The HomePod: Sign of a true Apple Fan

Or “My journey with the HomePod (not a review)”

What does listening to music mean to you? And how much are you willing to pay for it?

My history with music is not very deep or complex. When I was young, I did not fancy music that much. A lot of my peers had an interest in learning an instrument or taking vocal classes, but I preferred to read books instead. It was only towards the end of my schooling days when I started developing a sudden interest in music. I didn’t particularly have an emotional relationship with music. I just enjoyed pop songs that had a rich production of instruments and I wanted to explore the magic behind the creative process (I still have an interest in music production - but I never made time to explore it). With this interest in listening also came an interest in music players. I saw it as an essential tool - a tool that takes the listener to a different place in their head, an otherworldly experience, especially when enabled by the right music.

This is the context with which I explore any audio device - the more immersive the experience, the better it is. I am not technically adept with music terms - so I am not going to pretend to talk about bass, treble and whatever other lexicons exist in that realm.

When Apple announced the HomePod in 2017, I judged it from the lens of a smart speaker. At that point, I was living in a noisy hostel room with nearly non-existent internet connection so it made no sense to me. I had no smart home accessories either, so I wondered what the point of it would be.

Eventually, as I graduated and made my way back to an internet rich society, I still found myself pondering over the purpose of a smart speaker, in a house that did not have any HomeKit accessories.

In 2020, when the HomePod mini was introduced, I was intrigued because of its low starting price but I was still not invested enough to purchase one. Around this time, I also got my first pair of AirPods. Ironically enough, this was the device that got me thinking about buying a HomePod. Until I got AirPods, I had never used Siri much. With AirPods I could suddenly ask Siri to do simple things like skip a track or pause music, or even text someone and it would just happen. This was an experience I had grossly underestimated. While definitely not necessary, it was one of the most enjoyable interactions I had with technology. I realised if I could do this without a pair of buds sticking out of my ears, it would be truly liberating.

I got the HomePod mini first and started using Siri on it, thoroughly enjoying the tiniest interactions I had - be it listening to music, podcasts or getting my daily dose of tech news.

Eventually as I started living alone in an apartment, I realised the potential the HomePod had. I could pair it to my TV and use it as a speaker and I suddenly had more ways to control my TV with just my voice. But I found the HomePod mini’s sound stage to be lacking when it came to functioning as the primary speaker for my TV. It was definitely better than the TV’s original speakers, but I could sense it wasn’t the best or the ideal audio experience for the room I was living in. By then, Apple had discontinued the original HomePod, so I had no other product to turn to.

As luck would have it, Apple announced the second generation HomePod this year and I picked one up as soon as I could. I absolutely loved the way it was packaged, it looked big and strong compared to my tiny HomePod mini.

I connected it to my TV and opened Apple Music —

There is an ad from Apple that perfectly encapsulates how I felt when I heard the HomePod in my living room. It was actually an ad for the AirPods Max but it also perfectly describes my feeling with the HomePod.

It is called “Journey into Sound” - it shows an individual wearing the AirPods Max and floating in endless outer space. Meteors whoosh past the individual at a dangerously close distance as they fall towards what seems to be a wormhole. A huge source of light shines over the individual’s face. What one assumes to be the sun, a star or a ridiculously large meteor turns out to be a lamp at a desk instead. We are then exposed to reality - the individual is at their home, in the comfort of their couch, transported to another dimension with the AirPods.

The HomePod experience is something similar - there is a discerning moment in my life everyday where I step out of the reality of life and into a void of my own surrounded by the music I like. The sound fills the room, bouncing off the walls around me and into my ears. Spatial audio works best on the HomePod, somehow significantly more when I sit directly in front of it. The sound surrounds my body and spills into my soul, searching for answers that I hitherto hadn’t found.

Simply put, the HomePod is one of the most enjoyable devices I own. There’s nothing to not like once you get immersed in the experience. It is the best way to experience my music. It also looks pretty, adorning my living room, unassuming, quietly just sitting there until someone exposes its capabilities.

The HomePod’s audio range is also far beyond the mini. I replaced a pair of HomePod minis with a single HomePod and it simply blew the minis out in a way I did not imagine. Both in terms of volume and quality, the HomePod is multiple times better than a pair of minis. I can only imagine what a pair of HomePods would sound like.

But it doesn’t come at a cheap price. The HomePod is three times the cost of a HomePod mini. Some Apple products are an easy buy - the Mac for example immediately exemplifies why it can be bought. There’s nothing quite like the performance and power of a Mac, especially for developers. Similarly, the iPhone, iPad, Watch and AirPods can each be justified for offering unique value proposition that somehow improves productivity or adds value to an individual’s life.

In that sense, there is absolutely no reason to buy a HomePod, it is neither a necessity nor adds value. Even in terms of pure entertainment, one could argue that a soundbar and/or a surround sound system could add better sound to their TV than one or even a pair of HomePods. Another could argue that there are better ways to control smart home accessories, be it through their watch or phone or through other cheaper smart speakers.

There are a hundred reasons to not get a HomePod. The HomePod is definitely not for everyone. You need to want to get a HomePod to get a HomePod. But once you get it, it is impossible to not enjoy the HomePod.

The HomePod in some ways, is the best expression of Apple, as a company - a product engineered with such immaculate detail, wonderful materials and designed with a magical experience in mind, without holding back in anyway. It really shows what’s gone into the making of this - there’s nothing quite like it.

There are only a few who will truly appreciate the HomePod. It speaks to them in a way it speaks to no one else. It speaks in a way that you can feel its wonder and awe even when it sits silently on your desk.

The HomePod really is the sign of a true Apple fan.