Apple HomePod smart speaker - stains your furniture permanently

[givingtnt]

32 minutes ago, suicidalfranco said:

not Apple fault if people still buy tables with such an obsolete material as wood in 2018. Ever heard of aluminium and glass?

wood is nice !

I just hope they compensate (as in, compensate for the damage, not some meaningless ammount of money)
to the people it affects.

[79wjd]

11 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

I think it is expected to do this. It is, for Apple, to have a way to sale an accessory for it. You'll need to buy the 19.99$ Apple Pad for it to protect your table.

Yeah I really doubt that....especially since anyone could just put a piece of paper underneath it. It's surely just an oversight. 

10 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

Looking at their sig,I doubt they're somehow not joking. rofl

Well still,I'm just saying this shouldn't be happening with a $350 freaking speaker. Though seems like untreated wood since its easily stained,yet shouldn't be by silicone or decent rubber.

 

It shouldn't be happening, but it's also something that's stupidly easy to overlook, so I wouldn't blame Apple if it wasn't realized in testing. 

[GoodBytes]

17 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

Yeah I really doubt that....especially since anyone could just put a piece of paper underneath it. It's surely just an oversight.

Was just doing a silly joke

[Blademaster91]

27 minutes ago, suicidalfranco said:

wood is passé !
 

fixed it for you

Yes,to be part of the glorious apple ecosystem you must replace everything wood in your home with glass,aluminum and white marble.

Never mind those uncultured peasants still using wooden surfaces,it's 2018, filthy plebs.  /s

28 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

Yeah I really doubt that....especially since anyone could just put a piece of paper underneath it. It's surely just an oversight. 

It shouldn't be happening, but it's also something that's stupidly easy to overlook. 

Overlooked because they didn't bother to fully test it.  No other speaker is having this problem? It's inexcusable for a $350 mono speaker,but Apple can never do no wrong,just put a sheet of paper under the speaker.

[79wjd]

1 minute ago, Blademaster91 said:

Overlooked because they didn't bother to fully test it.  No other speaker is having this problem? It's inexcusable for a $350 mono speaker,but Apple can never do no wrong.

I'd be willing to bet no competing device was heavily tested on various surfaces. The fact is that it's a very odd issue that likely wasn't expected by anyone and is only a problem here because they decided to do something out of the norm. It's an issue, but not one that would likely have been caught by any company that chose to use the same materials/fabrication method/whatever is causing it. 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

38 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

It was literally released a few days ago and the issue was just recently reported. Maybe give them more than a day to address the situation before starting with the attacks.

For a product that was supposedly worked on since 2011 (according to the fella below) I still don't get how this should be a thing. I mean, I seriously doubt that they hadn't placed this thing on a wooden table during all these years of development and testing. You don't expect little odd issues like this from a company that charges you a pretty penny for their products. Especially when software and usability wise, it's beyond underwhelming so the only saving grace for this thing would've been its design and build quality. 

 

[79wjd]

2 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

For a product that was supposedly worked on since 2011 (according to the fella below) I still don't get how this should be a thing. I mean, I seriously doubt that they hadn't placed this thing on a wooden table during all these years of development and testing. You don't expect little odd issues like this from a company that charges you a pretty penny for their products. Especially when software and usability wise, it's beyond underwhelming so the only saving grace for this thing would've been its design and build quality.

 

I'm sure it was used on a wood table at some point, but what kind of wood causes a problem, raw/treated, polished/unpolished, stained/unstained, etc....? At this point we know virtually nothing. So it's easily possible to have not tested the correct combination. 

[Dabombinable]

Isn't it only the cheapest and shittiest of rubber that reacts chemically with wood like that?

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

4 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

I'm sure it was used on a wood table at some point, but what kind of wood causes a problem, raw/treated, polished/unpolished, stained/unstained, etc....? At this point we know virtually nothing. So it's easily possible to have not tested the correct combination. 

Fair enough. But still, can't imagine having to think about this when purchasing a speaker.  

[mr moose]

I am a bit worried about the generic advice to clean it with manufactures recommended oil.   If they aren't absolutely sure they know what is causing the stain there is a good chance rubbing oil over it will simply protect the stain and make it impossible to remove without a full sand down.

[mynameisjuan]

1 minute ago, mr moose said:

I am a bit worried about the generic advice to clean it with manufactures recommended oil.   If they aren't absolutely sure they know what is causing the stain there is a good chance rubbing oil over it will simply protect the stain and make it impossible to remove without a full sand down.

I still think this is a heat stain. Take an iron, a towel and set the iron to steam and place it on the towel over the spot. Cleans it right up with no damage or oil.

[bcredeur97]

RingGate

[mr moose]

2 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

I still think this is a heat stain. Take an iron, a towel and set the iron to steam and place it on the towel over the spot. Cleans it right up with no damage or oil.

It'd want to get quite hot for it to be a heat stain only.  My bet is on the feet material becoming soft and working into the grain.

[Mr.Meerkat]

1 hour ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

i really like my hardwood tho, not that id ever consider one of these devices anyway though

I like me hardwood as well, in fact so does my mother meaning over 75% of our furniture is hardwood . 

[impledob]

1 hour ago, mynameisjuan said:

Looks like heat stains. Do they really get that hot? 

Wouldn't it just look like burnt wood though if it was a heat stain?

[mynameisjuan]

14 minutes ago, impledob said:

Wouldn't it just look like burnt wood though if it was a heat stain?

No heat stains just are white spots due to heat or moisture buildup that changes the finish. Like the times you leave a pizza box on the table and it turns white underneath. 

[dtaflorida]

This would have been a great feature if the stain was an apple logo.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

3 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Never understood how some reviews thought the HomePod was "surprisingly good". A mono only speaker that only works with Apple Music and iPhones with no other external connectivity. This "revolutionary" device can be all yours for the "low" price of 350 USD. btw it'll stain your furniture

It sounds to me like someone didn't buy the Apple book, ending up with no choice but to place the speaker directly on the table. Of course, Apple was incapable of predicting that level of misalignment in purchase preferences, and reasonably assumed everyone would have an Apple book resting on the surface where the speakers would be placed.

Wanna bet none of this know-it-all journalists tested the rubber feet for chemical reactions on the Apple book's cover?

[Rodinski]

Only Apple would be able to design something as simple as a speaker to overheat ...  

 

It's actually a feature so you know where you left it last for the best optimum sound when first installed.

[Valentyn]

So it only happens to oil treated wood, and Danish oil at that. That's not very common at all; and I haven't seen reports of it happening to normal wood surfaces.

 

Rather odd little issue; but oil and rubber/silicone do not play nice together.

[Ryujin2003]

4 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

I think it is expected to do this. It is, for Apple, to have a way to sale an accessory for it. You'll need to buy the 19.99$ Apple Pad for it to protect your table.

j/k

Damn too bad they already used the term iPad..... Unless....

[Tsuki]

5 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Never understood how some reviewers thought the HomePod was "surprisingly good". A mono only speaker that only works with Apple Music and iPhones with no other external connectivity. This "revolutionary" device can be all yours for the "low" price of 350 USD. btw it'll stain your furniture

ive actually heard pretty decent things about it, even that it competes with some speakers 3 times its price. 

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/02/reddit-audiophiles-test-homepod-say-it-sounds-better-than-1000-speaker/

i actually considered getting one until i found thats it bound to the apple ecosystem, which means im never going to touch it.

4 hours ago, impledob said:

Wouldn't it just look like burnt wood though if it was a heat stain?

nope, ive got a handful of these stains on my dining room table from setting bowls and plates on it that were too hot. 

 

that being said, they probably use silicone polyacrylate on the base since it works to dampen vibrations, and it isnt uncommon for that to leave marks on wood.

 

some lemon pledge should clean it right up

[Shreyas1]

To be fair to Apple, when you are making a smart speaker the last thing on your mind is probably whether is stains the table or not

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

5 minutes ago, Tsuki said:

ive actually heard pretty decent things about it, even that it competes with some speakers 3 times its price. 

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/02/reddit-audiophiles-test-homepod-say-it-sounds-better-than-1000-speaker/

i actually considered getting one until i found thats it bound to the apple ecosystem, which means im never going to touch it.

nope, ive got a handful of these stains on my dining room table from setting bowls and plates on it that were too hot. 

 

that being said, they probably use silicone polyacrylate on the base since it works to dampen vibrations, and it isnt uncommon for that to leave marks on wood.

 

some lemon pledge should clean it right up

Sound quality wise it's alright though some complained it being terrible in mid-frequencies. Certain genres of music just outright sound terrible. I believe Rolling Stones was an example used that didn't sound good on this thing. 

[Tsuki]

1 minute ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Sound quality wise it's alright though some complained it being terrible in mid-frequencies. Certain genres of music just outright sound terrible. I believe Rolling Stones was an example used that didn't sound good on this thing. 

that makes sense. i admit i havent had a chance to do extensive research on it yet, or actually look at the reddit thread linked in the arstechnica article.  i gave up on it completely when i saw its not useful to me.