Also they have reworked the streaming process, so as to make it more robust to drop outs (essentially by getting the source / speaker to build bigger buffers).

And Airplay 2 is (supposed) to be fully integrated into the Home app, allowing the now playing screen to control multiple speakers etc.

Questions remains over whether multiple AP2 speakers can be used as part of surround sound with a TV. 

Also question over degree of control Siri gives you - is it just Apple Music that can be triggered, or will it there be some way to play radio stations?

Anyway, i'm not too bothered - either by voice control, or what AP2 brings over B&O NL. 

And as it says on the HomePod page, an Apple Music subscription is required for " full music functionality" - implying that an existing AP speaker updated to AP2 will be missing the odd feature.

i‘m keen on the reports from the anglo-saxon members

Mark-N wrote:

Aussie Michael:

@mark. I think they are released here next week.

Looks like a two week wait for mine!  No rush though, it will only get "exciting" when I can stereo pair them!

So back to the original question:  Will HomePod 'kill' BeoPlay?

I think that Apple Marketing will not let that happen!  It looks like the main purpose of the HomePod is to increase the Apple Music subscriptions.

Where B&O targets the BeoPlay speakers to:

• Apple Users with AirPlay
• Google Users with Chromecast
• Everyone else with DLNA
• TuneIn listeners
• Spotify listeners
• Deezer listeners
• Everyone else with Bluetooth

Apple targets the HomePod speakers to:

• Apple Music subscribers
• shhh - people with an iTunes library - but don't make that too known.  Most of the Apple info on HomePod is very vague on this capability.

While the HomePod may be an interesting product in its own realm, I don't think B&O will loose too much sleep over it.  Apple would have to open it up a lot more.

To answer your question, No.

Thankfully for B&O, Apple is too proud with the HomePod. No line in, no stereo at launch, no other services except Apple Music Subscriptions. (What were they thinking).

The market is saturated with inexpensive speakers, and the quality of the sound is simply not a purchasing decision for 90% of buyers in this price range. 

It will sell well, sure - but it'll also be another Apple accessory that hangs around for 3 years, maybe gets a rev, and then disappears.

Cardinalsong wrote:

It will sell well, sure - but it'll also be another Apple accessory that hangs around for 3 years, maybe gets a rev, and then disappears.

If that's meant as a criticism, its still better than some Beoplay products!

Indeed, in a way we should stop all this pointed criticism of specific brands.

We all know that tech cycles are short, and all brands limit software updates to the newest products by and large. Apple are probably the least guilty when it comes to this. Look at LG TVs, where 2016 full 4K models dont get the latest webOS. Is that because they're dont have capable enough hardware, is that because they chose not to so as to maintain the attraction of the new models. Probably somewhere in between, but the refusal to do much at all with recent TVs is poor behaviour. Apple phones and laptops up to about 4-5 years old generally get the latest OS's, with feature exclusion generally down to the hardware limitation.

Maybe we should just take a deep breath - and wait untill it actually is there and has shown how it performs in different user cases.

MM

B&O customers that will go all-in on AirPlay 2.0 may get the HomePod, I guess. The B&O wireless speakers can co-exist with the HomePod in an AirPlay 2.0 setup, and they may even get a mic update this Fall as well.

For me, two typical Apple issues will keep me from jumping on the HomePod immediately: Siri is not very good in my native language and, for now, HomePod is more or less exclusive to your iTunes library and/or your Apple Music subscription. 

With a B&O wireless speaker I can cancel or sign up for any subscription with Tidal, Deezer, Spotify, Apple Music etc. Voice control may be the future, but for someone with a Scandinavian accent I still prefer a Scandinavian product with hands-on control.

Roger

Roger wrote:

Siri is not very good in my native language and, for now, HomePod is more or less exclusive to your iTunes library and/or your Apple Music subscription