The Verge report also mentioned that Siri could not recognize different sounds. If you don’t make other special settings, anyone can let HomePod send or read your message, which is especially tragic for people living in the dormitory.
In addition, The Verge found a bug. Generally speaking, the iPhone can recognize the owner’s voice, and other people’s voices can’t wake up Siri, but HomePod uses an iOS system slightly different from the iPhone. When HomePod is charging, users can operate through Siri on the iPhone, which allows other users other than the owner to use Siri to operate the iPhone in disguise. Apple responded that there is no clear solution except turning off the personal request function.
In a report on February 6th, Recode, a technology website, expressed an understanding of Siri design on HomePod. According to the report, Siri on HomePod is no different from Siri on other Apple products, but its function on HomePod is limited, which makes it impossible to do everything that can be done on iPhone. This is because Siri on HomePod is designed for everyone in the family, not just the setter.
Not compatible with software and services outside Apple’s ecosystem.
HomePod can only play music using Apple Music, a music service provided by Apple.
In contrast, Amazon and Google are much more open. According to The Verge’s report, Amazon owns Amazon music, Google owns Google Play music and Youtube, but both Amazon and Google’s smart speakers use Spotify’s music service as their default settings. Spotify has more registered users than Apple Music.
In addition to playing music, it is also an important function to control home appliances through smart speakers. Through Apple’s "Home)APP, HomePod can operate smart home devices compatible with Apple Homekit through voice, such as Philips Hue smart light bulbs. However, the Wall Street Journal reported that the menu of the "home" App is confusing and switching is difficult to find, while Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant are compatible with more smart home appliances, including the now popular Google’s Nest Thermostat.
Do you want to buy
"Apple HomePod is here, but don’t buy it in a hurry" is the title of new york Times’ evaluation report on HomePod. However, for users, whether or not to buy HomePod in the end depends on what they want to do with it after buying it.