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ninethirty

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 1, 2006
1,540
1,555
Thinking about switching my Sonos speakers to Homepod/mini, but I'm wondering if Siri gets all messed up when speaking to a Homepod and I've got my phone, and iPad, etc, nearby. How do all the devices end up handling this?
 

StumpyBloke

macrumors 603
Apr 21, 2012
5,397
5,983
England
In theory the HomePod always takes priority. It doesn’t work 100% of the time of course, but it is quite reliable.

When you say “hey Siri” you will notice all devices wake up but only the HomePod should respond. And the other devices will then go back to standby (assuming they were in standby in the first place)
 

waw74

macrumors 601
May 27, 2008
4,692
961
there is a bit of talking between devices that happens in the background


If your phone screen is on and unlocked, the phone will take priority.
if your phone is face down on the table, it won't respond at all.

That being said, I wouldn't
I like the sonos system much better, especially if you've got a sound bar, as the direct wired connection is much more stable than a wireless one.

And I like being able to control music no matter what device I'm on.
With HomePod, if you start music from your phone, you might not be able to do anything from your Mac, with sonos, this isn't an issue. Sonos also allows others that use android to control the system.
 

StumpyBloke

macrumors 603
Apr 21, 2012
5,397
5,983
England
If your phone screen is on and unlocked, the phone will take priority.

This is incorrect. I’ve just tried it to confirm. Mine has never work like that. The HomePod will always take priority, at least it always has for me
 

ninethirty

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 1, 2006
1,540
1,555
there is a bit of talking between devices that happens in the background


If your phone screen is on and unlocked, the phone will take priority.
if your phone is face down on the table, it won't respond at all.

That being said, I wouldn't
I like the sonos system much better, especially if you've got a sound bar, as the direct wired connection is much more stable than a wireless one.

And I like being able to control music no matter what device I'm on.
With HomePod, if you start music from your phone, you might not be able to do anything from your Mac, with sonos, this isn't an issue. Sonos also allows others that use android to control the system.
I was likely going to keep our Sonos soundbar for the TV, and use the homepods throughout the rest of the house for playing music. My primary motivation here is privacy. We have Alexa on the Sonos speakers and there has been way too many times where my wife and I are talking about something and 5 minutes later we're seeing ads for that thing online. I just don't trust what's happening there.
 

Five_Oh

macrumors 6502
Jan 7, 2017
396
311
Flyover Country, USA
This is incorrect. I’ve just tried it to confirm. Mine has never work like that. The HomePod will always take priority, at least it always has for me
This. In fact, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I've whispered to my phone even in an adjacent room to the HomePod when I wanted the request to go through it. ?‍♂️
 

malcky77

macrumors regular
Oct 12, 2019
247
108
I think we have all whispered some daft commands at all our HomePods at some point.......gotta know what it can do right!!!!!! lol
 

StumpyBloke

macrumors 603
Apr 21, 2012
5,397
5,983
England
I think we have all whispered some daft commands at all our HomePods at some point.......gotta know what it can do right!!!!!! lol

Recently I would be arrested for what I’ve shouted at the bloody thing. It’s like Apple goes out of its way to make Siri the biggest piece of **** ever.
 
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