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and good morning on Tuesday February 6th it's episode 351 of the 359 podcast now we're off to a fantastic start G and I screwed it all up but here's been and Joan to make it better hello wait we're here to make it better are you sure we'll see I don't know anyway today we've got we've got a good one for you folks we're gonna be talking all about the Apple home pod our review is out on scenic on today so check it out we'll be delving into quite a few elements of the home pod from the review so send in your questions and comments about that we'll also round it out with the way movi or uber trial which kicked off yesterday so sending your questions and comments BVG we'll get to as many as you can at the end of the show let's get to the podcast here we go for the recording in three two welcome to the 359 I'm Ben Fox Raven I'm Joni salzman CNET's a review of Apple's new home pod smart speaker is out today bottom line it's a good speaker but pricey and locked into Apple's ecosystem Joan what are your expectations for the sales of this thing do you think that it's going to do well against Alexa and Google assistant well it's basically going after a different market than right so you're going after the a either hardcore sound geek who really really likes to have the best quality possible-- sound or you're going after like the Apple ingrained I have the iPhone I have Apple TV I have everything that I could want all Apple that this would connect to right yeah absolutely and at 349 dollars they're absolutely going after Apple lovers with with that price point people willing to pay yeah but I don't know I I think that the problem for me especially with the speaker is how deeply ingrained into the Apple ecosystem it is there are just a couple things that Meghan wall Orton mentioned in her review that I want to mention so it's very tied to Apple music for audio you actually need to send Spotify from your phone which I find really annoying considering how much you're paying for this right yeah so the idea is that you would have to be an apple music subscriber you'd have to pay $10 a month in order to listen to a subscription streaming service on it which is different than it's not necessarily different than other applications like for example echo you need to be a premium Spotify subscriber in order to use it but echo allows you to have Dora or Amazon music and if you are a prime subscriber you you at least get prime music which is which is good not great you got like yeah you get something so you don't have to spend additional money on top of that so an echo echo changed in the last I think year-and-a-half where you can set Spotify as the default if you don't like Amazon music as that if I didn't know that yeah you can set Spotify or Pandora as the default thing so when you set you don't have to go through this extra step of saying Alexa play Spotify or Alexa play Pandora you can just say what I do in my house Alexa plays Esposito and spa exactly right hopefully I just triggered somebody to play that's you know another point also just to point out how the home pod has its limitations for now we don't know if this is going to change at any point the home pod and apples home app do not work on Android phones or tablets now that is a big difference between how Google and Amazon have been treating their smart speakers where they do try to make them much broader obviously there's an Alexa app for both iOS and Android do you do you think that that could change do you think that that might limit a little bit how much people are actually going to want to use the home pod well if Apple for your second question if Apple is really just going after the people that are already baked into the Apple universe with this first iteration of their smart speaker then it probably won't hurt that market because that market doesn't care but if they do want to have sort of like like an iPhone like a broadly impactful device then they're gonna have to open it up to other stuff but what we seem like with Apple TV is that it takes a long time for them to allow people within their walled garden they've only just recently Apple TV only just recently allowed Amazon to have their video streaming thing well either way we also wanted to get to one other story the first day of the highly-anticipated way more way movi uber trial kicked off yesterday way mo which is owned by Google's parent alphabet claims ubers former star engineer stole 14,000 highly confidential files to develop its own technology uber uber caused the claims baseless if uber is found to have stolen the files it may be forced to halt its autonomous vehicle program and hand over nearly two billion dollars to way moe either way come back to see net for more stories on that if you want to read more about these stories check us out on CNN I'm Ben Fox Ruben I'm Jerry Saltzman thanks for listening alright so I'm gonna go ahead and start delving through the chat cheesy thing and find anything good commentary well I have the conversation going I'm not sure I have to practice saying ooh BRR and lame-o moron way movil uber lame-o it's kind of the unfortunate side effect of these like hip catchy yeah names very hard they roll off the tongue it's pretty apparently it's like squishy I heard like the the actual like the the the speakers around it are kind of like soft and foamy and apparently cats will love it look it looks like an apple product if you're very much into minimalist stuff that's cool I also like the yeah it's like the Siri the listening the glow on top of it also kind of yeah it gives it it gives it this like extra little like sheen of luxury I'd say that you're not getting from definitely now like not from like that little echo dot thing but the same time you're talking to it sometimes from across the room so how much are you actually gonna be looking at it ya know but III think that the echo is obviously not been a design forward product for a long time I think the newer ones the second-generation echos are obviously much nicer looking good Apple is sorry Amazon has been much more utilitarian inner design they're like here's the thing start to Alexa I'd say we're not gonna make it look pretty sound it'll play things but the other like I I think the fact that this is only Apple music I think is a real problem that you need your phone - like stream other things to it because for the most part even though Alexa does a lot of stuff Google assistant does a lot of stuff from a lot of the third-party research that I've seen a lot of the smart speakers are very much speakers right we'll use them to play music that's what they're for that is that is generally and to like ask the weather so fact that it's really limited in that music thing I think you're totally right with what you said about during the podcast that Apple people or people that have Apple music aren't really gonna care or notice but if you are gonna try to expand that universe you might be a little bit more difficult yeah and I think that it's also telling that you know Apple has been very successful in getting people to sign up for Apple music simply by virtue of its I've the fact that iPhones are so popular in the US that I think is the main reason why Apple music has grown as fast as it not the main reason but one of the main reasons why Apple music specifically has grown well when it's really been except for Apple music there's like no one else really in the race like it's spotted I'm gonna quiz you for a second do you know like the how many subscribers off the top of your head yeah like so globally Apple music has 36 million subscribers and Spotify has 70 million so basically oh you doubled but there is there are indications we don't know it's hard to tell because they don't break out there are indications that in places where the iPhone is the dominant like in the US where iPhone is the dominant device compared to places overseas where Amazon are sorry where Android reigns that Apple music is stronger in those markets where compared to Spotify I hope music a stronger compared to Spotify in markets where Android is stronger the Apple music is stronger compared to Spotify in places like the US where iPhone that makes sense yeah yeah the more iPhones there are like in the system the more likely there are people that are gonna get Apple but for that to apply to home pod you have to a sort of iPhone like hit and the question is can you have a hit when the space is already this crowded with people you know it's already crowded with a lot of other competitors and it's such a high as compared the differential price is so much higher yeah absolutely and if you're really into music and you're really into the whole speaker quality so notice one is a hundred and ninety-nine dollars and Sonos is really well known for its speaker quality and check out the sea net review on the head you know what you know what else is interesting is that the highest of the like mainstream stream subscription streaming services Apple doesn't have the best sound bitrate like not very basically but like you you have to like title hi-fi is a subscription where you get the best like the file that you're listening to is the highest quality from that versus definitely versus Apple music so you have this really really high five speaker but you don't have access to the highest fidelity subscription service file stream you could if you're like our super in if you're super into sound I think that that would matter to you yeah absolutely but at the same time if you're like that into sound I don't know that I'm dying right $350 speakers right you're buying like $1000 speakers yeah maybe yeah I don't know shall we take some questions yeah chap all right first up from chipper I hear you need an iPhone to even use the Siri speaker so you can't even have a guest hook up to it is that true I think that may be true yeah that might be a blessing in disguise not defending it but coming from somebody who hangs out with a lot of you know fairly savvy friends you got a open xposed echo sitting out in the living room and they catch you into that and next thing you know it's a karaoke competition yeah I mean if you like their music I guess it's okay but that's but I don't I think I don't why are they your friends why did you invite them into your home I don't know they just showed up I think specifically for set up you generally need your phone to do set up to connected to wireless to connect any smart speaker at a wireless that's at least Moton my experience has been with echo and Google home I haven't set up the home pod I haven't tried it out personally myself like we don't have it in the office so do not take that 100% as far as that you absolutely needed an iPhone for it but I think to do a lot of stuff with it especially for something like we mentioned with streaming other services you will need it an iPhone for it - all right so Jeffers on fire today here we go buckle up Ione - Sonos play five Jen two speakers and I've had yet to find anything that can even match the sound quality of them and you can stereo pair of left and right he's true leave these so no speakers or solids and the stereo pairing is not yet available on home pod is gonna be coming it is coming but Sonos is already head of the game is kind of the theme of today's conversation also you can hook up an old iPod or old iPhone on Wi-Fi plug it in say hey Siri and it'll run through speakers or you could get more advanced and easy alexa dot everybody which was has more deaf support and third-party support we also made an alarm so if somebody breaks in to our high quality speakers start triggering off apple's still far behind that as far as well doesn't cool additional support and this is all just emphasizing that Sonos is way ahead of the game and jeffer bookends this by saying hardware should always take a backseat to the software who cares if you have an amazing product if it doesn't have the guts to support it syria is a 2007 thing just an opinion what's your thoughts oh that's a sick bird yeah apply cold water I think Siri I think sorry came out in 2011 if I remember correctly but I definitely get the point and it was behind then it continues to be behind now and that that seems to be the problem and that's one of the reasons that Apple has really been emphasizing the speaker quality for this specifically but for somebody like Jeff er there's no reason to buy a home pod and sounds like Topher is very happy with what they already have and it's that's probably a situation for a lot of people that either have echos all over their house or Google homes all over their house and that's that is going to be the hurdle that Apple is gonna have to go through the thing that and so I think looking at this from the other perspective the thing that people need to remember is is that Apple is still very much Apple and they they can play long game on this they don't have to sell a ton of them in the first year or the second year whatever they can they can stick it out and hopefully they will end up getting a beachhead and keep growing and this is really not even day one they haven't even sold the started bringing the product to market that's not going to come for another week or so so the expectation from any smart speaker I would say is that you know wait and see and it will probably continue to get better so of course that is that is something that can say yeah but like I just don't want to give people the impression that this thing is dead on arrival because I don't think it oh it's not dead on arrival but there's plenty of valid arguments about how is just so severely behind I totally agree I totally agree I want to offer both sides to it totally like that's why that's why everybody's favorite that's well okay thank you yeah I mean like I'm here defending the repeal of net neutrality some days so yes I do try to take I do try to take the opposite opinions up but I think that he brought up an interesting point the I think the statement was something along the lines that the software is what matters more soar than that most more so than the hardware is that yeah that's an interesting idea I mean like the iPhone was only I hate to use the word revolutionary but there was only as significant and impactful as it was because of the App Store it was because of what they had going on on that hardware brightly made it different well they made the phone customizable which is ironic as hell considering it's Apple right right well and they open it up to like every developer that ever wanted to be a developer like they've abandoned that ecosystem to a certain extent they man did that fault that particular philosophy that made the iPhone as powerful as it as it was and if they bring even a little bit of that philosophy to the home pod they're gonna be developers falling all over themselves to develop apps for the home pod because all the research that I see is that iPhone users tend to spend more money on their phones that Android users I don't see why that would change at all if you're willing to spend three hundred and fifty dollars on the smart speaker yeah there's a strong possibility you're gonna want to do more voice chopping on a home pod than you would on an echo device or you know spend money on apps that kind of thing so that's that's another reason to really say wait and see and see what happens with this they might end up taking more of the like the higher end market I would say but the middle market it'll be a fistfight between Google home and Alexa I agree one thing I want to say is I I mean Megan wrote a fantastic review of the home pod but since they're touting so much as far as audio fidelity goes I would really love to get our audio files steve guttenberg tie Pendlebury David Carr know to put their heads together and really analyze the hell out of that speaker performance yeah yeah I heard two other Bluetooth speakers both smart and on smart and I think karna smart has just has a story if I recall karna has a story out on seeing it already about listening to the home pod oh really this is I can't read everything you guys write so much I'm just trying to let people know so if you want to delve a little bit more into the home pod sound quality I think coronoid does have a story for you I figured I'd pick their brains personally sooner or later but I think that might be a fun video to produce you see we'll see what that say yes yeah absolutely but um you're probably not gonna buy a home pod like you're probably just curious but I think the thing is is that just as a moderate audiophile myself I'm interested for a mini version of the competing products from Google and Amazon 50 bucks you know if you wait until the holidays is thirty dollars it's like you don't really have to think that much about it $350 I'm not getting that for a gift for anybody know just as anyone who is touts themselves as an audiophile you're not gonna lean on this stand alone you're gonna buy your own system and integrate into it whose have been said time and time again from the Sonos speakers I myself I'm a big fan of Bose and Yamaha to a certain extent so I mean I've got my echo in home and that's working into my systems so yeah which is what Amazon's argument is as to why they're not creating a high-end speaker yeah they they're still very much an online retailer and they want to sell you a cheaper audio product that you can then plug in to more expensive stuff and not compete against those guys like posing Yamaha so let's keep the burns rolling imagine soggy says Apple should have worked harder on their products than their headquarters I really wonder where they'll be in 10 years the iMac pro isn't even in stores anymore ouch yeah and there yeah to keep the burns going this is also a delayed product it's important to remember that it was supposed to come out during the holiday season and that could hurt them to a certain extent because everybody's got their wallets out during the holidays so maybe it is gonna depress sales at least in the short term yeah sigmund a judge can you speak to it and have it play a specific film or TV show all on your Apple TV is that all integrated together in the home yes I don't know I imagine that my gut is that right now you can't but I really don't know so I shouldn't say it's got to be one of those things that's at least coming because didn't amazon only reese fairly recently so couple months ago it's start working that in yeah yeah and an Apple TV you know obviously has the voice remote where you can do that right I don't know seems like it'd be an easier step for Apple to take than the others yeah kind of that's what I mean one of the few benefits of a walled garden is that you have so much control over how your devices but I don't recall hearing something about that happening now yeah I don't know either it's a good question and I'm sorry we don't have the answer for you immediately on that one let's talk to sir enjoy sir enjoy says if Samsung pushes big speed with improvements do you see it catching up to Siri in the near future surely it's the weakest amongst the top three very good point as always from string joy Samsung has definitely been pushing very heavily to develop Bigsby but Bixby is still very very early days if they keep investing I would say that there's there's a good chance that Bixby and Siri at least reach a an equal level but I think Samsung still has a lot of work to do if they expect to reach closer to the top to imagine Sagi says it's crazy for this home pod to be delayed and have so many limited capabilities what about families that have Android and Apple phones are they're gonna have to borrow the iPhones just to use Spotify I think that families like that should consider you know just breaking a part like if you have an Android divorce or like give give the kids away to a different family that is an Android something that Megan mentioned in her review is that there's no way to mute the home pod just by touching a button so if you want the home pod to not be listening for its wake word for Siri for you talking to Siri you have to how nice to have a phone gross yeah what yeah imagine if the echo required you to have a fire phone Wow nobody would buy it of 10th level of how would we be living in yeah yeah yeah you're right I'm looking at Megan's a story right here the home pod doesn't have a button on the speaker it's for muting to mute Siri which is which is definitely like a step back from what a lot of people have yeah expected you know like for instance the Google assistant smart displays these days also have like a specific like like a shudder that you can shut the camera yeah that's facing you so I think that people are really have this expectation that there is an increase of privacy but I don't know it's also very Apple that's like we don't want to too many but brahim nobody beautiful mmm fabric mesh squishy seamless technology Hey harsh on Apple Apple it's very Apple to be like I don't want like what was it like I don't need that what did Steve Jobs say like I don't need a stylist like God gave me ten styli or whatever What did he say he doesn't like styluses he doesn't know why he doesn't like like the Steve Jobs like philosophy is that simplicity design at all cost at least of like what you see on the surface it has to be simple yeah very Apple to not have a button it's funny they'd be simpler these things get the less interesting they are to look at and talk about because they just do you don't actually have to interact with them anymore they're getting so smart to the extent where it's like how do we demonstrate this yeah well I I think of the future of voice assistance is that you don't even have to talk to them anymore I mean like that's that's like all the sci-fi movies show that like you just walk in your house the lights turn on the you know the oven starts your dinner all that stuff and the possibility that Google assistant and Alexa could eventually do that for you I think is very real you know they're already integrating with all your stuff so the idea that voices isn't just turns into an assistant I think is possible and and the fact that Siri is where it is right now means they're like I don't know your dinners just gonna be horrible I think it's funny we're talking about these voice assistants and the the top three clearly being Google echo and Siri and then and like is there a fourth three forgetting somebody and and I've lost who what lost legacy jumping goes this Cortana dead oh yeah definitely worth mentioning Cortana is like in the mix to a certain extent but really it's only existed in the PC world and you know maybe there's gonna be more expected hello hang on sorry microphone failure oh I feel like I'm in like a like a death metal concert all of a sudden and we're about to like really ramp it up fixed X what are we talking about why Cortana yeah so Microsoft probably should have expanded the Cortana universe because they were early to voice assistance ooh and they didn't and now they're kind of just playing catch-up and they teamed up with Alexa which may help them or it may just end up getting shadowed by Alexa so but yeah it's good to at least mention Cortana existing we are running low on time so if there's any last-minute questions go ahead and submit now before we do go we should probably give a little more time to the way Moe uber yeah so basically way Moe's legal defense as they presented on like opening whatever was basically like y'all know ubers like the worst right throws everybody knows that they're the worst company on the planet like come on guys like guys Oh actually first of all I could have done that okay me 400 lawyers on both sides and that's the best thing yeah but it's a very it's a very effective argument like it's in a way look reputation obviously matters I think as I mentioned in the podcast this could have very significant implications because uber has been really pushing it into autonomous driving and if this hampers their autonomous driving program completely like they have to like shelve it and start over because all of the technology was stolen allegedly that could that could really pull one of the major players out of the game and that could mean that autonomous driving at least from Hooper's perspective is gonna be you know much slower coming to the market or maybe not at all uber is the Patriots of who what's going on somebody's mad Oberg Oh other guy I like where this is going and I'm glad you mentioned the Super Bowl by the way are you aware of that there's anybody aware that the reason Ben Fox Rubin was not on the 3:15 ID podcast yesterday's cuz it was laying in bed hungover from partying after this football this is completely accurate and apologized for nothing it's not completely accurate you weren't in bed because you were partying after zeros cuz you were like drinking by yourself oh my god you guys have weaponized the pre podcast conversation against me and it is all true all true fly eagles fly and by the way the guy that ate horse poop on the street of Philadelphia I'd like to interview you so please find me oh god what is wrong with us as a society on that it's it's look it's more organic than Tide Pods okay somebody's gonna put something disgusting in their mouth I'd rather you know us poop I'm gonna give you that one thank you wrapping up so on that note on horse poop it's time to wrap it up for the day thanks everybody for joining us who wants to say the goodbye today oh it's Ben's turn ok take I'll be right in okay the 359 podcast is available on iTunes tune in stitcher Feedburner google play music the Amazon echo and of course Tina calm Joan thank you so much for coming on the podcast it's always we will see you again tomorrow bye everybody you