Apple HomePod Won’t Have Manual EQ Adjustment Options

Apple has now confirmed that its HomePod smart speaker won’t come with manual EQ adjustment options. This means users will not have the ability to manually alter the sound of the device to match their bass or treble preference.

Apple Senior VP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue announced Wednesday during a Pollstar Live conference that the highly anticipated HomePod won’t make it possible for users to make EQ adjustments on their own. In the absence of manual adjustment controls, the Amazon Echo rival will rely on analytics to automatically set levels for each song that is played, according to Apple Insider.

The announcement could be upsetting for audiophiles and people who prefer to make manual adjustments to their music. Eventellect co-founder Patrick Ryan who was present during the conference shared on Twitter that HomePod’s analytics will be the one to correctly set the “bass, treble, etc.” for each track to ensure that the sound produced by the smart speaker will be “so good.”

Cue’s announcement shouldn’t really come as a surprise since Apple has been teasing that automatic tuning will be the focus of HomePod. The device is built with microphones and beamforming that determine and gauge the acoustics of a room in order for the software to make necessary adjustments in an instant. The smart speaker also has an accelerometer, so it would know if it needs to make readjustments because it has been moved to a different location.

Apple’s HomePod will start shipping on Friday, Feb. 9. Ahead of it, many tech sites and reviewers published their reviews on the new $349 product. For Business Insider, HomePod may be the best-sounding smart speaker on the market, but it unfortunately lags behind rivals from Google and Amazon in terms of functionality and breadth of use because of Siri’s limitations.

USA Today is also not that pleased with HomePod because it views it as more of a play for Apple Music listeners than a competent rival to Amazon Echo. The news outlet also pointed out how Apple mainly defends the expensive pricing of its speaker by touting its premium audio specs and Apple Music integration. To prove that the device is quite expensive, the HomePod costs $250 more than the basic Amazon Echo.

Meanwhile, TechCrunch lauds the HomePod for being the “best sounding mainstream smart speaker ever.” The tech site noted how Apple’s new device has got better separation and bass response than any of its rivals and offers “best-in-class voice recognition.” Nonetheless, the publication agreed that HomePod’s flexibility is stymied by the limited command sets of Siri.