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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.

Top Stories

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

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

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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Roundup: Here’s everything Apple has been working on for its lineup of smart home products

HomePod

Apple entered the smart home accessories segment back in 2014 with iOS 8, which introduced the HomeKit API to integrate such products with Siri. But it wasn’t until 2017 that Apple announced HomePod, its first smart speaker and overall first smart home device.

The company now has two different models of HomePod, but according to rumors, Apple wants to further expand this lineup in the near future. Here’s everything we know about what Apple has been working on for its smart home product lineup.

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Feature Request: Please send help for HomePod’s ‘I’m not sure who is speaking’ bug

HomePod Siri Personal Requests please fix Apple

One of the handy capabilities of Siri on HomePod that’s been available since 2018 is Personal Requests. It allows users to make voice commands that deal with what can be more private information from their specific iPhone and iPad. However, as it turns out, Personal Requests are still broken with Siri on HomePod often replying “I’m not sure who is speaking.”

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Kuo: New HomePod with built-in 7-inch display to be announced in early 2024

HomePod 2 Siri

Apple this year introduced a new HomePod that looks exactly like the original model announced in 2017 and discontinued in 2021. However, amid rumors of the company working on a new product that combines the iPad, Apple TV, and HomePod into a single device, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has now reported that Apple will announce a new HomePod with a built-in 7-inch display in early 2024.

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HomePod communicates with status lights, but what do all the colors mean?

All-new HomePod

While HomePod is primarily a speaker, it communicates its state with colored lights across the top surface. A static white light and a multicolored spinning light are the two most common status light colors. HomePod users will occasionally come across four or five other status light animations, and what they’re trying to say isn’t obvious from their appearance.

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