MacVoices #21053: Kirk McElhearn Provides Perspective on the Demise of the Apple HomePod (Part 1)

<p>Apple has discontinued the HomePod smart speaker and <strong>Kirk McElhearn</strong> has some thoughts on how it fit, or didn’t fit into the market. Kirk covers both the Siri and the music aspects of the HomePod, why how people listen to music didn’t necessarily align to the HomePod’s capabilities, and suggests some alternatives for replacing that HomePod you might have been buying. He explains why you need to look for an AirPlay 2 compatible speaker, what the differences are between AirPlay 1, AirPlay 2, and Bluetooth, and why you might want to consider an AirPlay 2 receiver if you are serious about music. (Part 1)</p> <p style="text-align: left;">This edition of MacVoices is supported by our <a href="http://patreon.com/macvoices"><strong>Patreon campaign</strong></a> members and our <a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=msUPpoygel2fGL9vPzAwcTqsbYC0x8sYrJQyVmEU-0HZAL_ZunAMz_bqWbHkEvemlAhDG0&country.x=US&locale.x="><strong>PayPal Donation</strong></a> members. If you find value in MacVoices, please consider helping sponsor the show, and our ongoing efforts to bring you quality information.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://patreon.com/macvoices"><img height="96" alt="Patreon" class="alignnone wp-image-9378" src="http://www.macvoices.com/wp-content/uploads/patreon.png" width="100" /></a><a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=msUPpoygel2fGL9vPzAwcTqsbYC0x8sYrJQyVmEU-0HZAL_ZunAMz_bqWbHkEvemlAhDG0&country.x=US&locale.x="><img height="101" alt="PayPal" class="alignnone wp-image-9381" src="http://www.macvoices.com/wp-content/uploads/paypal-148x150.png" width="100" /></a></p> <!--more--> <br /> <h3>Show Notes:</h3> <p><strong>Guests:</strong></p> <p><strong>Kirk McElhearn</strong> writes about Macs, iPods, iTunes, books, music and more. He is a regular contributor to <a href="http://tidbits.com/"><strong>TidBITS</strong></a>, as well as several other web sites and magazines. He is an avid podcaster who’s shows include<strong> <a href="https://geo.itunes.apple.com/podcast/next-track-pod