Sonos One vs Apple HomePod: Features, Specs, and Price Comparison
After some delays, the HomePod finally made its way to the home speaker market. But how does it really compare to its competition released earlier in the game such as the Sonos One?
Specs, Sound Quality
In terms of hardware specs, one of the main differences between Sonos One and the Apple HomePod concerns their tweeters. This is also where the HomePod has a great advantage since it has a total of seven tweeters while Sonos One only has one.
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Both speakers can be connected to the world wide web through wireless connections. However, between the two, only the HomePod has Bluetooth connectivity support.
Since these products are primarily home speakers, the quality of sound they produce is one of the most important aspects to consider.
The HomePod immediately garnered praises from reports, audiophiles, and even ordinary users because of the quality of its sound. In a lengthy post produced through the long process of testing Apple's speaker, Redditor WinterCharm concluded: "The Frequency response, Directivity, and ability to correct for the room all go to show that the HomePod is a speaker for the masses."
On the other hand, the sound quality that Sonos One produces cannot be ruled out of the game as well. Shortly after it was released, it also gathered very high praises in this department. In a review by the Telegraph, Sonos One was regarded as the "best-sounding speaker" that comes with smart technology.
Smart Assistance, Features
The HomePod is, of course, supported by Siri. On the other hand, Sonos One was launched powered by Amazon's Alexa and will be adding Google Assistant support later this year as well.
In this aspect, the Sonos One speaker can be considered the winner. With support for both the Alexa and Google Assistant platforms, its users just get so many voice-activated functions including smart home security.
Speakers are conventionally useful for one thing: listening to music. Again, Sonos One gets the point. Considering that Sonos supports a long list of music streaming platforms -- such as Spotify, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, Tidal, Pandora and more -- it is not that hard to determine who wins.
As for the HomePod, Apple combined Siri and Apple Music which resulted to letting users enjoy songs from the platform with the help of voice commands. However, it is important to note that Apple Music also plays on Sonos One but does not offer that voice-activated control.
Of course, the HomePod only works with iOS devices, and it is not clear yet whether that will change in the future. On the other hand, Sonos One can be set up and used on smartphones running on Android and iOS.
The Apple HomePod costs $349 while Sonos One is priced $199.
