Page 60 - iPhone Life Magazine - Spring 2020

Besides sound quality, there are some audio feature differ- in both cases. You plug the HomePod or Echo Show in, you walk
ences. While many of the Echo family of devices can be set
up in a stereo pair, the Echo Show (2nd Gen) cannot, and the
HomePod can. Score one for HomePod. But to get a stereo
set, you’d have to buy two expensive smart speakers and put
them in the same room, which would be twice as much voice
assistant as you need in one place. So, in other words, you
could, but why would you? The better solution is to pipe your
audio through your existing TV setup.
The two devices also differ in how you connect them to
audio sources. Gone are the days of popping in a cassette and
hitting play. Now you’ve got competing streaming services to downside to the
consider. The HomePod features Apple AirPlay, which means
it will play audio from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac regardless of
what that audio is. It will even play audio from other users on
the same network no problem, as long as they have a Mac or
an iPhone. The Echo, on the other hand, can be paired with a
single device using Bluetooth, or it can be set up with individ-
ual streaming service accounts. If you are a paid customer of
an audio streaming service, including Apple Music, then you
install the skill for your streaming source, and then ask Alexa
to play your music. This is more versatile in that you can send
your audio to your Echo from a Windows PC or from an An-
droid device, but it’s a lot less convenient than AirPlay.
So, which is the better speaker for playing audio? If you
have a Windows PC or an Android in your household, then it’s
the Echo. If you’re all Apple all the time, then it’s the Home-
Pod.
SMART HOME INTEGRATION
I was initially skeptical of the so-called internet of things.
Then I got some smart lights and a smart outlet. I’ve been
impressed with the simple but unexpected pleasures of using
voice control for objects in my home. “Hey Siri, turn on the
living room lights,” is just the top of a long stack of cool tricks
when your stuff is digitally connected. At the moment, I have
the HomePod and the Echo Show set up side by side, con-
trolling the same set of devices. Here are my thoughts:
The initial setup of the speaker and its hub is straightforward
58 iPhone Life Spring 2020
through some easy steps, and then your hub is up and running.
HomePod doesn’t have a screen, so it took me a moment to
fi gure out that I had to bring my iPhone nearby to transfer over
Wi-Fi settings. The Echo Show did a better job of walking me
through the process, but the difference isn’t a big one.
“The biggest
HomePod is that it
will only interact
with Apple and
products that
work with
HomeKit.”
Registering new smart stuff (I used a Koogeek outlet and
a Nanoleaf light fi xture to test) was more consistent with
HomeKit. With HomeKit, you scan a code and then navigate a
setup process in the Home app that isn’t perfectly intuitive or
error-free. Alexa-enabled devices might be connected in a lot
of different ways, depending on their protocol, their manufac-
turer, and their settings. You have to follow the manufacturer’s
instructions for each device. For Alexa, you end up installing
a different app for each manufacturer. Still, once you’ve got it
set up, you can drop the app and let Alexa work.
Controlling smart devices worked just fi ne with either.
They’ll both turn on your lights and monitor your smart ther-
mostat. They’ll both experience random strange connection
issues. What’s different? Alexa can control more varied de-
vices. For example, I have a Roku TV. After installing a Roku
skill on the Echo, Alexa will tell the Roku to turn on, turn up
or down the volume, set inputs, and even navigate inside dif-
ferent channels. The HomePod will control the Apple TV, but
nothing else. On the other hand, the increased versatility of
Alexa comes at a price, and that price is security. We’ll get to
that in a minute.
The Downs:
The biggest downside to the HomePod is that it will only
interact with Apple and products that work with HomeKit. It’s
nearly useless if your device, your family’s, or your guest’s
devices run Windows or Android. The HomePod was also
surprisingly limited even inside the Apple world. Siri on the
HomePod often refused to do simple tasks until I unlocked
my iPhone. This feature is no doubt intended to prevent an