have a Note 9 as my personal phone. I use both daily, but I prefer Android because the Apple ecosystem just doesn't work as effectively with everything I have in my home. Smartthings, Hue, Fire TV, Rachio...all work better outside the Apple ecosystem, and that's the sole reason I didn't keep the Apple speaker. And at the end of the day, I don't think Apple or Google can outperform Sonos' sound quality. Not when you add in the Playbar, Sub, Play 5, etc. It's more effective for me to buy the smaller Echo Dot's and plug the 3.5mm audio into a Sonos Play 5 speaker, than it would be for me to use Siri and the Apply Homeboy.
Maybe next time you should try a HomePod.
I bought both the HomePod and Home Max. Sound quality, in my opinion, wasn’t even close. The Home Max is by far the better sounding. Realistic but not overpowering bass, clear mids, crisp highs. I paired two of them together and was surprised by the immense sound stage and incredible stereo separation. I wanted to like the HomePod, but the ecosystem limitations (designed for Apple Music and I use Spotify), the nearly daft Siri, and the Home Max’s superior sound sealed it for me.
I agree Brad, very biased review in the video. My Google Home Max is kick arse, going to buy a second for stereo 👍👍👍
i would choose sonos out of the other 2 coz sonos has been around way before the HomePod and Google Home . Alexa was just an added software function so if you bought a sonos speaker before alexa was introduced, you just need to update your sonos app and your speaker's software will be updated. plus the quality of the sound when playing music is already so so good.
I love how stupid Siri is
It is funny to listen to people get upset with Siri
She is still just as dumb
Google Assistant also has support for 3P developers through Actions on Google
It’s always been like that for Siri. Anytime you ask about any apple products it always tells you to go to the Apple website
spiddyman007 does that change how it's worse than its competitors?
spiddyman007 you are right about the HomePod but you are wrong about the apple products
I've settled on the Echo Plus 2nd Generation for the following reasons:
1. shopping integration with my amazon prime account
2. The LED notification ring that lights different colors for different events
3. The overall sound of the built in speakers is good enough for most things, if I want better, I pair over Bluetooth to an external sound bar with 5.1
4. The Echo Plus 2nd Gen, has a hub + temperature sensor built-in, so i don't always have to find my way to the thermostat to know what the temp is.
By the way, I did see the Sonos speaker at Best Buy today, but because it doesn't have any kind of notification lights, that's what made me choose the Echo Plus instead.
I haven't tried the home pod, I'm annoyed by Siri enough just on iOS, or macOS now compared to Google or Alexa and what they can do. Plus, I don't subscribe to Apple Music, I have an iTunes library, local and cloud based because I prefer to own my music, even though I also use Amazon music as well as other streaming services (including Pandora.)
I have 2 pairs of old Sonos 1. The stereo configuration is good. I don't know HomePod - In Switzerland is not yet arrived. Anyway the software to manage music in Sonos is really great. You can setup to play two different music in the same time or the same as you wish. And that all form the same iPhone, iPad, Mac .... More important is that once you started to play your music, you can take your iPhone and go away. The music continue even if your phone is 20 km far from your home. That means your battery is safe is not working .... with airplay 1 your phone is drained...with airplay 2 what will happen? And stereo setup ??
For the moment I think nothing better than Sonos.
Does the Sonos series, Sonos One or if a new model was released, support the Hi-Fi music app Tidal? If it does then I’m going to buy it.
Please do an update video, as it had been over an year already.
After reading some comments, I would agree that if you’re a person just jumping into the smart speaker market then an echo dot hooked up to your existing speaker set -up would be the best cheapest option. I currently have the google mini, google home and a chrome cast connected to my bookshelf speakers. When it comes to listening to music I almost always turn my google smart speakers down so I can’t hear them and crank the bookshelves up. The smart speakers are definitely useful for the smart element or if I have people over and some background music they do the job but, if I’m looking to listen to some music and want a quality sound e.g well balanced high, mids and lows then the bookshelves are the winners. Although there seems to be a lot of new third party smart speakers coming out right now and if you wanted to get rid of the bulky bookshelves for something with a smaller profile JBL and LG both have some google based speakers out that beat the Max on price, I haven’t compared them but I tested the LGs in the store briefly the other day and they sounded quite good (for a small smart speaker that’s is).
So which should you buy ? ... none of them get the Libratone Zip 2
I need a voice assistant with the best far field microphone array for home automation. Am using Google Home Mini now and its partially deaf. It cant hear me when there is any other noise. Should I got for Sonos One? Or just buy an Echo Dot? Any real Sonos One user can tell me how good is the mic?
Do you need to bed in these speakers like you did back in the day?
I read somewhere you can connect with Bluetooth on the Google Home Pod, is this correct?
Also, can you turn the bass down on the Google Home Max like you can for the Mini in the Google Home app?
Hi all, what about a new product, which is in prototype phase, but firts units should be availalble in December 2018. it is called the smart speaker BBX1
Keep trying to talk myself into the HomePod.... but I just can't. Frustration isn't worth the trade-off in sound quality.
moehio I love Google Assistant and she's been such a helper. However, I'm invested into the Apple ecosystem very much. I have an iPhone and I have Apple Music. I have a Google Home and I think my assistant is just sheer brilliance. She helps me with literally anything!!! So it is EXTREMELY hard for me to choose between HomePod and Home Max. I sampled both and it's hard... though Siri's a better DJ. She can do more things when playing music. For example: "add this song to my library".
Yes, I'm with you. Been in the Apple system since 1985 if you can believe it when my grandfather bought me my first Macintosh at 15. I've converted more people to Macs than probably anyone and even I'm having a real hard time selecting which speaker. My heart says Mac, my brain say Home Max. Hard to believe how much better the assistant is than Siri and I'm ashamed to see just how far behind Siri is to Google. Even Alexa in such a short time seems more intelligent. I'm a Spotify guy (I tried to love Apple Music, and just can't pretend its not as good as Spotify, no matter how many 30 day trials I use!) so it muddies the waters even a little more for me. I'm just not a fan of Google anything other than the search engine itself... and the assistant based on what little i've seen.
moehio I have used a free trial for Spotify on Google Home, and it didn't work as well as Google Play Music. I had a 4-month trial for Google Play Music and I loved it. My Assistant would let me skip to certain parts of a song like Siri does on HomePod. However, Siri is better when it comes to DJ skills. Also, Apple Music is just more convenient for me because I could easily add songs to my library and create playlists without a problem. I've used Apple Music for years and it's been lovely. I huge selection of songs in my Apple Music library, and if I switch to Spotify, my library becomes quite limited. Still, it's quite hard to decide on which smart speaker I should get... so I'm testing each one out and comparing them at stores so I can decide what's right for me. So far, I am leaning towards Apple HomePod because I already have a Google Home (regular) and I have my smart assistant. So, maybe Siri can join Alexa and Google Assistant so I've got all three assistants on smart speakers. But then, Google Home Max also has SO MANY MORE ADVANTAGES!!! I can have it join my multiroom audio system if I wanted to, and stereo sound is another advantage.
Sonos for 5.1 home theater surround. Perfect for a small living room movie audio setup (well i like it)
tophat27 HomePod will be better
@@dylanpower1438keep telling yourself apple is better. Because the homepod can't even remotely do that.
So the quick and dirty here, if you have a smart home built around Apple to begin with and you love Apple get the Homepod. However there is really only 2 questions to ask to choose between the other 2; first Google or Amazon, which do you use more often? Second how each company uses your personal data? (Amazon shares everything with 3rd parties)
Personally I'm still using the original Google Home, I like the continued conversation feature Google uses and I don't shop on Amazon if I can avoid it, as mentioned above I don't agree with how they share my data. Sadly I have 4 Ring cameras around my house that I bought before Amazon purchased them 😞
I took 2 Sonos ones set up as a stereo pair over the the Max and HomePod because 2 Sonos ones are about the same price as the other 2 speakers and sound so so much better.
Apple stated the homepod was a speaker first and that’s what I bought it for. It’s sound is outstanding and it handles Apple Music brilliantly. Don’t care about the smart speaker part.
What are the light cubes in the background I been looking for then but I don’t know what they are called
I have the Google home mini and the echo dot. I prefer the dot for music because it connects to my Bose soundtouch speakers or any other Bluetooth speakers. It also has a 3.5 aux output. It runs my automation better than than Google or Siri.
I have a Google Home, four Google Home Minis and an Insignia Voice Smart Bluetooth Speaker and Alarm Clock with Google Assistant. I found that these integrated better in the home automation, along with whole sound and casting. What I have found and experienced, Google Home products are hands down the better products. I am currently looking at adding TicHome Mini for the bathrooms.
Sonos One! Because of AirPlay 2!
I’m still unclear to why it’s ok for Google home and Sonos to not have Apple Music Support but not ok for HomePod to not have Spotify support?
TLDR; Google and Sonos support full Spotify voice control even though it is owned by neither, so why not Apple? Also, Apple loves being exclusive so my understanding is that Apple chose to not allow Apple Music voice support on either of it's competitors as they have done before with Android especially (ie: no iTunes and pretty crappy Apple Music on Android ).
I don't know the exact reason why, so what I'm about to say should probably be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, Spotify is without a doubt one of the most used music streaming platforms along with Pandora and iHeart Radio. Each of those three services I mentioned are not made by Apple, Google, nor Sonos.
Google Play Music is a product of Google, whereas Apple Music is made by Apple. because of this, Apple and Google will obviously push for support of their music platforms respectively and optimize their systems for their use. However, while both Google and Sonos support multiple music services for people to control with their voices, Apple only supports Apple Music voice controls, effectively making it pointless to buy a HomePod to play your music with unless you exclusively use Apple Music and own an iPhone (or other iOS 11 device).
Of course you can play whatever music you want through your HomePod with your iPhone and it will sound just the same, but if you didn't care about the voice controls, then you could either simply buy a bluetooth speaker or get a regular speaker setup that would allow you to control your music through another wireless method.
Another important thought (this is where the grain of salt is probably needed) is that Apple really likes to push exclusivity. Even though there is an Apple Music app for Android, there isn't even Chromecast functionality through your iPhone or Android app. This being the case, my understanding is that Apple Music is not allowed on both Google's and Sonos' speakers through their respective smart systems. I believe it would probably be fine by Sonos and Google if Apple allowed Apple Music functionality on their hardware. If the fact that iTunes isn't even on Android and the Apple Music Android app is fairly jank while Google Play Music works just fine on iPhones is any indicator, I believe it's safe to say that It's Apples own fault that Google and Sonos don't have Apple Music support.
Spotify is market leader. That could be a reason support it.
Isaac Golden sonos has apple music support.
Malte Schümann was... read yesterday news now ;)
I have several HomePods and love them, but yes, I can’t wait for Siri to be more nimble on her toes with queries. HomePod integrates seamlessly with your Apple devices and HomeKit accessories.
Just bought the homepod and I'm missing the highs! Lots of bass, but very low treble. Anyone else, or do I have a defective unit?
Having recently purchased my first Echo, I can say Alexa is miles ahead of Siri. Siri is just ridiculous.
Krippy Krippy Krippy Krippy Kush Kush Kush Kush
Alexa is deaf. I own an Echo.
She gets my Spotify wrong all the time.
the Echo always buggers and goes quiet requiring a full restart.
I’m gonna get the Home Pod instead.
Siri will catch up via software updates.
I’d buy the Home Pod for the hardware and wait for Siri to improve.
WWDC is right around the corner.
R X true. I don’t need the speaker .. just a way to control my lights with voice so the echo dot is perfect for me.
Krippy Krippy Krippy Krippy Kush Kush Kush Kush how many times are going to ask how tall someone is? Thats stupid, its for music weather maybe an appt reminder for 99% of ppl
R X I wouldn't if I were you the homepod flubbs alot but Google homes use their AI to go through 800+ ways to say a single word so it almost never messed it up
Krippy Krippy Krippy Krippy Kush Kush Kush Kush HomePod is for music.
Get 2 Sonos 1 for the same price of 1 Google Max. worth it!!
I had to buy 3 Sonos Ones(I threw the 4th one in my bedroom) and the Sub to get decent bass and volume. My buddy has two HomePods and they sound just as good, maybe a little better. If I could do it again I probably would have sucked it up and got either one Devialet Gold or two Devialet 900 reactors.
The simple conclusion for me is the homepod stand alone is an excellent listening device. apple dropped the ball with Siri and the IOS application to make the homepod as good as Apple wants us all to believe it should have been...
Best video relevant home-pod comparison so far
Please, please tell me where you got that led colored modular lamp you have on the back wall.
And thanks for the review, ;)
I think it's called nanoleaf
Are you sure it’s super loud? Because everybody else says it’s not loud at all.
Agree with @Matthew B Shaw here - why would you not have compared with the Sonos Play 5 which is at the same price point. Google and Sonos hit multiple price points and Apple has gone in at the higher end - of course. I would put money on the Sonos Play 5 blowing the other two out of the water for sound quality. I am personal looking forward to Google Assistant coming to Sonos products.
What's the glowing grid on the wall, would love one of those.
Steve it's a HomeKit accessory, you can grab one directly from Apple's website but they're pretty pricey
It's the Nanoleaf Aurora lights. You can Google them or find them at places like Best Buy. For the 9 piece kit, it runs about $200 minimum.
Alexa problem is US skill don’t work in other region... so in Germany, Italy and even UK a lot of basic “given“ Alexa feature are missing... google took a better approach to that
Not sure I'm 100% fan of fabric covered speakers. Might look great as long as it's new but as time goes by and dust and fingerprints will make it look.... lets say patinated for a neutral term.
Most people are going to have speakers in their home that blow away any of these products in the sound department. Go grab a cheap Echo Dot, hook it up to your system, and be happy you have a system that absolutely kills any of these standalone products in every single facet. Don't have a good sound system at home? Any decent quality bookshelf speak is going to sound better than any of these. Go grab those and a Echo Dot instead.
Wow! I love Apple but this is ridiculous. Apple needs to fix this. For $300 it’s a waste of money.
Apple tends to be a crap always considering how much they yend to ask for their "limited capabilities" hardware.
Considering that Sonos One is almost half the price, The Sonos play 5 would have put the other two at the same disadvantage as the Sonos One is in the review.
Libratone’s Zipp speakers work terrific with AirPlay two. I have two set up with Home Kit and they sound great. They’re not smart speakers but for music playback in stereo they offer another alternative for Apple users. I both two of the Zipp speakers for what I would have paid for one HomePod.
For me I would get the B&W Zeppelin as I have an Echo Dot 2 so it would compliment that and let me stream Apple Music to it.
As an Apple ecosystem person, the HomePod is great. That said, just buy a cheap home mini or two and use that
to ask questions or control products away from HomePod. You can even broadcast.
Siri is just stupid.. 😂😂
HomePod I love ❤️ the way it sounds
Why are you comparing the bottom of the barrel Sonos speaker against the best speaker google sells?? 😂
Sold one just this weekend!😂 I love the Google Home Max.
I totally agree lmao
Sonos is overrated. Never understood why people think Sonos speakers sound good. But they are super versatile and convenient I’ll give them that.
That’s nutty that the HomePod can’t even tell me when it was released! Why won’t Apple update this?
That Siri voice assistant display was utterly shameful. What is Apple playing at?
Sonos sounds awesome in 5.1
Nice review.. cant find one video where anybody compares these PLAYING ACTUAL MUSIC.. haha
7:49 Haha. The HomePod left a white-ring on the wooden table!
Casting Tidal to Google Max. Sounds nice.
siri is so obnoxious
Can you also compare Bose Homespeaker 500
Good speakers but expensive. I've bought an LG Wk7 for 100 $ and it's awesome.
That was a good informative review. As much as I like the Apple ecosystem, I can't help but feeling they are falling behind. I do wish Apple would up their focus on their core ethos of 'making the user's life easier' which was very apparent just a few years ago. Siri's snide remarks and replies were funny for a while, but it's getting very tedious and obnoxious - especially when it fails to understand simple commands.
The Sonos Play 5 is by far the best sounding speaker in this class not the Apple HomePod. Much better than the Apple or Google equivalent.
7.50. That's A) why you use a cup coaster or B) don't buy a home pod.
Its an AUDIO SPEAKER so the audio quality should be the main criteria, and not functions I can handle manually so much faster.
I'm still using Apple HI FI
HomePod is a SPEAKER ! That just has some smart options. Apple keeps saying it from the very beginning. If you want an assistant go for sth else.
Wojtek Chojnacki that is a marketing tactic because they knew they couldn't compete in the smart speaker Field. It is by the very definition of its features a smart speaker.
First Last Fortunately/unfortunately I don’t have a problem in Poland. neither Siri nor HomePod is available here yet. And even Siri doesn’t know when it will be 😉
I thought HomePod is a smart TOILET PAPER.
WOW! Siri is FAILING miserably in the comparison! LOL! Google Home has a merrier Happy Birthday jingle, but I love Alexa's singing voice!
Why sonos play 1 why not sonos play 3? It would be more fair
Dustin Colwell the play 3 doesn't have Alexa built in, so I'm assuming that's why he choose all speakers with voice assistants already included. I do agree a play 3 would compete better on sound quality, and probably be the best sounding out of all of them. A play 3 and echo dot together would be very competitive.
Also the Google home Max work with the IPhone!
Max any feature on the home max which cannot be used if im an iphone user? Please help me out need to buy it asap.!
Home max!!! End of discussion! 😁😁😁 with apologies 😊
I have Samsung note 8.I have nest thermostat and smoke alarm.... not investing in anything else yet until I choose the system........and I've been waiting for Samsung smart speaker with bixby... but not happened.. I do have a Google hone in my bed room.. it's great at time and alarms. It sets appointments. It won't call or message which annoys me....
so Cortana?
sound sound sound its all about sound its a speaker!!!!!! HomePod win win win
Mathew : Song happy birthday
HomePod : I don’t do that, I’ll play a song
playing : rapgod by eminem
Siri got attitude
Two home pods in the living room of my apartment paired together and they sound fantastic.
didn't even talk about price as a factor in choosing...
Sonos One
You should have used Amazon echo studio instead of Sonos.
I just asked my Amazon Echo and it said the Echo Studio was released the year AFTER this video was made.
@@1973TJM Damn!! I didn't realize that.
The Agera actually hit 284.7 mph
But the Sonos can’t do Amazon Routines properly
No bluetooth is an epic fail. Not everybody wants to airplay
Martin Wood it because apple only wants iPhone users to use it
i’d love to see an updated version.All of the questions you asked, i asked to my homepod and it answered all of them.
Do people still believe apple quality justifies their prices!?
Or you could get an echo dot and just get a nice bluetooth speaker
It’s a bummer that Siri is still just as stupid. Really shows the (lack of) talent of Apple’s engineers
How annoying is it that the Google Max has to keep advertising the website it finds its information from.. Alexa just tells you the flipping answer! Siri just totally fails and might as well say ‘computer says no’.. kinda pointless having a smart speaker that isn’t actually smart. Alexa I think is the best by far because of this.
In fact, considering how much money and resources Apple has, it’s about time they actually fixed Siri to be an actual assistant, not just control my stuff with my voice, I had phones doing that 20 years ago!
marksapollo So telling the source is wrong... Lol
So, what do you call it?
walter G On there website they kinda do, this is the text they use:: It’s also an intelligent home assistant, capable of handling everyday tasks
Alexito Pro It’s a pointless waste of time just to advertise, no doubt google gets paid every time it says it.
Alexito Pro What I call what?
I bought 2 Harmen kardon citation ones for £110 so that is the best for me
I bought the HomePod and the sound is amazing!! Mic’s for Siri work great picking my voice and my bad English accent much better than it does on the iPhone though as Dan states Siri still lags behind most assistants, hopefully it will get better.
News google updated their google home devices to tell you if Pluto is a planet
Are you kidding me? Google Home Max is the extremely clear winner!!!
Absolutely
Hell yeah 👍👍
I think smart speaker is the what this is about and home pod is not smart so why even consider it companies have Google and Alexa built in the best companies in the world bottom line is siri just sucks its a shame bc apple makes great things but its 1980 vs 2020 as far as I'm concerned
I use a DIY Google Home made with a Raspberry Pi witch is only 35$.
I use Spotify on an iPhone so it there goes that