跳票的苹果智能音箱HomePod终于上市，种草还是拔草？来看看评测吧

Apple’s new $349 smart speaker HomePod officially hit stores today, and you’re probably already aware that the initial reviews have been mixed: Generally positive on the sonic performance, neutral to positive on the industrial design, and disappointed to downright negative on Siri.

苹果新推出的售价349美元的智能音箱HomePod今天正式登陆各大商店，最初的评测结果你可能已经有所耳闻——好坏参半：总体而言，苹果的音响性能表现良好，工业设计无亮点也无过，而对Siri的评价则完全是负面的。

If you’re on the fence about HomePod and wondering whether to audition it at an Apple Store or your own home this weekend, here are a handful of helpful details that will put this new speaker in some perspective.

如果你对入手HomePod持观望态度，并在考虑是否在本周末在苹果专卖店或自己的家中试音，本文提供一些有用的细节，会让你对这款智能音箱有更全面的认识。

Apple’s initial pitch: Reinventing music

苹果卖点的初心：重新定义音乐

“Just like iPod reinvented music in our pockets, HomePod is going to reinvent music in our homes.”

“就像iPod在我们的口袋里重新发明了音乐一样，HomePod将走进千家万户重塑音乐。”

– Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller, June 5, 2017

——苹果高级副总裁菲尔席勒，2017年6月5日

Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced HomePod last June at WWDC 2017, saving it for the traditionally important “one last thing” slot at the end of his speech.Before turning the stage over to Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller, Cook said that the company had decided to “reinvent home music,” a lofty goal indeed.(And a familiar one: Nearly 12 years ago, Apple said basically the same thing about the same-priced iPod Hi-Fi, which was discontinued the next year.)

苹果首席执行官蒂姆库克在去年6月的全球WWDC大会上介绍了homepod，在他的演讲结束时为传统意义上的“最后一件事”保留了下来。在向苹果公司营销总监菲尔席勒提出这个问题之前，库克表示公司已经决定“彻底改造家庭音乐”，这确实是一个崇高的目标。（还有一个熟悉的例子：大约12年前，苹果公司对同样定价的iPod Hi-Fi说过同样的话，该产品在第二年就停产了。）

Schiller explained that Sonos made good-sounding whole-home wireless speakers that weren’t “smart speakers,” while Amazon made “smart speakers you can talk to,” but didn’t sound great for music.“We want to combine all this in a product that can really deliver a breakthrough experience,” said Schiller, noting that HomePod would “rock the house” and be “really fun to use, with a built-in musicologist.”

席勒解释说，Sonos的家用无线扬声器听起来很不错，但它并不是“智能音箱”，而亚马逊则是“你可以与之交谈的智能音箱”，但听起来不太适合音乐。“我们想把所有这些都整合到一款能真正带来突破性体验的产品中，”席勒说。他指出，HomePod将“撼动整个家庭”，并“与内置音乐理论家一起使用”。

What was delivered

开箱配置

Measuring 6.8 inches high by 5.6 inches wide, HomePod was originally promised as a small but powerful speaker, monaural rather than stereo yet capable of omnidirectional sound — and stereo if used in a $698 pair.Buyers can choose between near-black Space Gray or off-white White versions, each with a glossy top panel containing + and – touch surfaces and a swirling globe of rainbow colors to indicate when Siri’s in use.There’s no remote control, and no audio input port — just a surprisingly heavy-feeling five-pound speaker with a non-detachable, fabric-covered power cable.

“HomePod”的尺寸为6.8英寸，宽5.6英寸，最初是作为一个小型但功能强大的扬声器，它是一种单声道立体声，而不是立体音响，但却能发出全方位的声音——如果使用的是698美元的话，它的音响效果也不错。买家可以在接近黑色的空间灰色或白色的白色版本之间做出选择，每一个都有一个光滑的顶部面板，里面有+和——触摸的表面和一个旋转的彩虹色，用来表示Siri在使用的时候。没有遥控器，也没有音频输入端口——只是一个令人吃惊的重感五磅的扬声器，带有一个不可拆卸的、覆盖着织物的电力电缆。

HomePod was delayed from its original December release date until today, which initial reports blamed on unspecified software issues, and later reports suggested were due to problems with multi-HomePod synchronization — specifically two units in one room, or more units across a house.Though the feature isn’t yet available, Apple has apparently backed off of calling two-HomePod synchronization “stereo,” and plans to separately release two-speaker and multi-room modes at unspecified future dates.

HomePod从去年12月的发布日期推迟到今天，最初的报告将其归咎于未指明的软件问题，随后的报告则指出，这是由于多HomePod同步的问题——具体来说是一个房间里的两个单元，或者是一个房间的更多单元。虽然这一功能还没有实现，但苹果显然已经放弃了将双homepod同步“立体声”的功能，并计划不确定的某天分别发布两种扬声器和多室模式。

What’s been said

风评如何

The first reviews of new Apple products always come from people who were selected by the company to receive special briefings and early review hardware.This time, Apple’s briefings included playing a selection of songs on HomePod and three competing speakers, asking Siri a series of questions it could answer, and in some cases demonstrating multi-HomePod features that were left out of the initial software release.

对苹果新产品的首次评测，总是来自于被公司选中接受特别简报和早期审查硬件的人。这一次，苹果的发布会包括在HomePod和三位竞争对手播放精选歌曲，向Siri询问一系列可以回答的问题，在某些情况下，演示了在最初的软件版本中没有出现的多HomePod功能。

Above: HomePod’s top display isn’t really a screen, just a blurry swirl of lights that indicate Siri’s being used — you’ll need to use another iOS device to set it up

上图:HomePod的显示屏并不是真正的屏幕，只是一个模糊的光点，表明Siri正在被使用——你需要使用另一个iOS设备来设置它。

Early reviewers have often disclaimed their own audio expertise, but have generally opined that the $349 HomePod sounds decidedly superior to the $80 Amazon Echo, similar to or a little better than the $199 Sonos One, and at least a little better than the $399 Google Home Max.However, they have generally said that HomePod’s reliance on half-baked software — including Siri — has major issues, most notably a lack of Siri functionality compared with other digital assistants, as well as weak integration with iOS devices, various iCloud-stored content, and third-party apps.On one positive software note, HomePod’s ease of setup has been universally praised.The overall experience has been called well-suited to some Apple Music users, but far less than ideal for those without Apple Music.

早期的评测者经常声称他们自己的音频技术是不存在的，但是他们普遍认为349美元的HomePod听起来要比亚马逊Echo售价80美元的Echo好得多，类似于售价199美元的Sonos One，至少比售价399美元的Google Home Max略好一点。不过，他们普遍认为HomePod对包括Siri在内的半生不熟的软件的依赖存在重大问题，最明显的是，与其他数字助理相比，Siri功能的缺失，以及与iOS设备的整合，各种icloud存储的内容，以及第三方应用。在一份积极的软件报告中，HomePod的安装简易性得到了普遍的赞扬。总体体验被认为非常适合Apple Music的用户，但对于那些没有Apple Music的用户来说，这远远不够理想。

How does it compare with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Sonos One?

它与Alexa、Google助手和Sonos One相比如何？

From a “smart speaker” perspective, HomePod’s strongest suit is its six-microphone array, which can hear you say “Hey Siri” at a distance at a reasonable volume, even when the speakers are loudly playing music.HomePod is also able to integrate with Apple’s Home app for iOS, letting you control HomeKit accessories such as light switches and garage door openers.It can’t yet control iOS devices or Apple TVs, and it can’t distinguish between multiple users’ voices.

从“智能扬声器”的角度来看，HomePod最强大的套装是它的六麦克风阵列，它能在一定距离内听到你说“Hey Siri”，即使扬声器在播放音乐时也能听到。HomePod还可以集成苹果的iOS应用，让用户可以控制HomeKit附件，比如电灯开关和车库门开关。它还不能控制iOS设备或Apple tv，也无法区分多个用户的声音。

Alexa works across Amazon devices and a rapidly growing number of non-Amazon devices.It lets you make calls, control smart home accessories, place orders at Amazon, and add third-party skills that can do thousands of different things ranging from games to ordering services.On the Echo Plus, Alexa also works as a smart home hub, and lets you set up accessories.

Alexa可在亚马逊所有设备上运行，并且在非亚马逊设备上的数量也在迅速增长。它可以让你打电话，控制智能家居配件，在亚马逊下单，并添加第三方的功能，这些技能可以做从游戏到订购服务上千件不同的事情。在Echo Plus上，Alexa还可以作为智能家居中枢，让你设置配件。

Above: Siri functionality is all that separates HomePod from being just another speaker, but it’s not particularly broad or deep

上图:Siri的功能是将HomePod区别于另一个扬声器，但它并不是特别宽或深。

Google Assistant has multi-voice support to provide individuals’ schedules, playlists, traffic details, and other personalized data upon request.It is capable of making calls, controlling smart home accessories, providing travel information, translating words into multiple languages, looking up recipes, offering nutrition guidance, answering trivia questions, looking up stocks, and telling jokes.

谷歌助理有多语音支持，可以根据用户的要求提供个人的日程安排、播放列表、交通详情和其他个性化数据。能够打电话，控制智能家居用品，提供旅游信息，将文字翻译成多种语言，查找食谱，提供营养指导，回答琐碎问题，查找股票和讲笑话。

Note that the $199 Sonos One is able to use Alexa now, is adding Google Assistant support via a software update in the near future, and will have support for streaming music via Apple’s upcoming AirPlay 2, as well.Sonos is currently offering a truly stereo pair of Sonos One speakers for $349 to directly challenge the HomePod at the same price point.

值得注意的是，199美元的Sonos One现在可以使用Alexa了，它将在不久的将来通过软件升级添加Google助手支持，并将支持通过苹果的AirPlay 2播放流媒体音乐。Sonos目前推出了一款真正的立体声音响，售价349美元，可以直接挑战HomePod的价格。

What’s missing

缺少的东西

A number of features have yet to arrive before HomePod feels feature-complete.

在HomePod感觉功能齐全之前，许多功能还没有推出。

Proper third-party app integration: If HomePod is going to be a “smart” speaker, it should let you order food or an Uber to your location, be able to play podcasts through third-party apps such as Overcast, and be able to access music streamed from sources other than Apple’s servers.

适当的第三方应用整合：如果HomePod将成为一个“智能”扬声器，它应该让你在你的位置上订购食物或优步，能够通过诸如Overcast这样的第三方应用播放播客，并能够从苹果服务器以外的渠道获取音乐流。

Bluetooth streaming: You can’t just stream music from any Bluetooth source to the HomePod, even though it has Bluetooth 5.0 hardware inside.We expect this will be fixed in a software update, but it’s a very surprising omission from any speaker, let alone a “smart speaker.”

蓝牙串流：你不能将任何蓝牙源的音乐流到HomePod，即使它内部有蓝牙5.0硬件。我们预计这将在软件更新中得到修复，但这是一个非常令人吃惊的遗漏，更不用说一个“智能的演讲者”了。

Above: Volume up and down buttons appear and disappear on HomePod’s top; you can tap between them to play, pause, and skip tracks

上图：音量上升和下降按钮出现在HomePod的顶部，你可以在它们之间点击播放，暂停，跳过音轨

Single-user, multi-device support: HomePod should be able to act like an iPad and answer your iPhone’s phone/FaceTime audio calls and texts if you authorize it to do so.It should also be able to hand calls and messages off to other Apple products as seamlessly as iOS and macOS devices can.

单用户，多设备支持:HomePod应该能够像iPad一样操作，如果你授权它，就可以响应你的iPhone手机/facetime音频通话和短信。它还应该能够像iOS和macOS设备那样无缝地将电话和信息发送给其他苹果产品。

Multi-user support: If HomePod’s going to be in a home, it should support voiceprinting for multiple people in the home, making it easy for anyone to ask questions and get personalized answers, or access data that’s permitted to be accessed via individuals’ iPhones or iPads.If requested, it should also be able to preclude unauthorized sharing of personal information such as one user’s messages and calls with people other than that person.

多用户支持：如果HomePod将在家中，它应该支持家中多人的语音打印，让任何人都可以轻松地提问和得到个性化的答案，或者访问允许通过个人的iphone或ipad访问的数据。如果被请求，它还应该能够防止未经授权的共享个人信息，比如一个用户的消息和电话，而不是那个人。

Multi-speaker support: Right now, it’s hard enough to swallow paying $349 for one HomePod, but if Apple’s going to convince anyone to buy two or more, it needs to get paired and multi-room modes working properly.A true stereo mode would be great, too.

多用户支持：现在，要花349美元买一个HomePod是很困难的，但如果苹果要说服任何人购买两款或更多，它就需要配对，多房间模式才能正常工作。一个真正的立体模式也会很棒。

A smarter Siri: A smart speaker is only as smart as its digital assistant.Alexa and Google can draw upon lots of information even before you add third-party skills; Siri on HomePod can get stumped by requests an iPhone can handle.Siri needs to be better everywhere, and really excellent on screenless devices like HomePod, particularly when you’re posing a series of questions about the same topic.You shouldn’t need to phrase each subsequent question in a series as if it’s the first.

更智能的Siri:智能音箱不逊于智能助手。Alexa和Google在添加第三方技能之前就能获取大量信息;在HomePod上，Siri会被iPhone所能处理的请求搞得不知所措。Siri需要在任何地方都做得更好，在像HomePod这样的无屏幕设备上表现得非常出色，尤其是当你对同一主题提出一系列问题时。你不应该在一个系列中把每个后续的问题都说成是第一个。

HomePod is available in Apple Stores now across the U.S., U.K., and Australia, and can easily be returned if you’re dissatisfied after auditioning it at your home.We’ll have more to say on HomePod in the near future.

HomePod目前在美国、英国和澳大利亚的苹果专卖店有售，如果在家中试音不满意，随时可退货。之后我们还会报道更多关于HomePod的用户体验，敬请期待。