Apple HomePod Deals & Offers

I have stereo pairs in bedrooms and they definitely do not compare favourably with the 'proper' surround system I have in my living room. However, I'm of the opinion that they offer a better soundstage than the regular amp + stereo speakers that preceded them (Cyrus amp + Mission speakers). One niggle though is the fact that they don't like to remain paired with the Apple TVs - I have to go into audio and change it over from hdmi out on a regular basis.

That's fair enough, people are always entitled to their own opinion. (y)

To be honest mate, I was going to reply but you sound like the biggest pub bore in history, so we'll just end it here. Cheers

I’m sorry, I haven’t. They’re in the kitchen playing music.

I have tested the sound quality on the homepod and it is one of the best

Set an alert ;)

Damn I always miss these great HomePod deals!

Did you use nectar card points? ;)

GREAT deal!

I got one for £154.15 used £10.00 eBay credit and £5.00 PayPal voucher as well

You can use AirPlay 2 to Fire things to the tv but you can’t use it to fire sound from the tv to the HomePod. The tv would need to support the Home app. Like I said, the HomePod sounds great it’s just not doing what I wanted it to do.

Thanks for that, forgot about that. (y)

It should work with tv sets that support Airplay 2, mainly the expensive Samsungs I believe.

Yeah unfortunately it works with Apple TV but not with Apple TV built into tv’s as that is purely for their subscription service and does not offer all the perks of a physical Apple TV. As well as tv’s that support Airplay 2.

Really disappointed with the HomePod. Bought this as it links to Apple TV. We have a tv with Apple TV built in but it doesn’t connect to the tv to improve its sound. The sound front he speaker is great, but we prefer the Sonos system and we’re a family of Apple fanboys. This is the only Apple product we’ve been disappointed in.

Thank you, that helps a lot!

You can't ask Siri on the homepod to play Spotify tracks unfortunately. That feature is only compatible with apple music. However you can airplay Spotify from any other apple device and so listen to Spotify or any other music app on the homepod that way. However you need to ensure the homepod is connected to the same network as the apple device running Spotify. There is very limited functioning with Spotify when using homepod via airplay. You can ask Siri to change track, repeat track but cannot search by song name or artists. You will have to use the app directly for this. All this can however be done with Apple music. Hope that helps!

Never had one of these so might seem like a dumb question to some but is it purely Apple Music or can I play Spotify etc on it?

Last one

Anyone had issues with buying iTunes from curry’s and it didn’t work when received

No, I’m looking for a TV with HomeKit capabilities. Found one now 😃

Presumably the TV is irrelevant? You'll need an Apple TV box?

Get Nest Hello door bell - rings are rubbish

Just bought a Logitech G512 SE Keyboard and a Logitech G502 SE mouse, total £76, think that is an OK price. Was looking for a mouse and the G502's are around £45-50 on their own. Both get good reviews :) Heat added.

Proper stereo so fair bit better. I find HomePod to have decent bass for the size anyway. You have to use them in stereo output from Apple TV to get best output.

How is the sound quality with 2x (mids and lows). I’m looking for heavier base and not the loudness.. will 2x help ? Also how is surround sound??

Just bought another grey for 2 stereo pairs to use with Apple TV. Learnt when things drop like this bite the bullet and buy or you’ll end up searching for them when out of stock or more expensive.

you won't be disappointed. 8)

I got mine a week ago. Already tempted to get another so I can pair them up.

Airplay has too much latency, try pairing it to an Apple TV and playing a Game where it needs to be spot on... you notice it so badly. Just something Bluetooth doesn't have because Bluetooth doesn't go through a Network. And it's not just my setup which is really good, you can easily search for the issue. The problem is Apple will not pay licensing fee's of AptX which is lossless streaming, so Apple bring out their own format and shut off Bluetooth altogether. Then you get all the fanboys saying how amazing it is even though Bluetooth has way lower latency and is universal... where Airplay locks you into Apple's ecosystem. For example I was shocked I couldn't use the HomePod as a speaker with anything else other than an Apple device. Why on Earth would you buy a speaker like that? I sent mine back within the first week it came out as a result. Apple usually have their locked down ecosystems, but they offer a way for compatibility.... wether it's through the App Store on iPhone, or Bluetooth/Wifi etc. On the Mac they offer Bootcamp or third party installation options if you want to turn the security off. The AirPods I can still use them with other devices, and Apple TV uses HDMI... imagine if Apple did what they did with that LG Monitor so you had to buy a special TV for it lol. The HomePod is the first big product form them they is completely locked down.

6 months ago EE gave me free Apple Music so I’ve used it alongside Spotify (which I’ve had for years) mainly for music on my watch for running or mountain biking. Honestly, they are worlds apart. Spotify is better than Apple Music in every single way. And when every review about this HomePod says the same, ‘amazing sound quality limited functionality ‘. It’s a deal breaker for me.

I wonder how many people on here have new Spotify accounts with all the deals too! I had to transfer all my stuff to a new account (wife got free with Vodafone). Never again!

The irony being that the HomePod only allows Spotify to be played via AirPlay.

Not really, but not impossible. It allocated to the first account you log in to, so you’d have to log in using someone else’s details to get it, and most strangers won’t want to do that.

Anybody know if its possible to sell the 1 year apple TV that you get with the purchase?

Ah well, that would have be funny

Oh no, not me LOL

I know, i know, your love for me is strong 💪

Genuinely thought £199 was the RRP for these

Haha me and Tim Apple are tight (y) . However your barking up the wrong tree..... not an Apple fan boy .....owned Note 9, Google Pixel 2XL and multiple Other Android phones and tablets.....just find Apple my preference currently.

Boooring.... How is Tim ? Or has he still not replied to your DM’s yet ?

Yes I guess so, but if its incompatible then it's a massive mistake loosing a big partner like that. I honestly think the best thing Apple could do is open the watches, homepod etc up to Android they would make far more money and more likely to temp people across.

Think the idea is to be compatible with most existing keyless entry systems using NFC not sure they require it to be factory built. Almost like Apple car play can be updated via Apple themselves and not need manufacturers. Have to wait and see I guess.

Thanks. I meant AO out of stock.

i don't understand..it is still available with other better retailers like JL.

yeah enjoy the initial week or so. then think Return on Investment. (y)

Sold out like hot cakes, ALEXA still in stock? I wonder why! https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/apple-homepod-white-space-grey-2-year-guarantee-199-delivered-at-john-lewis-partners-3463166

I made the mistake of buying 2 of these a while back to test the hype around stereo sound... Hype is real. It's great as 1. It's far greater as 2.

Still at this price, impressed by the purchase that I have just brought a second one, can’t wait to test the stereo (y)

Ok, how does this compare volume wise with the Echo Studio? My problem being, even though my living room isn’t small, volume 1 is too quiet, volume 2 is often too loud. I have to faff around in the Alexa app to set the volume at 15% (or 1.5 if you will). From what I’ve read it seems to be an update issue. Others said they had it on like 3% for falling asleep but since x update, that was too loud for them. So for me, volume 3-10 is wasted and it puts me off using the speaker because it’s such a faff to get it to an acceptable volume. I don’t mind havjng to airplay Spotify, as I do that 98% of the time when I use the Studio for music anyway.

My Word! That is unbelievable

I have one already, now I have two. They are fantastic, just about to set it up as a pair as I've heard they make it even better...sorry in advance ;)

Same here mate. The speaker sounds unbelievable. I was using a Bose SoundTouch for almost four years and its nothing compared to the sound quality of this speaker

Didn't even need that. Really strangely, its like it knows the delay is there and compensates for that immediately. Airplay 1 didn't though.

I guess you are using this: iOS 13 uses your iPhone microphone to fix Apple TV audio sync issues

If you're thinking multi room that has an AV amp involved somewhere, HomePod. Airplay2 with HomePod and AppleTV is the only solution I've had which removes the annoying echo my AV amps creates. Multi room on echo devices was awful for this.

How did this get to be Hot? It may be cheap in comparison to others the same but imo it's too much $, too late to market and offers very little extra to others you can pick up for around a third of the price.

I set up a script to check every hour so hopefully will get one next time!

Thanks! Having just received my John Lewis order and being impressed I was hoping I’d be able to grab another at this price. Heat added!

Thank you heat added! I also signed up to a Very account and got 10% off :)

Apparently iOS 14 is going to allow native streaming of Spotify (and other services) to the HomePod (y) Fingers crosses if it does it gets a lot more attractive :)

I think you can Airplay to more than 2, although you could pair only 2 into stereo.

Has anyone got a dual set up of these? If you don’t have Apple Music , is it easy to use? When using with Apple TV or a MacBook do you have to go in setting and change audio output each time ?

There are some time in channels that play on home pod directly via Siri radio

Yes via airplay from an iOS device

Can u play Spotify and tune in?

I spoke to Richer Sounds in Cardiff who refused to price match on the basis of them offering a longer guarantee but they said they’d do it for £240 (confused)

Bought this speaker 🔈 and arrived yesterday.....blown away with the sound quality and ease of setting up (y) 🏼 8)

Not sure how you read that. You stated that you expected a new model to drop in April. I disagreed and pointed out that the cost drops and regular software updates would indicate, at least to me, that a hardware update is not likely this early. “I’d not be surprised if they didn’t look to refresh the hardware too soon.“ So, as per the above, I would NOT be surprised, if they did NOT look to refresh the hardware soon.

So you disagree with me and then agree with me. you should be on twitter giving advice.

Got my space grey one today and its great but I wasn't blown away by the sound. My 8 year old Bang & Olufsen iPod dock still sounds way better. If you want great sound then I would suggest getting something like the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin as it will blow the sound of a HomePod away but then it doesn't have Siri.

white or grey? that's the question!

Thanks OP, just acquired one, its a beautiful thing

These seem to be back in stock with good availability in the Ealing, Hounslow, Hayes area.

Managed to nab one from Argos Hounslow yesterday. Zero stock all week. Keep checking as they be sporadically replenishing stock. So bloody annoying can’t play any BBC channels natively on it atm. Something to do with a dispute between Tunein Radio and BBC. You can still airplay from any Apple device though. Something to bare in mind. Only had it a day and it really is an amazing bit of kit. Don’t forget Top Cashback, Monese gift cards, Airtime rewards for additional savings.

Plonka

Forget the smart features for a moment, the original commenter said they could find a better speaker for £30, now that’s really what’s absolute tripe! As a speaker the HomePod is excellent, sure it won’t match a professional Bowers & Wilkins setup but it’s flipping impressive for its size and at this price it’s a steal.

Could buy from JL at £199, just been reported both colours back on stock. Obviously dependent on not having to be from Argos.

(mad) I just found that too. According to TrustedReviews the code was good until midnight 17th December.

The code doesn’t work anymore .

Yep not so smart a speaker at all (y)

Quite impressed with microphones on this home pod. Sound wise, probably the best dedicated smart speaker. My Sonos Play:1s probably have a deeper sound, louder sound. Wonder what two home pods would be like....

Alexa for some reason just gets confused easily. Multiple devices by the same name etc. All that said, last night I went in to the Alexa app and fixed up a load of stuff, deleted old devices and added my voice profile. I wasn’t even aware this was possible. Since then Alexa has been hearing and responding perfectly. I’ll see how she goes from here. Fingers crossed.

Time to make the switch (y)

I have only Spotify I don’t have Apple Music :(

I got one from Argos last week when they reduced and really happy with it. Sounds great (to my ears) and Siri works well for what I use it for. ...almost tempting to go for another at this price to do the stereo thing, but not sure the wife would agree!

The sound quality is much better than a Sonos 1 imo, and it is a Siri device that works with Apple Music.

Supposed to be worse sound quality I read...