What people said 24 voices · best of 111 · verbatim

• S

  The weird thing about this product is that its biggest competitor is "an old ipad." I feel like most of their target customer base already has an old ipad that's better suited for what this does in every way. Old ipads:1. Have a battery so you're not tied to a cord. Even old poor batteries are better than no battery.2. Have apps! How does this not…

  schmichaelHacker News14h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• K

  apple announces homepod mini 2 but it still can't handle siri ai. that's being added later, somehow. also new sound glow feature because who doesn't want syncing lights with album art? {

  kcurry.bsky.socialBluesky16h agoview on Bluesky ↗
• E

  Ok Apple did more than I expected; you can now use 4x HomePod mini or full-sized HomePod with an Apple TV for surround sound https://www. apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/app le-unveils-the-new-apple-tv-4k/

  eARCwelder@mastodon.socialMastodon16h agoview on Mastodon ↗
• N

  Too pricey, as many others have noted. I was waiting for this model to consider upgrading from the previous generation, but I can’t justify it at this price. I guess this is why recently Apple included the Apple TV service within the lowest/basic iCloud+ plan in most countries. There’s no way to justify the cost of this new device plus the high…

  newscrackerHacker News13h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• B

  I'm a little surprised at the price (especially when their newly-announced HomeView is the same price, and it has a screen!).I love this product: it's the one box I can (reasonably) trust to not be mining my viewing habits for data. I have two older ones and was looking to get something that supported 4K but waited for this to come out.$300 might…

  BrendinoooHacker News15h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• O

  Anecdotally, the AppleTV app on smartTVs won't remember what I was watching. Not the show, the episode or the timestamp into the episode.This has led me to passionately start my own media server again.Anywhere between $100-$200 will get you a mini PC that you can use to host movies, series, music, audiobooks and ebooks. If you don't transcode the…

  oldsklgdfthHacker News11h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• M

  I’ve had one Echo device or multiple around the house since they launched. several years ago I whittled it down to one Echo Show in the kitchen. I like the screen just being there on the counter with timers and easily visible. I can finally retire this ad machine and be Alexa free.I stopped using the smart home features of echo since it was too…

  mleoHacker News16h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• G

  So weird. A brand new product category, and it gets dropped with the HomePod Mini/Apple TV, aka Apple’s most neglected products (besides the zombified Vision Pro). Apple has a history of being so proud of their new form factors, of wanting to show them with pomp and highlighting every little detail. Not so much here.Also completely locked out for…

  gyomuHacker News16h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• W

  Separating the camera and microphone data processing functionality into a Secure Exclave should be seen as a genuinely important step forward to protecting privacy, not just implementing data control schemes which masquerade under the name of "privacy." This approach should be the norm moving forward, as cameras and microphones provide the biggest…

  waterheaterHacker News14h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• N

  Less is more! Apps are overwhelming, attention-grabbing fiascos that we've been boiled like frogs into accepting as part of our minute-by-minute existence. Older folks and kids feel this even more than working-age adults, and this is a product that helps everyone engage in some of the magic of tech without that noise.We have AI now, this is a…

  npuntHacker News6h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• O

  The display is small for what it is.The price is on par with the Amazon Echo Show devices[0]. Why anyone would shell out $300 buck for an Alexa with a screen is beyond me. With the appleHome, at least you can dump your phone and check in on things (not that I would do that either).In conclusion, it doesn't seem like there's a huge apple premium on…

  oldsklgdfthHacker News11h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• Y

  Hmm. I'm currently looking to update my Alexa echo dot combined with a wall-mounted iPad connected to my Home Assistant instance. I don't really know if this thing is what I should get instead of waiting for a Home Pod update and using that for voice with my existing iPad display. Maybe it could be useful as a condensed UI for some important Home…

  yesimahumanHacker News16h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• J

  It's a niche product and pretty cheap. Of course you can do everything and more on an ipad but I see this as basically a competitor to Alexa that sits on a kitchen counter and is occasionally useful. In that scenario never thinking about a battery is an advantage. I imagine you might leave this unlocked all the time and it is closer to a hands…

  jdprgmHacker News12h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• L

  Looks nice, unfortunately I'll have to stick with however Google's alternative is currently called since Google Cast is the strictly better model for these types of devices in my view, compared to Airplay.Google Cast runs the player on the cast target and only uses the device that initiates playback as an optional remote control that can be…

  lxgrHacker News15h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• K

  Others have already pointed out that your assumption of Apple TV not spying on you is wrong, I’d like to make a meta-comment on that.Apple regards privacy as a feature, and I mean that precisely: some places they implement it, other places they decide it’s not worth it, and they only ever tell you about the former. A good example is iMessage…

  kqpHacker News9h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• A

  Really like this, will get oneOne annoyance that I anticipate though: can we have a "separate identity" for these 'home devices' ?[note: this is not a concern if you live alone]I.e. when used in a family environment, you have to pick one person's identity as the 'main' identity ... but we'd rather have a 'home' person with whom we share stuff…

  agambrahmaHacker News12h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• T

  So these are cool, especially for families and grandparents, but I think it may be a much better experience for fully Apple families.Like can you do video calling with Google Meet with one of these? Probably not.It pulls in CarPlay apps, but I’m sure not Android Auto.That being said, I think this is a smart play and helps Apple ensure the “Apple…

  thegagneHacker News13h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• B

  Documentation lists integrations with "select partners" -- and that's why this isn't a serious play for the home. You need to work with everything, like HomeAssistant, Control4, etc. to be a serious contender. They have had years to do this, could have got it all lined up with HomeKit + existing iOS devices. People aren't going to rip out their…

  bengoodgerHacker News10h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• N

  Well, I have to say I expected this to cost more.I would want to hear what the sound is like but it seems like it could be a good replacement for my OG HomePods while adding some new features, even if the screen is minimally useful.I am a bit sad that it seems like it isnt using anything the video apple put out about…

  nerdjonHacker News16h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• M

  I can't believe they haven't redesigned the Home app interface! I've always thought it was pretty terrible UX-wise and looked like they just threw together a very basic UI to have some support for home automation. I always expected they'd get around to formulating an actual design perspective for what a good-looking smart home control interface…

  mithrHacker News15h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• P

  I bought an Apple TV 4K a few months ago (Google TV's ads were too much) and there's nothing here that might even slightly tempt me to upgrade.* Siri - no thanks* Far field microphones - no thanks* Faster performance - unnecessary for me (I watch TV, movies and YouTube - it's never not smooth)* Home theatre with homepods - I already have Sonos…

  petepeteHacker News15h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• B

  I can’t believe nobody’s brought this up yet, but the HomeView fundementally exists for one reason: to be a Matter hub for smarthome stuff. No iPad – or any portable Apple device - can be configured as a home hub for managing Matter-protocol devices. There’s no significant advantage to a HomeView over an iPad if you don’t have any Matter…

  BurritoAlPastorHacker News10h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• B

  I've had a 12" iPad Pro (M1) that I am replacing with the HomeView.After a couple years of use of trying to use the iPad exactly as you stated here (it's lived 24/7 on my kitchen island, I've realized iPadOS is not that great to use in this way).I'll be happy to have a "dumbed down" stationary device that serves no purpose but exactly what it's…

  barkerjaHacker News9h agoview on Hacker News ↗
• J

  I've literally been waiting since 2022 for this.I purchased the 2021 ATV just before the 2022 was released. It struggles with AV1 and VP9 (Infuse really struggles, VLC is better but still a problem). I just wanted the faster CPU (for software decoding AV1 and VP9). Almost bought the 2022 version in 2024 for that but didn't want to buy a 2 year old…

  jonpurdyHacker News14h agoview on Hacker News ↗