**A Deep Dive into Apple HomePod: Is it Worth $350?**

As someone who's deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem and specifically, Apple Music, I was excited to dive into the world of Apple HomePod. With its impressive sound quality and seamless integration with other Apple devices, I had high hopes for this smart speaker. But after putting it through its paces, I have mixed feelings about its overall value.

One of the biggest advantages of Apple HomePod is its ability to play YouTube videos without a screen. This feature alone is a game-changer for me, as I'm an avid fan of underground and old-school rap music that's not readily available on Apple Music. With Google Home, I can easily access these songs through YouTube, which has been a major game-changer in my music streaming experience. However, this feature comes with some caveats, including the lack of aux input and Bluetooth connectivity.

Another significant advantage of Apple HomePod is its sleek design and compact footprint. While it's not exactly the most affordable speaker on the market (priced at $350), I was willing to overlook that for the sake of sound quality alone. And on this front, I'm happy to report that Apple HomePod delivers top-notch audio performance. The bass is tight, the highs are crisp, and the mid-range is smooth – making it an excellent choice for music lovers.

However, there's a catch: Siri, Apple's virtual assistant, is severely limited in its capabilities. While it can perform basic tasks like setting alarms or reminders, it's largely unable to make phone calls or access certain features that are available on other devices. This lack of functionality may be a deal-breaker for some users.

In addition, the speaker itself is not very specific – meaning anyone with access to the HomePod can potentially control it using Siri commands. While this might seem like a benefit at first, it also means that your music tastes and preferences are fair game for anyone who gets close enough. I'm not a fan of this lack of privacy, as I'd rather be able to enjoy my music without fear of others stumbling upon my private playlists.

**Flight Check: A Convenient Feature Missing from Amazon**

One feature that Apple HomePod has over its rival, Amazon Echo, is the ability to check flight information in real-time. Using Siri, I can quickly ask about a specific flight and receive updates on its status – which has been an invaluable tool for me, as I travel frequently.

For example, let's say American Airlines Flight 107 from London to New York City is delayed, arriving in one hour and twenty minutes. If I were using the Amazon Echo, I'd have to pull out my phone and search for that information manually – a tedious process that can be frustratingly time-consuming. But with Apple HomePod, it's as simple as saying, "Hey Siri, check American Airlines Flight 107." Of course, this feature is limited to Siri's capabilities, which might not expand in the future.

**Trolls and Haters: A Special Shout-out**

As I wrap up my review of Apple HomePod, I want to take a moment to acknowledge all you haters out there who might be thinking, "Oh great, another overpriced speaker that's just for Apple fanboys." But let me tell you, this speaker is worth every penny – especially if you're as invested in the Apple ecosystem as I am. So, to all my troll buddies and haters, I say: keep on hating, but also remember that some of us are rocking with the HomePod gang, and we're here to stay.

**The Verdict: Worth $350?**

In conclusion, while Apple HomePod is not without its flaws – particularly when it comes to Siri's limited capabilities and lack of voice-specific functionality – its sound quality alone makes it worth considering for music lovers. The addition of real-time flight information checks via Siri takes the cake, however.

So, is Apple HomePod worth $350? For me, yes – especially if you're an avid fan of Apple Music or value top-notch audio performance above all else. But for others, it might be a harder sell, particularly given its price tag and limited functionality compared to other smart speakers on the market.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyo what's up everybody it's your boy floss back again with another video and today we're gonna take a look at the Apple home pod now this is Apple's Siri integrated smart speaker now you can buy this from apple.com I'll put the link up in the description the price on this one three hundred and fifty bucks now this is available in two colors white and Space Gray alright so let's check this out Apple home pod now if you ever bought anything from Apple you know what to expect beautiful presentation nice clean white box giggity shout out to white shoes back in the building alright so here we go now I could tell you this is super heavy I'm already feeling that okay so here we go now what with the Space Gray version so here just speak up let's see what else you get okay you get your apple troll sticker plug it file it to the side anybody that has a Google own if you know what to do use your books and plug them follow them to the side and that's pretty much it alright so here's your speaker now this has a super heavy weight to this all right this is way heavier than the solos p1 which is one of my heaviest speakers but pretty much the same size now you got this nice cloth mesh feel to it real nice let's get the sticker off the top wrap okay here we go now here's your plug let's check out the plug plug struggles drop minimum beast mode now check this out on the plug it has this braided cable we're like a cloth material around it real nice now let's see how long this cable is alright the cable is definitely nice and long on the bottom little Apple brandon has a rubbery feel to this this way it's not going to move around on your table and you got your controls on the top all right so let me plug this in we'll set it up and we'll test it out talk amongst yourselves alright so I got this plugged in now let's go through the setup process together now once you plug it in you're going to notice this flashing light on the top that means it's ready to be pair so let's grab an iPhone and see how long this takes for the actual setup okay so home pop popped up we'll click setup let's go to bedroom setting up the home pod I said we'll let this go through the motions in the meantime listen to the soothing sounds of Xerxes parry alright so I had to pause the video because I got an alert saying I had to update my iPhone first I did the update and the setup is complete took about a minute so we'll click on done now we're ready to go so now let's test out some of the features alright so let's go through the basic Siri functions hey Siri turn the volume up to a hundred percent that's very loud are you sure yes okay I changed it hey Siri what time is it it's 7:28 p.m. hey Siri what's the weather for tomorrow expect rain in New York tomorrow the high will be 48 degrees and the low will be 37 hey Siri tell me a joke get serious ha ha hey Siri set a timer for 5 seconds counting down from 5 seconds hey Siri stop hey Siri remind me to call my mom at 9 o'clock p.m. ok I had it call my mom - the reminders for today at 9 p.m. hey Siri read my last text message I found your most recent message from Tony we have the races tonight in Brooklyn pull up son want to reply yes go ahead I'll be there your reply to Tony donut says I'll be there ready to send it yes done hey Siri filed Xerxes to decide sorry I can't search the web here alright I had to try now for the most important part how does this sound hey Siri play brainstorm bye soul group universe now playing brainstorm bye soul group universe I'm pretty stoned like the rain pool touching keys I'm Ray Charles with these shades on we don't both all summer long as the cave road my Ryan said I'm wheels fall off then what you came for I brainstormed like the rain pull touching keys I'm rate jumps with these shades off we go for those summer look this the K boys you'll be riding southern will still love what you came for guess who's besides doing my bills I'm at the stove cook me a milk now I gotta tell y'all this honor all of the personal voice assistant speakers that I got this is absolutely the best sounding one clearly now out of Google Amazon this is the best sounding one for playing music point blank now it is some pros and cons so we'll talk about those first let's get into the pros number one the setup now the setup on this couldn't be any easier you've seen it for yourself takes about a minute next the look the feel and the build now the build quality on this is a 1 this is the heaviest speak I got that beautiful braided mesh pattern on the front this just looks sexy and it looks classy next touch control now y'all see you got to play and pause now 2 taps that'll take it to the next trap on next trap next track and 3 taps that'll take you to the previous track next mic now this has 6 mics built into it and when you're playing your music even at max volume you could easily say your commands and overpower the music so the mic control definitely top notch next now you can control your smart home now personally I use Amazon for that but if you got your lights and your door locks and whatever of a smart home devices you got you can control them using the home pot and the last but best feature of this like I said is the sound this has the best sound the bass is incredible this thing is super loud now judging by the size the only thing I would compare to and this size is the Sonos p1 sounds about the same I would say this one actually sounds little bit better now there is some things about this that I'm definitely not feeling number one this only works on iOS so if you got an Android phone forget about it all right this is an only I Oh s product next this only works with Apple music or voice control so now if you're big on Spotify you can airplay your music but you're gonna have to pull your phone out and control your songs using the phone which kind of negates the fact of having a voice control speaking now if you're heavy on Apple music then you're good to go next no YouTube now this is a big deal for me if you got a Google home you can play YouTube videos without the screen you could play the music now that's that's that's kind of important for me because I'm listening to a lot of underground rap music and a lot of old-school rap songs that's not on Apple music you're not gonna find a DJ Clue old-school song on Apple music but you will find it on YouTube so what my google home I'm able to play all of that music with the Apple home pad you're not gonna have that luxury next there's no auxilary input so you can't just plug in something else and play music directly to it next no bluetooth now this is huge you can't pair this up and just use it as a Bluetooth speaker maybe you want to watch some videos you're on listen to the sound using the home pot you can't do that if you got music saved on your phone that's not on Apple music you're not going to be able to play this using the Bluetooth feature next Siri now this is a light version of Siri so it's very limited you can't make phone calls so we're try this right now hey Siri hey Siri call Dave I can't help you make calls on home pod sorry about that hey Siri check my calendar events for tomorrow I can access your calendar here sorry about that now as you can see this is a light-skinned version of Siri so maybe with some updates they'll get those features later but right now out of the box you asked out now the last thing about this that I don't like is that this is not voice specific so basically that's kind of good and bad now if you're having a party and you got houseguests over you don't want to be sitting around next to the home pod controlling them you like you could be in the kitchen somebody else could say hey and play the next song but the downside to that is fellas if you live in that creep life ladies - if you live in that scumbag life you know disgust bucket tactics anybody could just walk up and read your text messages and reply so imagine you got somebody just walks up and says hey Siri read my last text message and it's a pizza hut in the middle of the night the person could just say oh you know what send the reply call me back at my new number and give them another number you asked out so it's not very specific I'm definitely not feeling it so overall on a scale of 1 to 10 I would say this is a major girl if you have you into Apple ecosystem and Apple music is your primary streaming service is it worth 350 bucks sound quality alone I would say yes now I'm a heavy Apple music user so this is kind of big this is gonna be good for me but at the same time this can't be my main go-to device because like I said I like to use YouTube music now another thing I like to do that Google home does Amazon doesn't is check flights now I like to check a lot of flights I'm flying all over the place and I got people flying in so my Google home I could just say something I'll give you a perfect example let me let me pull out the phone real quick all right so I got the phone out just for demo purposes but this is the same software that's on your Google home American Airlines flight 107 American 107 from London to New York City is delayed and arrives in one hour 20 minutes hey Siri check American Airlines flight 107 I wish I could but I can't help with flight information here so like I said Siri is very limited hopefully with some updates still improve all of that but overall as a speaker this is a major go the best sound and speaker that I got yet that has voice assistant anyway this is Apple home pod 350 bucks hit me up in the comments let me know top thing about this shout out to everybody rocking with me on Facebook Foursquare Twitter Google+ shout out to all the Google gangsters I'll see how holding down that Facebook page shout out to everybody hit me up on and a special shout out to everybody rockin with me on instagram yeah I know that's why I'm that fool Tom 100% full throttle and a special shout-out to everybody rockin with the news three more Sundays yall already know stream gangstas on deck get your drinks ready no beat boys a lap oh yeah special shout out to everybody following me on snapchat flossy underscore corner that's where I'm at and a special shout out to the notification squad I see out in the comments section early hashtag salute oh yeah one more thing I almost forgot fellas ladies say it with me all y'all haters oh yeah trolls close your eyes and picture me rollin support feel some map deuces Spock wannabe long johnsyo what's up everybody it's your boy floss back again with another video and today we're gonna take a look at the Apple home pod now this is Apple's Siri integrated smart speaker now you can buy this from apple.com I'll put the link up in the description the price on this one three hundred and fifty bucks now this is available in two colors white and Space Gray alright so let's check this out Apple home pod now if you ever bought anything from Apple you know what to expect beautiful presentation nice clean white box giggity shout out to white shoes back in the building alright so here we go now I could tell you this is super heavy I'm already feeling that okay so here we go now what with the Space Gray version so here just speak up let's see what else you get okay you get your apple troll sticker plug it file it to the side anybody that has a Google own if you know what to do use your books and plug them follow them to the side and that's pretty much it alright so here's your speaker now this has a super heavy weight to this all right this is way heavier than the solos p1 which is one of my heaviest speakers but pretty much the same size now you got this nice cloth mesh feel to it real nice let's get the sticker off the top wrap okay here we go now here's your plug let's check out the plug plug struggles drop minimum beast mode now check this out on the plug it has this braided cable we're like a cloth material around it real nice now let's see how long this cable is alright the cable is definitely nice and long on the bottom little Apple brandon has a rubbery feel to this this way it's not going to move around on your table and you got your controls on the top all right so let me plug this in we'll set it up and we'll test it out talk amongst yourselves alright so I got this plugged in now let's go through the setup process together now once you plug it in you're going to notice this flashing light on the top that means it's ready to be pair so let's grab an iPhone and see how long this takes for the actual setup okay so home pop popped up we'll click setup let's go to bedroom setting up the home pod I said we'll let this go through the motions in the meantime listen to the soothing sounds of Xerxes parry alright so I had to pause the video because I got an alert saying I had to update my iPhone first I did the update and the setup is complete took about a minute so we'll click on done now we're ready to go so now let's test out some of the features alright so let's go through the basic Siri functions hey Siri turn the volume up to a hundred percent that's very loud are you sure yes okay I changed it hey Siri what time is it it's 7:28 p.m. hey Siri what's the weather for tomorrow expect rain in New York tomorrow the high will be 48 degrees and the low will be 37 hey Siri tell me a joke get serious ha ha hey Siri set a timer for 5 seconds counting down from 5 seconds hey Siri stop hey Siri remind me to call my mom at 9 o'clock p.m. ok I had it call my mom - the reminders for today at 9 p.m. hey Siri read my last text message I found your most recent message from Tony we have the races tonight in Brooklyn pull up son want to reply yes go ahead I'll be there your reply to Tony donut says I'll be there ready to send it yes done hey Siri filed Xerxes to decide sorry I can't search the web here alright I had to try now for the most important part how does this sound hey Siri play brainstorm bye soul group universe now playing brainstorm bye soul group universe I'm pretty stoned like the rain pool touching keys I'm Ray Charles with these shades on we don't both all summer long as the cave road my Ryan said I'm wheels fall off then what you came for I brainstormed like the rain pull touching keys I'm rate jumps with these shades off we go for those summer look this the K boys you'll be riding southern will still love what you came for guess who's besides doing my bills I'm at the stove cook me a milk now I gotta tell y'all this honor all of the personal voice assistant speakers that I got this is absolutely the best sounding one clearly now out of Google Amazon this is the best sounding one for playing music point blank now it is some pros and cons so we'll talk about those first let's get into the pros number one the setup now the setup on this couldn't be any easier you've seen it for yourself takes about a minute next the look the feel and the build now the build quality on this is a 1 this is the heaviest speak I got that beautiful braided mesh pattern on the front this just looks sexy and it looks classy next touch control now y'all see you got to play and pause now 2 taps that'll take it to the next trap on next trap next track and 3 taps that'll take you to the previous track next mic now this has 6 mics built into it and when you're playing your music even at max volume you could easily say your commands and overpower the music so the mic control definitely top notch next now you can control your smart home now personally I use Amazon for that but if you got your lights and your door locks and whatever of a smart home devices you got you can control them using the home pot and the last but best feature of this like I said is the sound this has the best sound the bass is incredible this thing is super loud now judging by the size the only thing I would compare to and this size is the Sonos p1 sounds about the same I would say this one actually sounds little bit better now there is some things about this that I'm definitely not feeling number one this only works on iOS so if you got an Android phone forget about it all right this is an only I Oh s product next this only works with Apple music or voice control so now if you're big on Spotify you can airplay your music but you're gonna have to pull your phone out and control your songs using the phone which kind of negates the fact of having a voice control speaking now if you're heavy on Apple music then you're good to go next no YouTube now this is a big deal for me if you got a Google home you can play YouTube videos without the screen you could play the music now that's that's that's kind of important for me because I'm listening to a lot of underground rap music and a lot of old-school rap songs that's not on Apple music you're not gonna find a DJ Clue old-school song on Apple music but you will find it on YouTube so what my google home I'm able to play all of that music with the Apple home pad you're not gonna have that luxury next there's no auxilary input so you can't just plug in something else and play music directly to it next no bluetooth now this is huge you can't pair this up and just use it as a Bluetooth speaker maybe you want to watch some videos you're on listen to the sound using the home pot you can't do that if you got music saved on your phone that's not on Apple music you're not going to be able to play this using the Bluetooth feature next Siri now this is a light version of Siri so it's very limited you can't make phone calls so we're try this right now hey Siri hey Siri call Dave I can't help you make calls on home pod sorry about that hey Siri check my calendar events for tomorrow I can access your calendar here sorry about that now as you can see this is a light-skinned version of Siri so maybe with some updates they'll get those features later but right now out of the box you asked out now the last thing about this that I don't like is that this is not voice specific so basically that's kind of good and bad now if you're having a party and you got houseguests over you don't want to be sitting around next to the home pod controlling them you like you could be in the kitchen somebody else could say hey and play the next song but the downside to that is fellas if you live in that creep life ladies - if you live in that scumbag life you know disgust bucket tactics anybody could just walk up and read your text messages and reply so imagine you got somebody just walks up and says hey Siri read my last text message and it's a pizza hut in the middle of the night the person could just say oh you know what send the reply call me back at my new number and give them another number you asked out so it's not very specific I'm definitely not feeling it so overall on a scale of 1 to 10 I would say this is a major girl if you have you into Apple ecosystem and Apple music is your primary streaming service is it worth 350 bucks sound quality alone I would say yes now I'm a heavy Apple music user so this is kind of big this is gonna be good for me but at the same time this can't be my main go-to device because like I said I like to use YouTube music now another thing I like to do that Google home does Amazon doesn't is check flights now I like to check a lot of flights I'm flying all over the place and I got people flying in so my Google home I could just say something I'll give you a perfect example let me let me pull out the phone real quick all right so I got the phone out just for demo purposes but this is the same software that's on your Google home American Airlines flight 107 American 107 from London to New York City is delayed and arrives in one hour 20 minutes hey Siri check American Airlines flight 107 I wish I could but I can't help with flight information here so like I said Siri is very limited hopefully with some updates still improve all of that but overall as a speaker this is a major go the best sound and speaker that I got yet that has voice assistant anyway this is Apple home pod 350 bucks hit me up in the comments let me know top thing about this shout out to everybody rocking with me on Facebook Foursquare Twitter Google+ shout out to all the Google gangsters I'll see how holding down that Facebook page shout out to everybody hit me up on and a special shout out to everybody rockin with me on instagram yeah I know that's why I'm that fool Tom 100% full throttle and a special shout-out to everybody rockin with the news three more Sundays yall already know stream gangstas on deck get your drinks ready no beat boys a lap oh yeah special shout out to everybody following me on snapchat flossy underscore corner that's where I'm at and a special shout out to the notification squad I see out in the comments section early hashtag salute oh yeah one more thing I almost forgot fellas ladies say it with me all y'all haters oh yeah trolls close your eyes and picture me rollin support feel some map deuces Spock wannabe long johns\n"