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HomePod

The new sound of home

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At its Worldwide Developer Conference in 2017, Apple officially took the wraps off of its oft-rumored speaker in the form of HomePod. The device acts as a standalone way for users to interact with Siri, play music, and more. Tim Cook touts this as Apple’s effort to “reinvent home music” just as it did with products like the iPod.

Prior to announcing Apple’s product, Phil Schiller explained that Apple has worked to take what companies like Sonos and Amazon have done and create a “breakthrough home speaker.”

Schiller explained that a successful speaker must “rock the house,” have “spatial awareness,” and “be a musicologist.”

To offer strong sound quality, the devices features a 7 tweeter array with precision acoustic horns and directional control. There’s also an Apple-designed 4-inch woofer and it’s powered by Apple’s A8 chip. It measures in at just under 7-inches tall and features a mesh design.

Here’s how Apple describes HomePod:

HomePod is a powerful speaker that sounds amazing, adapts to wherever it’s playing, and together with Apple Music, gives you effortless access to one of the world’s largest music catalogs. All controlled through natural voice interaction with Siri. It takes the listening experience to a whole new level. And that’s just the beginning.

HomePod 11.4 Software Update

HomePod

HomePod’s 11.4 update shipped with two notable features — AirPlay 2 and Stereo Pairing (originally promised at launch, but was delayed). It also included Calendar support, which lets you check, add, edit, and delete appointments to configured calendars.

AirPlay 2

The flagship feature of the 11.4 update was the long-awaited launch of AirPlay 2. The biggest advantage that AirPlay 2 brought to the table is multi-room audio support. AirPlay 2’s multi-room audio allows iOS users to stream music or podcasts to supported devices in any room using Control Center’s destination controls, in-app controls, or Siri.

With AirPlay 2 you can do things like:

  • Quickly see what’s playing in every room on every speaker
  • Play the same song, in sync, in every room
  • Play different songs on different speakers
  • Use Siri to play different songs in different rooms
  • Stream to rooms without grouping speakers

Because speakers are configured via the Home app, they are easily assigned to rooms, and users can address those specific rooms when using Siri.

Stereo Pairing in HomePod

Stereo pairing utilizes an Apple-designed wireless peer-to-peer direct link to talk with each other and play music in sync. Thanks to the A8 SoC, each HomePod is able to automatically sense its location in the room, and establish its own audio channel (left or right). In other words, there’s very little end-user configuration needed once a stereo pair is established.

The advanced beamforming provides a wider soundstage than a traditional stereo pair setup. Apple says that by stereo pairing two HomePods, an almost three-dimensional soundstage is created, providing room-filling sound with enhanced bass extension, and a deeper, more accurate reproduction of low frequencies.

Creating a HomePod stereo pair is straightforward, and when two HomePods are set up in the same room, users are automatically prompted to create a stereo pair.

HomePod Pricing

HomePod originally launched at $349, but it saw a price cut to $299 on April 4th, 2019.

Grab HomePod at low prices at Best Buy and eBay or check for the latest deals at 9to5toys.com.

HomePod mini

9to5Mac has heard rumors about a new “HomePod mini” that is expected to be announced in 2020. According to a Bloomberg report, the HomePod mini is expected to keep the same cylindrical design as the larger version, but it would be about half the current product’s size.

Apple is unlikely to sacrifice audio quality to make a cheaper version of the HomePod, but keep in mind that having less physical space means the speakers will be reduced, and consequently, the sound may be lower than in the current HomePod model.

Besides, the HomePod mini should also have Siri for voice commands and AirPlay 2 for pairing it with other compatible speakers.

Should you buy a HomePod now or wait for the HomePod mini? Read our HomePod buyer’s guide.

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There is no excuse for the failure to implement Spotify HomePod support

Spotify HomePod support | Original and mini models shown

My colleague yesterday referenced the fact that Spotify is demanding greater freedoms from Apple, but hasn’t yet taken advantage of the ones already offered to the company. Key among these is the company’s failure to implement Spotify HomePod support.

It seems pretty ridiculous to complain that Apple Music has an unfair advantage over Spotify, while at the same time failing to take advantage of a clear opportunity to partly level the playing field – and keep your HomePod-owning subscribers happy …

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Bloomberg: Apple continues work on iPad-style smart home display, but 2024 release unlikely

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9to5Mac recently discovered new evidence of Apple’s work on a new HomePod device with a display. In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman corroborates that Apple is continuing to “pursue this idea.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like this mysterious HomePod with a screen will be released anytime soon.

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Apple changing the leadership of its audio team ahead of major updates to AirPods

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Although the iPhone is Apple’s flagship product, accessories such as AirPods have become extremely important to the company in recent years. And as Apple works on new products in this segment, it has now changed the leadership of its team responsible for audio products, which includes not only the company’s headphones, but also the HomePod.

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More references to a new HomePod with a screen found in tvOS 17.4 beta

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We’ve been hearing rumors about Apple’s future plans for the HomePod, and 9to5Mac reported last year that the company has been internally running tvOS on a modified iPad mini to see how a new HomePod with a built-in display would work. With tvOS 17.4 beta, we found evidence of an unreleased device that could be the rumored HomePod with a screen.

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Would a HomePod with a display really add that much to the user experience?

HomePod 2 Siri

According to recent rumors, Apple is actively working on HomePod prototypes with a fully interactive display. More specifically, one of these prototypes identified as “B720” has the same form-factor as the HomePod 2, but with an LCD screen on top. But would this type of display on a HomePod really add much to the user experience?

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HomePod prototype with touchscreen LCD on top shows up in new images

HomePod prototype with touchscreen LCD on top shows up in new images

A few months ago, Apple prototype collector Kosutami shared the first images of a prototype HomePod with an LCD display on top. The images have since been corroborated as we heard from independent sources that the prototype is likely for an upcoming generation of the HomePod. Kosutami is now back with more images of the HomePod prototype with an LCD.

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Apple testing tvOS 17 on an iPad mini as it works on HomePod with a screen

tvOS 17 references HomePod screen iPad concept

It’s been a while since we’ve heard rumors about Apple’s ambitious plans to expand the HomePod lineup. A few days ago, we got a first look at a prototype HomePod with an LCD screen on top. However, Apple wants to go even further, and 9to5Mac has just learned that the company has been experimenting with a modified iPad mini running tvOS for a future HomePod.

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Apple actively working on new HomePod with an LCD screen on top, sources say

Apple actively working on new HomePod with an LCD screen on top, sources say

Apple this year introduced the second generation HomePod, two years after discontinuing the first generation of its full-size smart speaker. Since then, there have been rumors about Apple developing many HomePod prototypes, some of them with an LCD. Photos of one of these prototypes have now surfaced on the web, and we can confirm that these photos are from a real prototype.

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Apple TV’s new ‘Enhance Dialogue’ feature expands to original HomePod and HomePod mini with tvOS 17.1

tvOS 17 was released last month with a handful of new features and changes, including FaceTime support, a redesigned Control Center, and VPN support. Enhance Dialogue is a new feature that’s flown somewhat under the radar in tvOS 17, and it now appears to be expanding to older HomePod models with the tvOS 17.1 beta.

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tvOS 16.6 officially adds Siri support in Hebrew for Apple TV and HomePod

Siri HomePod

Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple had been internally testing Siri support in Hebrew for the HomePod with iOS 16.4 – and there was even a video of the new language in action on a HomePod mini running an internal beta build. Now with iOS 16.6 and tvOS 16.6, Apple is officially rolling out Siri in Hebrew for both HomePod and Apple TV.

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HomePod can now notify you when it hears your smoke detector alarm

HomePod

The promised Sound Recognition feature is launching today on HomePod and HomePod mini. When enabled, your HomePod will listen out for your home’s existing smoke and carbon monoxide detector. When it hears the alarm, the HomePod will send a notification to your iPhone via the Home app.

The feature was first announced as coming soon back in January, alongside the launch of the second-gen HomePod.

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