Apple introduced its HomePod sensible speaker to India final month — over two years after its debut within the US, UK, and Australia in February 2018. The HomePod is designed as Apple’s reply to the Amazon Echo and Google Nest vary of sensible audio system. However, similar to many different Apple units, it isn’t meant for everybody and is focused at a distinct segment viewers. The sensible speaker by Apple is predicated across the firm’s Siri voice assistant, which helps you to use voice instructions to carry out sure duties and play music. It options an array of microphones to detect your voice from any a part of a room. There are additionally a number of audio system to ship a room-filling audio expertise.
The Apple HomePod formally carries a price tag of Rs. 19,900 in India. This is decrease than the $299 (roughly Rs. 22,600) value currently applicable within the US, although it is usually discounted now. The India value of the HomePod places it proper up in opposition to the Amazon Echo Studio, which was launched last year at Rs. 22,999. So how good is the HomePod on the subject of the sensible speaker expertise? Also, is it an adjunct price shopping for for Apple followers in India — if not for all audiophiles? Read on to get solutions to all these and lots of different questions you might need in regards to the HomePod.
Apple HomePod is out there in India with a price ticket of Rs. 19,900
Apple HomePod design and specs
Before getting deeper into the expertise, let’s check out the design and specs of the Apple HomePod. The machine is as superbly crafted as some other Apple product and might subtly mix in with any a part of your house. Its cylindrical form and mesh material protecting make it seem like a beautiful piece of {hardware} even when not in use. Moreover, the speaker is 172mm tall and 142mm huge, which helps you to place it on desk, shelf, or TV stand in your front room or bed room.
The HomePod weighs 2.5kg which is lighter than the three.86kg Echo Studio. Of course, you will not be carrying the HomePod round a lot after discovering an appropriate spot to position it in. The base has a rubbery end that helps maintain the speaker securely in place.
As for specs, the HomePod makes use of Apple’s A8 processor, developed for the iPhone 6, to run everything including Siri responses. There’s an array of seven tweeters, every with its personal amplifier, and a high-excursion woofer with a 20mm diaphragm. There are additionally six microphones positioned such that they’ll decide up your voice instructions from any route. A touch-sensitive panel on the highest of the speaker is used to regulate all the things. The HomePod makes use of Wi-Fi 802.1ac and Bluetooth 5 for connectivity.
Apple HomePod contains a touch-sensitive panel on the highest
We’ve been testing the Apple HomePod for over two weeks to grasp its key professionals and cons from the angle of an Indian purchaser, so listed here are the solutions to some widespread questions.
Are there any variations between the Apple HomePod launched in India and what’s accessible within the US?
Apple hasn’t made any main adjustments to the HomePod offered in India in comparison with what was initially launched within the US. However, if you happen to’re extraordinarily observant, you’ll discover that the India model would not have a braided energy cable. When we checked with Apple, the corporate couldn’t verify a purpose for this.
How lengthy does it take to arrange the HomePod?
Setup solely takes a few minutes. All you want is to plug your HomePod into an influence socket after which deliver a appropriate iPhone or iPad near it. The HomePod will recognise it and replica your Apple ID particulars and preferences over routinely. You’ll get on-screen prompts that it’s essential to faucet one-by-one to finish the setup course of. It’s even simpler than establishing a wise TV, and is just like the way you get began with any latest new Apple product. The setup course of for the HomePod is much better than what you will get with an Amazon Echo or Google Nest machine.
Apple HomePod supplies a straightforward setup to iPhone customers
Do I have to make any changes to optimise the audio expertise on the HomePod?
No, you needn’t do something after establishing your HomePod. It makes use of its microphones to routinely sense the scale of your room and its relative place, and can use this to ship you an optimum sound. Apple calls this “Spatial Awareness.” We have been in a position to take pleasure in a room-filling sound expertise in a 15×10-foot room, with soothing lows and mids in addition to crisp highs. However, you aren’t getting an adjustable equaliser to tweak the sound profile as per your preferences. You can manually modify EQ settings within the Apple Music app or no matter different music app or supply machine that you simply use with the HomePod, although.
Do I have to go near the HomePod for it to grasp my instructions?
Apple has offered highly effective sufficient microphones that do not require you to return very near the HomePod to talk with Siri or management your music. While Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant on our Amazon Echo and Google Nest units would typically fail to grasp what we have been saying when standing in several elements of our room, resulting from ambient noise and music that was enjoying from a TV in the identical room, we discovered that the HomePod was in a position to catch most of our instructions with none noticeable delay.
Will the HomePod perceive my accent?
Yes, Siri has been skilled to grasp what folks say in easy English, even with an Indian accent. We requested a number of folks of various age teams to attempt utilizing Siri, and the outcomes have been acceptable for all of them.
Does the HomePod work solely with Apple units or can or not it’s related to an Android cellphone as effectively?
You want an iPhone, iPad, or iPod contact to arrange your HomePod. The record of appropriate fashions consists of the iPhone 5s and later, all iPad Pros, iPad (5th generation), iPad Air and later, iPad mini 2 and later, and iPod contact (sixth technology). The machine that you simply’re connecting together with your HomePod additionally must run no less than iOS 13.3.1. Once related and configured, you’ll be able to play audio tracks out of your sensible TV or MacBook through AirPlay. There’s no official help for Android customers, although. You can’t use Bluetooth to pair laptops, smartphones, or different supply units, and there aren’t any bodily inputs.
Is an Apple Music subscription wanted to play music on the HomePod?
The HomePod requires an Apple Music subscription for you to have the ability to use its full music performance. This means you can’t ask Siri to stream your favorite music tracks if you do not have Apple Music. At least that is now available at Rs. 99 a month, and Apple says its assortment consists of over 60 million songs and tens of 1000’s of playlists. You can even use AirPlay to stream music saved in your native Apple Music library, or from apps corresponding to Amazon Prime Music, Spotify, or YouTube Music on a appropriate machine. You can even ask Siri in your HomePod to play music saved in your native library.
Apple HomePod requires an Apple Music subscription to ship you a full-fledged expertise
Can I play songs from a third-party app corresponding to Amazon Prime Music, Gaana, Spotify, or YouTube Music on the HomePod?
Yes, you’ll be able to play songs from any third-party app, however solely through AirPlay. You cannot ask Siri to play your favorite music from a third-party app. This implies that if you wish to use voice instructions to play a specific monitor, you’ll have to use Apple Music. This is not like how one can play music immediately from third-party apps together with Amazon Prime Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Spotify, and YouTube Music on an Amazon Echo or Google Nest speaker. Even Siri on the iPhone helps you to play music from third-party apps.
Does Siri on the HomePod perceive Hindi?
No, Siri would not perceive any Indic language together with Hindi but. With the iOS 13.3.1 update in late January, Apple launched help for Indian English Siri voices on the HomePod. There isn’t any phrase on when or whether or not Hindi help might be added. You ought to decide an Amazon Echo or a Google Nest if you happen to would like to make use of Hindi instructions. However, the HomePod does at the moment help Cantonese, French, German, Mandarin, and Spanish.
Can I ask the HomePod to play a folks or regional music?
The HomePod, by means of its Siri integration and Apple Music help, is able to accurately recognising the names of many standard Indian albums, songs, and singers. We succeeded in asking Siri on the HomePod to play a number of Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, and Punjabi songs. It was additionally in a position to perceive singer names corresponding to Bir Singh, Dijit Dosanjh, Nimrat Khaira, Shreya Ghoshal, SP Balasubrahmanyam, Tarsem Jassar, and PB Sreenivas. Similarly, we have been profitable when asking it to play tracks together with Awara Hoon, Baapu Tere Karke, Ivan Yaara Magano, and Phire Elam Dure Giye.
Does the HomePod permit controlling music with voice instructions?
Yes, you’ll be able to ask your HomePod to go forwards or backwards, and pause or play a music utilizing your voice instructions. You can even modify the amount by telling Siri on the HomePod what you need.
Can I management music manually as effectively?
The contact panel on the HomePod helps you to management your music manually. There are quantity buttons that seem if you’re enjoying a music or talking with somebody on a cellphone name. You can faucet the panel to pause or play a monitor, double-tap to go to the following monitor, and triple-tap to go to the earlier monitor.
Apple HomePod supplies handbook quantity controls whereas enjoying an audio
Can the HomePod be used as a wise voice assistant, and might it reply on a regular basis family questions?
Yes, you’ll be able to ask Siri in your HomePod in regards to the present climate, close by locations, or any normal data questions that you simply might need. It makes use of the Internet to supply solutions to most of your questions immediately.
Can I ask the HomePod to set an alarm or a reminder?
Yes, you’ll be able to ask Siri on the HomePod to set an alarm or timer. You can even set a reminder for a particular activity after enabling the Personal Requests option utilizing the Home app in your iPhone or iPad.
Does the HomePod help contextual replies?
Siri does help contextual replies, which suggests you’ll be able to ask follow-up inquiries to some extent primarily based on the solutions to a earlier query. The function is at the moment fairly restricted in scope, although.
Does the HomePod permit me to ship or obtain messages?
You can actually ask Siri in your HomePod to ship a message or learn what you have acquired. To ship a brand new message, all it’s essential to do is say, “Hey Siri, send a message to [contact name].” You can then converse your message. After that, Siri will ask you if you happen to’re able to ship it to your contact. The HomePod additionally helps you to hear your messages learn out to you. However, it would not present any alerts if you obtain a brand new message. In addition to textual content messages, Siri on the HomePod additionally works with third-party apps together with Skype for iPhone and WhatsApp.
Can I make cellphone calls utilizing the HomePod?
Yes, you’ll be able to ask Siri in your HomePod to make a cellphone name for you. You can even reply your calls immediately on the HomePod, and you’ll examine for missed calls in your cellphone. Further, you’ll be able to ask Siri to play your most up-to-date voicemail. It is, nonetheless, necessary to focus on that the HomePod would not make any sound when a cellphone name is available in, similar to you aren’t getting notified of any new messages until you have already got your cellphone on you. Also, you will not be capable to use an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) that requires keypad enter out of your facet.
Does the HomePod present notification alerts?
No, similar to with messages and cellphone calls, the HomePod would not help iPhone system audio. This implies that if you happen to get an e-mail or message on an app corresponding to Slack or WhatsApp in your iPhone, you will not get its notification alert out of your HomePod.
Can the HomePod be related to a tool utilizing a wired connection?
No, Apple hasn’t offered any ports — not even a 3.5mm audio enter — to allow you to plug something into the HomePod utilizing a cable.
Can I connect with the HomePod through Bluetooth?
Apple has offered Bluetooth connectivity on the HomePod, however that is restricted to its proprietary options. This implies that you can not use the HomePod as a Bluetooth speaker.
Can the HomePod be used to regulate sensible units?
Apple has built-in HomeEquipment help into the HomePod to allow you to management supported sensible lights, switches, followers, and sensors utilizing voice instructions. You can even arrange routines through the Shortcuts app in your iPhone or iPad to let the HomePod execute sequences of actions routinely. That stated, the record of HomeEquipment-supported units is restricted when relative to sensible units that help Alexa and Google Assistant.
Can I take away or change the HomePod’s energy cable?
The cable accessible with the HomePod shouldn’t be formally detachable, however there are some tales on the Web that describe methods to take away it. We do not advocate you to take action as this may void your official guarantee. You might want to go to an Apple service centre when you’ve got any bother with the cable.
Is there a strategy to arrange a number of customers on the HomePod?
Apple has provided a HomePod multiuser option in sure markets that lets customers arrange the speaker as a household machine, and permits Siri to personalise experiences for as much as six customers. However, this function is not but accessible in India when utilizing the “English (India)” language setting.
Apple HomePod has a multiuser choice, however it’s but to be accessible for Indian customers
Can I stop Siri on the HomePod from listening to me on a regular basis?
Yes, you’ll be able to disable Siri on the HomePod by saying “Hey Siri, stop listening!”, or by means of the Home app. There isn’t any devoted change on the HomePod to do that. Once you have deactivated Siri, you’ll be able to solely restore it utilizing the Home app in your iPhone or iPad.
Can I see my historical past of Siri interactions?
Apple hasn’t applied any strategy to allow you to take a look at your historical past of interactions with Siri. You can ask the assistant to repeat what was stated to it final, however that is restricted to some minutes.
Is there a strategy to delete my interactions with Siri through the HomePod?
Yes, you’ll be able to delete your Siri interactions through the HomePod by going to Siri History> Delete Siri History from the HomePod settings in your Home app.
Can I pair two HomePod audio system to get stereo sound?
Yes, Apple has applied stereo pairing on the HomePod through AirPlay 2. This allows a 3D surround-sound expertise.
Verdict
The Apple HomePod may very well be a helpful companion for iPhone and Apple Music customers who want a wise speaker priced beneath Rs. 20,000. Sound output is nice, and it does have a number of sensible options. It cannot be a alternative for a soundbar or Bluetooth speaker, and it will not work seamlessly with non-Apple units or providers.
However, if you don’t need your self to lock within the Apple ecosystem, or have a extra restricted finances, you’ll be able to go for the Amazon Echo or Google Nest audio system, which have wider help for third-party units and providers, and are extra versatile.
Is iPhone SE the final word ‘reasonably priced’ iPhone for India? We mentioned this on Orbital, our weekly know-how podcast, which you’ll be able to subscribe to through Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or simply hit the play button beneath.