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Apple Homepod’s online pre-order stock sold out on the eve of its release date. Until we see the numbers, it can’t be said with much certainty if the company had limited stock or Homepod was in high demand. As the expert reviews have suggested, it’s the best sounding smart speaker in the market. But, this doesn’t mean that it’s perfect.
Given the cost and Apple’s proprietary approach, buying Homepod won’t be easy for most of us. Here are the five biggest reasons why you shouldn’t buy Apple Homepod. Give it a read:
Apple Homepod: Why skip this smart speaker
- Apple’s closed garden approach in aggressive mode
It’s a known fact that Apple’s products work best with each other. The way an iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch sync together is one of the primary reasons why people choose to stick with iDevices. That notion doesn’t change with Homepod. However, there are some added issues with this smart speaker.
You can’t even set up a Homepod and use it if you don’t have an iPhone. While you can use Airplay to stream music from other music services, you need an Apple Music subscription to get the most out of the speaker. Over the years, Apple has mastered its act of pushing the demand for iPhones with other products, but that wasn’t as forced as Homepod. Earlier, you were able to buy an iPhone and make it work with your Windows laptop, tons of music services, smart speakers, streaming devices, etc. Things are different in case of Homepod.
- Siri is dumb
Ever since Apple announced Homepod, it made sure to underline that it’s firstly a speaker with amazing sound–the “smart” part comes second. That’s true. The reviews have told the same. Homepod’s unmatchable sound quality is being dragged down by Siri. While Siri already lags behind Google Assistant and Alexa, Homepod doesn’t even ship with usual Siri that you use on iPhone. It can’t even set two timers, make calls, or check your calendar. Things can change in future updates, but the situation looks pretty grim at the moment.
- It’s costly, obviously
Then there’s the usual cost factor with Apple products. $349 isn’t a tiny amount of money you can spend without weighing down pros and cons. With Homepod, this analysis becomes more critical. In my opinion, $349 price can only be justified in your case if you fulfill all the following conditions:
Already engrossed in Apple’s ecosystem.
Have an Apple Music subscription.
You care about sound quality a lot.
If you live alone, because only then you’ll be comfortable using Siri’s ‘personal requests’ feature.
No plans to buy Android smartphone in the near future.
Using Siri mostly for music control, weather reports, and other basic tasks.
- No full Spotify support
Apple Music’s subscriber count is growing at a faster rate. Still, Spotify remains the most popular music streaming service out there. You can stream music to Homepod from Spotify, but you can’t tell Siri to play a particular song. You’ll need to control songs and their operations from your iPhone manually. That’s just frustrating and makes Homepod no better than any other dumb speaker with a great sound.
- Costly repair as well
When it comes to repairability, Homepod has been awarded a poor score of 1/10 by iFixit. The other competing smart speakers have scored much better in this test.
An out-of-warranty Apple Homepod repair and replacement will cost $279, which is about 80% of the original price. If you add the shipping cost, it’ll get closer to $349. So, if you’re buying a Homepod, you should get AppleCare+ that costs $39.
If the reasons mentioned above aren’t good enough to keep you away from a Homepod, you can get one here.