Six months ago, I made the decision to make the purchase of a Space Gray HomePod.
For those who don’t know, the HomePod is Apple’s smart speaker that is powered by Siri. You can ask it questions or do tasks like set a timer or alarm, as well as play music and podcasts on it.
I’ll admit, I have not used the HomePod as much as I would have liked. Granted, I didn’t pay full-price for it, so that makes me feel a little better in that sense.
Still, when I have used it, I have loved the fact that it has incredible bass and sound quality. There have been mutliple times when I’m playing video games, mute my TV and play my music from Apple Music because the sound is better than the music playing from my iPhone 8 Plus and its stereo speakers.
There have also been times when I’m sitting at my kitchen counter and listening to a podcast either while cooking or using my laptop. Again, even for a podcast, the sound quality could not be better.
In addition to listening to music and podcasts, it really does make a great timer because I can hear it all throughout my apartment.
The only downside to a product like this is Siri. When I ask Siri about the weather, I don’t want her to go to the default Apple Weather app, but use CARROT Weather instead that I have on my iPhone.
Unfortuantely, there is no going around this and there is no way to even use Siri Shortcuts on it for her to use CARROT Weather as my weather source.
I’d also like that same type of integration with other apps like Fantastical for adding reminders and such.
Using the HomePod as a speaker when watching TV shows and movies on my Apple TV has been a nice touch too.
The one aspect of the HomePod I am looking froward to the most for the rest of the year is listening to Christmas music on it. I have been using the Apple TV for it for years, but the fact that I’ll have an even better speaker for it this year is going to make this Christmas season even more special.
The HomePod may not be my most used Apple device, but it still makes a difference in my every day life. I can’t wait to see what will come next with it.
