> why do you trust that it isn't hiding non-VPNed connections from you
Ahh, so you don't trust the operating system itself, rather than the apps running on it. In this case, you're free to physically turn off cellular data on your phone (e.g. by removing the SIM) and connect it to Wi-Fi.
> The A8 is a 4 year old processor and the HomePod is by far the most expensive and powerful of these devices. Maybe I was downplaying their potential processing power too much, but the fact still stands that a modern smartphone is much more powerful than a modern smart speaker.
Sure, but you don't need a whole lot of processor power. What you need is a reliable power source, which is something that a smart speaker has.
> And phones aren't overlooked when they spend almost 24/7 within a few feet of the owner
While smart speakers don't have to even be within a few feet of the owner to work.
>Ahh, so you don't trust the operating system itself, rather than the apps running on it.
The argument against any of these devices is that they are compromised either by a third party or by the actual device maker. Google and Apple make the OSes installed on almost every mobile device. If you don't trust Google's or Apple's smart speaker why do you trust their OS?
>In this case, you're free to physically turn off cellular data on your phone (e.g. by removing the SIM) and connect it to Wi-Fi.
That isn't a valid solution became it is hindering a device in such a way that it can't perform its most basic duty. Real people don't put a SIM into their phone only when they are expecting a call and take it out as soon as the call is over.
>Sure, but you don't need a whole lot of processor power. What you need is a reliable power source, which is something that a smart speaker has.
What do you think the average smartphone uptime is per day? I am willing to bet it is approaching 24/7. A majority of phones probably are hooked up to chargers a couple hours a day and they all have access to the battery any time they aren't/
>While smart speakers don't have to even be within a few feet of the owner to work.
And neither do phones. The range of smart speaker microphones is likely within an order of magnitude of the range of smartphone speakers but the average distance between a smart speaker and its owner is going to be several orders of magnitude higher than the average distance between a smartphone and its owner.
> That isn't a valid solution became it is hindering a device in such a way that it can't perform its most basic duty.
This isn't intended as a permanent thing: it's just a spot check on the traffic.
> A majority of phones probably are hooked up to chargers a couple hours a day and they all have access to the battery any time they aren't
The issue here is that any sort of processing is very noticeable on smartphones, since it will either cause the battery to deplete very quickly or charging to take a long time. It's basically impossible to get away with performing computation without it showing up in battery statistics.
Ahh, so you don't trust the operating system itself, rather than the apps running on it. In this case, you're free to physically turn off cellular data on your phone (e.g. by removing the SIM) and connect it to Wi-Fi.
> The A8 is a 4 year old processor and the HomePod is by far the most expensive and powerful of these devices. Maybe I was downplaying their potential processing power too much, but the fact still stands that a modern smartphone is much more powerful than a modern smart speaker.
Sure, but you don't need a whole lot of processor power. What you need is a reliable power source, which is something that a smart speaker has.
> And phones aren't overlooked when they spend almost 24/7 within a few feet of the owner
While smart speakers don't have to even be within a few feet of the owner to work.