HomePod & the Future of local files on iTunes

[theo1498576218]

I am concerned that Apple's pushing of Apple music in the HomePod presentation is a sign of worse days ahead for people who store music files locally.

 

Politically speaking, the best way to lobby against this trend at Apple might be to speak on behalf of people with cabins or rural homes that have power but no internet. Or on behalf of the African, Latin American and other cultures whose music from the past 90 years is only sparsely catalogued by Apple Music.

 

Why can't Apple (or someone) come up with a play-only head unit that will run iTunes, iPod style, from (a clone of) an external drive containing the user's library and music files, and be able to control devices like the HomePod via Bluetooth, Lightning or USB 3.1 or C—but using a bare-bones play-only version of iTunes, not iOS Music.

 

The iOS Music app seems hobbled in so many ways, presumably to force people into using web-dependent Apple Music.

 

Anyone with rare, exotic or out-of-fashion music is stuck with Apple Music's boneheaded track and artwork mis-identifications.

[kirkmc]

You can stream to the HomePod via AirPlay, so you don't need Apple Music.

[BerwynDad]

I am concerned that Apple's pushing of Apple music in the HomePod presentation is a sign of worse days ahead for people who store music files locally.

 

For me, the HomePod and AirPlay 2 were the most exciting news of the day. However, there are far more questions than answers.

 

My whole audio setup is based on a local iTunes libraries that push music to multiple AirPort Express and AirPlay devices. I use the Apple Remote app to control iTunes on the PC. I love it.

 

Is it perfect? Nope. Volume controls have always been wonky.... A shelf stereo system with AirPlay frequently falls off the network.... the Apple Remote App could use some TLC from Apple... And iTunes itself has been going backwards in functionality.

 

So what does AirPlay 2 bring to the table for this type of usage scenario? Who knows. The only real thing we saw in the demo was volume controls moved to the iOS 11 Home app.

 

Is Apple moving away from local file system music? Will there still be a Remote App to control iTunes? Will iTunes be able to push to the HomePod? Will Apple update the AirPort firmware? (I doubt it). What about folks with AirPlay bake into their existing tuners?

 

My hope is that AirPlay 2 usage details were not mentioned simply because this was a developer keynote and they are really pushed for time.

 

If anyone finds anything notable news about this on Twitter, etc, please post here.

 

-- Bryan

[kirkmc]

AirPlay 2 lets you stream to multiple devices. You can already do this from iTunes, but not from iOS. I suspect there will be other improvements as well.

[rickca]

The Apple HomePod has been delayed to early 2018.  Yeah, I know, you're all devastated.

[Ralf11]

I ain't touching Apple Music.

 

I'd like Airplay2 or Airplay666 to work with HiRes

[cambridgehank]

Ralf11.  I agree with you.  I attempted iTunes Music library in the cloud and it deleted many of my albums and songs.  I am terrified of Apple Music in my library.

[mythrenegade]

The HomePod looks like an amazing piece of kit, but it isn’t going to sound better than either of my systems, no matter how many of them I buy...

 

I’m quite worried about the abandonment of home sharing. It seems like it gets zero attention and all the love is directed at Apple Music. An AppleTV 2 or 3 makes a fantastic headless streaming platform (you need a DAC, and a decent one if you want this to sound good) that is way more stable than airplay. I use one to stream my music from iTunes via homesharing. 

 

But the ATV4 doesn’t work headless, and the music support over homesharing is terrible. You cannot view anything with the remote app, it’s just bad. This is the direction they are heading. I really don’t like that my entire setup is based on technology that is no longer for sale....

[cambridgehank]

I agree about the abandonment of home sharing.  I have an AppleTv 3.  I use it to connect my iTunes library on my desktop to my AVR. The sound is great and I am able to play music throughout the apartment.  I hope  that is the direction Apple is heading.

[wwaldmanfan]

1 hour ago, mythrenegade said:

I really don’t like that my entire setup is based on technology that is no longer for sale....

 

I don't think of it that way. Vintage gear is still a big part of this hobby. I've gotten 20, 30, 40 years out of some stereo components. Newer is not always better.

[mythrenegade]

I hear you on the vintage point, but using my iPad to control this thing is critical. If that gets abandoned it becomes much more difficult to keep running.