In most reviews that you will find of the Apple HomePod speakers, many of them handily admit that the HomePod trumps the likes of the Amazon Echo and Google Home in terms of sound quality. However there are some who aren’t too sure about whether it has trounced the Sonos One, with some saying it’s as good, while some say it’s slightly better.
However if there is at least one objective review, it would be from John MacFarlane, the former CEO and co-founder of Sonos, who recently tweeted his impressions (via 9to5Mac) of the HomePod. According to MacFarlane, it seems that he thinks the HomePod has handily beaten the Sonos One in terms of sound quality.
Apple has a great start with the HomePod. I think it’s an easy start, and as they add ability to fully integrate other music services, it will be a superior product. If you have a single room you listen to music in, it’s a super call.
— John MacFarlane (@JohnLMacFarlane) February 9, 2018
However he also notes that two Sonos One speakers when linked up as a pair apparently do a “superior job”. We should point out that the HomePod will have the ability to link up with other HomePods in the future, so it will be interesting to see how it will fare then. MacFarlane also appears to be impressed at the speaker’s ability to pick up on his “Hey Siri” command, but also criticizes Apple for the lack of third-party support, namely Spotify.
While it is easy to lament how the HomePod lacks support for Spotify, it’s also easy to see why this is the case, especially since Apple is most probably pushing for more users to use its products and services. If you’re someone who’s already invested deeply into Apple’s ecosystem then this shouldn’t be an issue, but if you’re someone who likes keeping their options open, you might want to think carefully about this.
Filed in . Read more about Apple Music, HomePod, Sonos, Speakers and Spotify.