In this piece, I go over how I use my various HomePods in my house as my primary speaker for my music and movie-watching needs.
I am not an audiophile, and neither do I play one on the internet. I can’t describe what good sound is, but I can certainly tell bad sound when I hear it. From the get-go, HomePod checked a bunch of boxes for me. It sounded better than my previous bulky and expensive 5.1 surround sound system, it was easier to use, and it was also much more aesthetically pleasing.
I have been taking advantage of a handy feature in tvOS that lets you default your sound output to a couple of HomePods set up as a stereo pair.
It wasn’t such a breeze to use at first because I experienced a bunch of issues with pairing the two speakers and keeping them paired together, but a fresh install eventually fixed everything, and I can’t say I have had any issues at all with this setup since then. This is, to date, a setup that I am completely satisfied with.
Why I chose paired HomePods as my sound system
There are several reasons for my choice.
First and foremost, I must disclaim that I gave a fair try to a Sonos Beam soundbar placed directly under my 65-inch TV. Despite being ugly, I was immediately underwhelmed by the sound experience. There was no room-filling, warm and deep bass-y sound to be heard. A few tests with various movies quickly confirmed that the Sonos Beam was nowhere close to satisfying my very basic needs in terms of sounds. Hours after installing it, the return label was printed, and the device was packed back into its box.
Then I briefly looked into the Sonos Arc, a setup starting at $800, which might sound much better than the Beam but would look just as ugly under my TV, if not more. I didn’t pull the trigger on that one because I wanted to give HomePods a try first.
Price and aesthetics are a big deal to me. I already had two HomePods (one in the living room and one in the kitchen), and I was just using them to play music, so it eventually occurred to me that I could just create a stereo pair and use that as my main TV sound system since I use Apple TV for all my TV needs anyway.
The initial setup was quick and simple and allowed me to confirm that not only the sound quality was up-to-par with my needs, but it was also an aesthetically pleasing experience. The HomePods would just sit in corners of the rooms, away from the TV screen itself, and blend in my living room that one may think Jony Ive himself decorated (it’s white, bright, and minimalist, yet cozy).
And at the end of the day, this setup didn’t cost me anything extra since I already had the two HomePods. But even if I had had to buy two new HomePods at full price, the setup would have been less than a Sonos Arc.
It just works
As I said before, the initial setup was a bit shaky, but after some basic troubleshooting, I haven’t had any problem with it since.
To me, this setup is the perfect example of something that you set and forget yet enjoy every single day.
On any given day, I would turn my TV on, turn the Apple TV on, and then don’t think about sound. It automatically outputs through my stereo pair, providing an amazing sound that sometimes even tricks my wife and me.
See, the sound is so good that you can hear things in movies or TV shows that appear to be in the same room as you. It can be someone knocking at the door or people talking in the background. Or maybe it’s a jet flying by. I swear it sometimes tricks us into thinking this is happening in our room, but it’s just on TV, or rather in the HomePods.
If you can’t make out the movie or TV show dialogues when using HomePod as your Apple TV speaker, there is a handy Enhance Dialogue option to make the actor’s words easier to hear.
Sounds vs smarts
When I don’t use my HomePods as the default sound output, I do use them with voice commands and so does my family member, thanks to multi-user voice recognition. This has always been the point of contention with HomePod because, well, Siri sucks. No matter what you think of it or how you use it, it sucks, and you will not change my mind about this. It’s something I’ve learned to live with over the years.
All this to say that if I initially bought HomePods 1st generation in 2018, it wasn’t for the smarts. I knew the device wasn’t any smarter than Siri on my iPhone or iPad. Again, I’ve made peace with that a long time ago. But I knew the sound quality was going to be top-notch for the price and that these speakers would play nice with the rest of my Apple gear, all the while looking great in my house. I wasn’t wrong about any of that.
In addition to catering to my media needs, HomePod has some handy capabilities. For instance:
- HomePod adds the Hey Siri capability to my Apple TV when I use it as the speaker. This ensures I can use Siri on my TV without pressing and holding the Siri button on the remote.
- HomePod 2nd gen and HomePod mini have built-in sensors that can tell me the temperature and humidity of the room.
- HomePod also works as a reliable Home Hub for my house to remotely control my smart HomeKit accessories.
The other speakers in my home
I bought a Sonos Move to replace the HomePod in my kitchen. I chose this specific device because I want to be able to easily pick it up and bring it into the backyard.
While the sound quality isn’t as fulfilling as the HomePod’s, I feel the Move is doing a great job. It sounds great, it is super portable, it has a long-lasting battery, it comes with a charging dock, and it has support for Amazon’s Alexa, which in some cases is better than Siri.
After plugging in my credentials, Alexa can play anything from Apple Music. It can also answer basic questions, set multiple timers, and, well, that’s about all I need my smart speaker to do. Am I happy with this purchase? Absolutely.
We also have a HomePod mini that my daughter got for her birthday. While it’s beautifully made, the sound quality is sub-par when you come from the full-size HomePods. But, it’s only $99! You can’t have your cake and eat it too! Would I buy a HomePod mini for myself? I don’t think so!
Where do you go from here?
Finally, let’s go over a few things I wish HomePods had.
Better Siri
While the HomePod is already great, I hope the newer models get the hardware to use enhanced Siri and some aspects of Apple Intelligence.
AirPlay 3?
I hope Apple opens up AirPlay support even more to outside companies and to allow them to do things that only Apple could do before.
Imagine AirPlay 3 implemented in Sonos products, allowing you to use four Sonos speakers as the default sound output for your Apple TV. Like paired stereo HomePods, but Sonos (or whatever speaker brand).
This is not necessarily a bad idea. It’s actually not too far from what Apple is doing with HomeKit. It provides a playground for other companies to play on. AirPlay 3 could be an extended playground.
Fix issues with Mac
HomePod works flawlessly with my iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. However, I have faced multiple connection issues when using it as a speaker with my Mac. I hope this is fixed with a software update.
Add a battery
I think adding a battery to the HomePod mini or introducing a new battery-powered version can be a fantastic addition. I can then move it around freely and use it in my garden.
Android support
I already love that I can AirPlay from my iPhone to my HomePod even without a Wi-Fi network. However, oftentimes, I wish my other family members could use it as a speaker with their Android phones. I strongly think allowing HomePod to connect using Bluetooth can be a wonderful addition. I fail to see why HomePods can’t be used like AirPods with just about any device.
At the end of the day, the HomePod is just a speaker, and what sets it apart is how nice it plays with my other Apple devices. But if Apple can open up a bit and let others pick up where it left off, it could be a win-win for everyone.
What do you think?