Hi friends, Akarsh here from Dio. I'm kicking off my first monthly newsletter of 2025 since my annual Founder's Letter last month. Also, a very happy Easter to all who celebrate!
Lots of exciting things have happened so far this year. Here are the topics for today's newsletter.
- Dio is the buzz of the Apple blog-o-sphere
- Our In-Kind Gift Partnership at TED 2025
- Akarsh's founding journey - CanvasRebel interview
Missed the last newsletter? Check it out here, where we talked about our new merch and our feature in Freaky Tech Reviews.
Buzz in the Apple blog-o-sphere
Dio became quite the buzz in the Apple world over the last two months. Nearly every major Apple-centric publication picked up our product for review – entirely unpaid and organic!
This kind of press is exciting on its own, but to me, it’s also been an opportunity to calibrate: Did we really make the right product?
When I first set out to build Dio, it was to bring three guiding principles back into the audio industry: Simplicity, Flexibility, and Privacy. So I created a chart to summarize each review against our three pillars, as well as other important factors like Sound Quality and Price.
Read the review comparison as text
| Topic | Cult of Mac | AndroidGuys | TidBits | AppleInsider | MacRumors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplicity |
Positive So easy to use |
Positive …out the box to a working speaker literally takes less than five minutes |
Positive It’s simple to set up |
Positive Setup is as simple as promised. |
Positive Setup is dead simple |
| Flexibility |
Positive …send audio from any of your Apple devices to the speaker. |
Positive …as you transition from room to room, the listening experience doesn’t falter |
Positive I appreciate having additional audio in the kitchen. |
Positive just about anything you can stream across AirPlay can be sent to the speaker. |
Positive There’s no limit to the number of Dio Nodes that you can link together |
| Privacy | N/A |
Positive That’s by far the selling point of the Dio Node speakers. |
Positive It doesn’t have an app, which eliminates privacy concerns |
Neutral …lack of a microphone is either a selling point or a major detractor. |
N/A |
| Sound Quality |
Positive Audio quality and volume are nearly equal [with the HomePod Mini] |
Positive Surprisingly rich sound |
Negative Its audio is crisp and clear but lacks the warmth and depth of the HomePods. |
Positive The Dio Node is good, and approximately the same depth of sound and bass [as a HomePod Mini] |
Negative …certainly handle a decent range of music, but it does lack some of the fullness of sound you get with a few other speaker options |
| Price |
Positive …they’re a much better deal than HomePod mini if you buy a collection |
Positive …this is the best value when compared to something like Sonos or even…HomePod Mini. |
Positive The Dio Node is a win on both cost and quality if you primarily listen to spoken word content |
Negative …that price-point adjacency to the HomePod mini is an issue. |
Positive …a reasonable option if you’re looking to set up multi-room…and aren’t looking to spend a ton of money |
| Notable Mentions | One of the things I like most about Dio Node is that it’s so unobtrusive | Honestly, it’s refreshing to see such a muted design to make sure these just live anywhere without calling attention. | I have not encountered synchronization issues, audio dropouts, or other connectivity-related problems. | Unlike most speakers in the class by vendors other than Apple, there’s a way to upgrade the firmware on the speakers | Range appeared to be solid in my testing, with no audio dropouts on any of the Nodes regardless of where in my 1,800-square-foot house my source devices were in relation to the speakers. |
| Missing Ingredients | Voice Assistant | USB-C; Android Compatibility | More Bass | Stereo Pairing; USB-C | More Bass; Microphone |
There is no limit from our end! The practical limit is how many connected devices your home router can handle.
Looks like we’re right on track with our core principles and generally excelling as a speaker system!
However, I made a point to note some of the things that the reviewers wanted to improve in our product such as sound quality, USB-C, and Android compatibility. I thought this would be a great opportunity to hear from you, our Dio community - what do you think we should be building next? Whether you’re a current customer or someone who decided not to purchase from us just yet, I’d love to get your input in this quick poll:
It was also interesting to see every writer compare our product against Apple’s HomePod Mini. I decided to write a detailed blog to highlight the key differences between our product and HomePod Mini, using Apple Insider’s article as the basis for the comparison. If this has been a question on your mind, check it out!
An In-Kind Gift Partner at TED 2025
Earlier this month, we had the privilege of donating 120 Dio Node speakers to the non-profit organization responsible for bringing TED Talks to the world. Dio was an In-Kind Gift Partner at the TED 2025 conference in Vancouver, Canada.
Here are some fun pictures of Dio Node at the event.
My founding journey - CanvasRebel Magazine
Ever wondered what it takes to create a tech product from scratch? I had the opportunity recently to share my startup journey with CanvasRebel Magazine.
During the interview, I had the chance to share everything - from my background before Dio, to the problems I faced with audio that led to the "aha!" moment for the Dio idea, to the challenges of manufacturing and launching the product. I'd love to invite you to step in and see how Dio got to where it is today.
That's all for today's newsletter. Until next month!
-Akarsh