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Things Apple's $350 HomePod Smart-Speaker Can't Do: Answer Random Questions, Check Calendar, Work With an Android Phone, and More (businessinsider.com)
In June last year, Apple announced the HomePod, its first smart-speaker which will battle Amazon's sleeper hit Echo speakers and Google's Home speakers. Apple being late to enter a product category is nothing new, but the HomePod has a few other strange things about it. Apple said it won't begin shipping the HomePod until December that year, in a departure of its own tradition. Then the device's shipment was delayed till "early 2018" -- February 9 is the current shipping date. Bloomberg has reported about the difficulties Apple engineers faced over the years to come up with the HomePod.
At any rate, Business Insider now has more information about the device, and is reporting the things that Apple's first smart-speaker won't be able to do. From the report (condensed): 1. HomePod can't pair with Android phones.
2. HomePod doesn't recognize different people's voices.
3. HomePod can't check your calendar.
4. HomePod doesn't work well with other streaming services besides Apple Music. (Spotify, Tindal, and Pandora users won't be able to use Siri.)
5. HomePod can't hook up to another device using an auxiliary cord.
6. HomePod can't make calls on its own. (In order to make a call using HomePod, you have to dial the person's number on your iPhone, then manually select that the call play through HomePod.)
7. The HomePod version of Siri isn't prepared to answer random questions like Alexa and Google Assistant.
At any rate, Business Insider now has more information about the device, and is reporting the things that Apple's first smart-speaker won't be able to do. From the report (condensed): 1. HomePod can't pair with Android phones.
2. HomePod doesn't recognize different people's voices.
3. HomePod can't check your calendar.
4. HomePod doesn't work well with other streaming services besides Apple Music. (Spotify, Tindal, and Pandora users won't be able to use Siri.)
5. HomePod can't hook up to another device using an auxiliary cord.
6. HomePod can't make calls on its own. (In order to make a call using HomePod, you have to dial the person's number on your iPhone, then manually select that the call play through HomePod.)
7. The HomePod version of Siri isn't prepared to answer random questions like Alexa and Google Assistant.
...is now limited to bonzais and flower pots only.
Dialectician. Archology.
The next version, which will come out next year will tout amazing new features - all of which will have been available in other products for years, but which Apple will pretend are revolutionary new ideas they came up with. Apple fans who bought Version 1 will line up to buy Version 2 so they don't get left behind.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
The Ford (Google) and Dodge(Amazon) brand pickup trucks can both carry cargo and pull trailers using standard 1 3/4 and 2 inch ball hitches . Their in dash infotainment centers can sync with any device over Bluetooth, and will play a wide variety of music from a broad selection of sources, radio, satellite and digital devices. Their engines and transmissions are different yet they are both able to do everything pickup truck owners expect such a vehicle to do.
Meanwhile the new Chevrolet (Apple) "Pick-Up" Truck, has a 100lb 1 square ft cargo limit to it's "bed", and can only pull Chevy branded Camper trailers using Chevy "Hitch" technology. All other trailers are unable to connect to the new 3 inch pivoting cube hitch Chevy has invented. Inside the Chevy DASH (by SONY) will only sync with Chevy branded devices and will only play Classic Country music stations. It has Chevy's own engine and transmission and does basically nothing expected of any vehicle called a pickup truck.
I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
But not when they are connected back to the mother ships.
Stand alone, fire walled, etc. NO communication back to anyone one. No logs, except those kept locally.
Unfortunately, I believe these all still rely heavily on the Hardware and Databases back at the mother ships.
Unless these devices can stand on their own or there is some iron clad Federal regulation on privacy of data (with jail time for violators), not happening in my home.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
We have 3 Echo devices and 1 Google device in the house. They are all the dot/mini versions. The Echos are in the kitchen, garage, and bathroom and the Google device is in the bedroom. The Echo is a great companion in the kitchen for setting timers, doing unit conversions, and getting basic info from calendars and the weather. In the bathroom and garage it's just a nice way to control music hands free. The Google device is far more capable and I'd swap them all to Google except the three Amazon ones are plugged into real speakers via the headphone jack whereas the Google one stupidly leaves out this feature. As such we mostly just use the Google one to control the Chromecast plugged into the TV and occasionally for calendar/weather/traffic functions.
As far as capabilities, using Alexa is like using DOS. Totally useless unless you know the right commands. Google's is like a voice search engine. You can ask it the most random of questions and it never ceases to amaze me in the answers it comes up with. It "understands" general questions better and allows you to refine and build upon previous queries. As far as the devices listening to bedroom activities (Google) and bathroom activities (Amazon), I could care less. Amazon can listen to me shit all day and I don't care and Google has far more embarrassing stuff on me in gmail and search history than any sounds I make in bed.
Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?