If you're having trouble with HomePod and need to return it to its factory settings, there are two simple methods for resetting the device and erasing all of your content.
You can either use the Home app on the iPhone, or manually reset the HomePod on the device itself. Here's how:
Resetting HomePod with iPhone
Open up the Home app.
3D Touch or long press on the HomePod icon.
Choose "Details" to access your HomePod's settings.
Scroll down to the bottom of the settings section and tap "Remove Accessory."
Tap "Remove" again after the confirmation window comes up.
Resetting HomePod Without iPhone
Unplug your HomePod.
Plug your HomePod back in again.
Press and hold the top of the HomePod.
Continue holding until Siri tells you to let go.
When using this method, make sure to place your finger on the HomePod right after you plug it back in again and don't lift it off, or you'll need to restart the process.
During this process, you will see a red flashing light on the top of the HomePod, and you'll hear Siri say "Your HomePod is about to reset, keep pressing until you hear three beeps." Once those three beeps sound, the HomePod is reset to its original state.
Resetting the HomePod is useful if you run into an issue, but these are also steps that you will need to follow if you want to sell your HomePod or if you need to send it in for service.
Siri on HomePod lets you listen to any show found in Apple's Podcasts catalog with a few voice controls that are similar to those for Apple Music playback. In this guide, we've listed some of the most useful Siri controls for Podcasts, along with basic commands that will help you do things like pause and rewind parts of a Podcast you might have missed, subscribe to a podcast, change the volume, and more.
Podcast Commands
"Hey Siri, play the Game Scoop podcast."
"Hey Siri, play the newest episode of Lore."
"Hey Siri, play the first episode of Anna Faris is Unqualified."
"Hey Siri, play my newest podcasts."
"Hey Siri, what podcast is this?"
"Hey Siri, subscribe to this podcast."
"Hey Siri, subscribe to NPR News Now."
Controls
"Hey Siri, pause."
"Hey Siri, jump back 10 seconds."
"Hey Siri, skip forward one minute."
"Hey Siri, raise/lower the volume."
"Hey Siri, play it twice as fast."
As with Apple Music, HomePod will source the Podcast data you ask for from the Podcasts app on iPhone or iPad, or the Podcasts section of iTunes. Using the app, you can listen to podcasts directly on your iOS device, browse deeper into your library, and look for new shows.
Verizon plans to stop selling unlocked smartphones as a way to deter criminals from stealing the devices, the company told CNET.
As of today, Verizon devices will be locked to the Verizon network and unlocked as soon as a customer signs up for service and activates the phone. Later in the spring, though, smartphones will remain locked until unlocked by Verizon, and Verizon has not yet shared details on how long it will keep phones locked before offering to unlock them.
Verizon previously sold all of its smartphones, iPhones included, unlocked, which means they were not tied to the Verizon network and could be used with any carrier right after purchase.
Purchasing a Verizon iPhone has long been a way to get an unlocked device right away, as Apple often does not sell its own unlocked models until several weeks to several months after a new iPhone launches.
With the iPhone X, for example, all Verizon models sold in November were unlocked and were able to be used across different cellular networks.
Going forward, the smartphones that Verizon sells will be locked to the Verizon network. Smartphones locked this way will not be compatible with other carriers until unlocked by Verizon, which is similar to how other cellular carriers in the United States operate.
According to Verizon, the new policy is aimed at preventing criminals from stealing unlocked phones that can be resold or used overseas. "We're taking steps to combat this theft and reduce fraud, Tami Erwin, executive vice president of wireless operations for Verizon told CNET in a statement. "These steps will make our phones exponentially less desirable to criminals.
Verizon has not yet shared details on how its unlocking policy will work, but if it's like other carriers, such as AT&T, the company will offer to unlock a smartphone after a waiting period. AT&T requires customers to wait for 60 days, Sprint requires customers to wait for 50 days (and then automatically unlocks devices), and T-Mobile has a 40-day waiting period, but does offer temporary unlocking for customers who need to travel.
AT&T and Sprint require smartphones to be paid off before being unlocked, but CNET says Verizon will allow customers to unlock their devices regardless of whether or not they're paid off once the waiting period has expired.
Last month, Apple sued French tax activist group "Attac" for occupying its flagship Parisian store during a protest of what Attac called "wide-scale tax evasion." Today, Apple has asked the court in Paris to ban the group from its French stores and prevent any further stunts from happening.
In response to the court filing, Attac today mobilized in front of the court in further protest, sporting a Star Wars theme that equates Apple to The Empire and Tim Cook to Emperor Palpatine (via The Guardian and MacGeneration).
The court will rule later in February on the case, and Apple is said to hope for a full ban to prevent any Attac members entering or being near its Apple retail locations. Apple said the group "vandalizes" its stores and potentially "endangers" staff and customers. One protest in November 2017 saw Attac write "Apple pay your taxes" on a window at Apple Aix-en-Provence. Following Apple's claims, the group said its protests are "good natured."
At the height of the Christmas shopping period last December, about 100 Attac volunteers arrived at Apple’s Paris store at Place de l’Opéra. Some danced the conga, others unfurled a huge banner saying “We’ll stop when Apple pays” and some brandished huge cardboard cheques in reference to the European commission ruling in August 2016 that the iPhone maker must reimburse the Irish state a record €13bn (£11.5bn) to make up for what it considered to be unpaid taxes over a number of years.
In the case filing, Apple said that it has "a long tradition of supporting individuals and groups that peacefully express their opinions," but the company believes the vandalism of its stores and potential danger to its customers are steps too far. In addition to the ban, Apple France has asked the court to fine the activist group 150,000 EUR, and 3,000 EUR in commercial damages "if they break the ban."
An Attac spokesperson denied the vandalism reports from 2017 and said the group "simply went into Apple shops in a festive and good-natured way with music and theatre."
Attac’s lawyer Julien Pignon told France Info: “These demands are totally out of proportion with regard to the superior principle of freedom of expression and freedom to demonstrate which is guaranteed by French law and the European convention on human rights.”
Attac's ire is focused on tax avoidance claims lodged at Apple over the past few years. In August 2016, the European Commission ruled that Apple must repay 13 billion euros ($15.46 billion) in back taxes dating between 2003 and 2014, which it reportedly avoided with the help of sweetheart tax deals from Ireland. Now, Apple will begin paying the back taxes owed to Ireland around March, expected to continue through September.
The French court is expected to announce its decision on the case on Friday, February 23.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Apple's lineup of MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models accounted for roughly one in ten notebooks shipped worldwide last year, according to data published today by research firm TrendForce.
TrendForce claims that Apple surpassed ASUS to become the world's fourth largest notebook vendor, with an estimated 9.6 percent market share in 2017, up from 8.3 percent in 2016. ASUS saw its market share drop to an estimated 9.5 percent last year, down from a reported 10.3 percent in 2016.
The research firm says Apple releasing updated MacBook Pro models in June 2017 helped the company expand its shipments by 18 percent for the whole year—supposedly the highest growth rate among all notebook brands.
TrendForce estimates notebook shipments from all brands totaled 164.7 million units worldwide, a year-on-year increase of 2.1 percent. Windows PC makers HP, Lenovo, and Dell led the industry with estimated 24.3 percent, 20.2 percent, and 15.2 percent market shares respectively in 2017.
It's important to note that Apple doesn't break down its Mac sales on a model-by-model basis in its earnings reports, so TrendForce's data is estimated, likely based in part on the average selling price of a Mac.
Another caveat is that PC makers like HP, Lenovo, and Dell sell a wide variety of notebooks at all different price points, while Apple primarily targets the high-end market, with its cheapest notebook being the outdated MacBook Air for $999 and up. Apple's profit margins are also significantly higher.
Apple routinely flip-flops between fourth and fifth place in the notebook market, so these results aren't overly surprising. The company is expected to remain the world's fourth most popular notebook vendor in 2018.
What's next for Apple's notebook lineup? We haven't heard much yet, but a recent report claimed that at least three new Mac models integrated with custom co-processors, including updated notebooks and a new desktop, are planned for release later this year. MacBook refreshes often occur between March and June.
Apple's desktop lineup has actually received more attention than MacBooks recently. In addition to the all-new iMac Pro, Apple continues to work on a Mac Pro with an upgradeable design. The portable Mac mini has also gone well over three years without an update, and could certainly use a refresh.
For a history of release dates and the latest rumors about the MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, be sure to visit our Mac Buyer's Guide.
iOS game developer Snowman today announced that "Alto's Odyssey" will launch on the iOS and tvOS App Stores on Thursday, February 22. With the confirmation of a release date, Apple today shared a new card on the iOS App Store noting the launch, along with snippets of an interview with the game's developers (via TouchArcade). The game was originally set to debut in the summer of 2017 but got delayed because "it takes longer to build things right."
Alto's Odyssey is a sequel to the original 2015 game "Alto's Adventure," and will introduce a few new pieces of gameplay into the endless runner formula from the first game, like wall jumping, balloon bouncing, and more. Characters can be unlocked and each will have their own abilities, and players will be able to relax a bit with a "Zen Mode" that removes all coins, power ups, and scores to focus on exploration.
"We want to make sure both games feel connected," says Harry Nesbitt, lead artist and programmer for the eight-person Team Alto. "They're part of the same world, so they need to feel like they're painted with the same brush. But we also want to celebrate the new desert environment and explore everything it has to offer."
Instead of a snowy location, Alto's Odyssey takes place in a desert and players will control Alto through the franchise's "one-touch trick system" to chain combos and complete level goals. The sequel also has a Photo Mode, where players can pause the game and take pictures of their trips through the desert to share online with friends and family.
Alto's Odyssey is a universal iOS app, and supports the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, syncing progress across all devices. The game is up for pre-order today [Direct Link] ahead of its February 22 launch date, priced at $4.99 "with no ads or in-app purchases."
The report claims that Apple's software engineers will have more discretion to delay features that aren't as polished, with the company essentially shifting to more of a two-year roadmap for iOS and macOS, rather than trying to release major feature-packed upgrades every single year without question.
Instead of keeping engineers on a relentless annual schedule and cramming features into a single update, Apple will start focusing on the next two years of updates for its iPhone and iPad operating system, according to people familiar with the change. The company will continue to update its software annually, but internally engineers will have more discretion to push back features that aren't as polished to the following year.
Apple's commitment to a fast-paced iOS release schedule already led some features to be delayed regardless, including Apple Pay Cash and Messages on iCloud, so the new strategy would likely involve not announcing or testing those features in beta until they are much closer to being ready for public release.
Despite the increased focus on under-the-hood refinements, iOS 12 is still expected to include some significant new features, including Animoji in FaceTime, which will enable people to place virtual faces over themselves during video calls.
Additionally, in iOS 12, Apple is planning deeper Siri integration in the iPhone's search view, Do Not Disturb improvements that will give users more options to automatically reject phone calls or silence notifications, a redesigned version of its Stocks app, and a multiplayer mode for augmented reality games.
As previously reported, Apple is also expected to make it possible for developers to release apps that work across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, starting with iOS 12 and macOS 10.14, which should be introduced at WWDC 2018 in June.
Last month, Gurman reported that developers will be able to design a single third-party app that works with both a touchscreen, and a mouse or trackpad, depending on whether it's running on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Apple would presumably also streamline its own apps on the desktop and mobile.
The report didn't reveal exactly how the process will work, but Apple could be planning to release a new SDK with new APIs that enable true cross-platform functionality. Right now, Apple's UIKit and AppKit frameworks provide the required infrastructure for iOS and macOS app user interfaces respectively.
Today's report reiterates other features that are delayed, including redesigned home screens on iPhone, iPad, and CarPlay, tabbed apps on iPad, and the ability to view two screens from the same app side by side on iPad.
Update: EMagin's Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Lucas told Bloomberg that Apple has not invested in the company, despite the document filed with the Securities and Exchange commission.
Emagin listed the companies in the document because it "has had discussions with them at industry events." Lucas says Apple did not actually invest in the company and the filing was misinterpreted.
Apple has joined a group of companies investing in OLED microdisplay maker eMagin, believed to be part of Apple's overall virtual and augmented reality hardware strategy. LG, Valve, Immerex, and Stillwater Holdings have all joined in on the investment with Apple, which is said to be worth up to a total of $10.6 million (via TechCrunch).
eMagin confirmed the investment, stating that it will use the money for "working capital and general corporate purposes." The company created "a new kind of display" to use in VR headsets that allows for sharper images, which it believes will help fuel the "next generation" of AR and VR devices.
eMagin’s technology is notable in that it has created a new kind of display that can be used in VR headsets, which provides a sharper image by using a denser layout of lines (versus the pixels commonly used in existing products). This helps reduces the so-called “screen door” effect on the display and makes what you see up close through the headset much sharper.
“We believe that our direct patterning technology is a key differentiator for enabling next generation AR/VR hardware for the consumer and enterprise segments because of the brightness and the pixel density afforded by the technology,” the company notes.
For Apple, the last few years have seen a ramp up in the hiring of talent and acquisitions of companies that all revolve around its AR/VR efforts. Since 2015, Apple has purchased several companies in this area, but some acquisitions date back even further. A few of these AR/VR acquisitions made by Apple include companies like Metaio, Faceshift, Emotient, Flyby Media, RealFace, and VRvana.
Apple has already put the technology behind Faceshift to use with Animoji in iPhone X, but outside of software the company's plans for a hardware product in the AR/VR space remain unclear. Right now, plans for a pair of "smart glasses" or VR headset are believed to be in prototype stages, so if they do ever launch it will still be a few years down the road. More recently, a report suggested that Apple is ramping up development on an AR headset running a new operating system called "rOS."
Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that any AR/VR hardware from Apple is a few years away because "the technology itself doesn't exist to do that in a quality way." At the time, Cook said that one of the biggest challenges for building such an AR headset today would be the display technology required to make it work, suggesting the new eMagin investment could be helping Apple in this area. One of the last major reports regarding Apple's interest in AR hardware was the company's meeting with potential AR glasses suppliers, said to have happened at CES last month.
Google's upcoming software update for its Android smartphone operating system will "embrace" an iPhone X notch-like design, according to people familiar with the company's plans speaking to Bloomberg.
With the software, referred to as Android P, Google is readying a "new generation" of Android smartphones that will be "mimicking" the iPhone X's front-facing camera cutout design.
Just like iPhone X, this cutout is believed to be where Android smartphone makers will be placing cameras and other sensors to help Android phones compete with Apple devices in the high-end market.
While Google controls the Android software, many other companies manufacture Android devices and have the ability to tweak the software as they see fit. Because of this, Bloomberg pointed out that "not all Android phones will have notches."
In total, Google's plan for Android P -- shortened from Pistachio Ice Cream -- is to convince more iOS users to switch sides by "improving the look of the software."
While Android dominates the middle and low-end of the global smartphone market, Apple controls much of the high-end with users who spend more on apps and other services. Embracing the notch may help change that. The design will mean more new Android phones with cutouts at the top of their screens to fit cameras and other sensors. That will likely support new features, helping Android device makers keep up with similar Apple technology.
[...]building notch capabilities into Android suggests Google expects the iPhone X look to catch on more broadly.
Otherwise, Android P will reportedly focus heavily on Google Assistant and improving its abilities. Tighter software integration with the AI assistant will allow developers to integrate it inside of their apps, and Google is considering adding the assistant into the search bar on the Android home screen, but "neither of these changes are finalized for introduction this year." Android P is said to also introduce improved battery life on smartphones and support new designs, including "multiple screens and foldable displays."
Following the launch of the iPhone X, clones of the device began appearing around the world, including in China with the LEAGOO S9 smartphone and its notch-inspired design. Many users have disliked Apple's notch design, and Android smartphone maker Samsung played into that criticism by making fun of the notch in a Samsung Galaxy ad posted on the weekend of the iPhone X launch.
While Android P is said to be a "dramatic" overhaul amid support for notch designs on a growing number of Android smartphones, Apple's own iOS update in 2018 is believed to be focused more on stability. In January, it was reported that Apple has chosen to delay new software features until 2019 -- like a home screen refresh, Mail improvements, CarPlay updates, and more -- and instead focus on addressing performance and quality issues this year.
iFixit has completed an exhaustive teardown of the HomePod and found that, while the speaker appears to have a simple design on the outside, it will likely be extremely difficult for customers to complete do-it-yourself repairs.
HomePod's mesh has a drawstring
The teardown experts, who admit there might be a better way to open the HomePod that they've yet to learn, were forced to use a variety of tools to gain access to the internal components, including a heat gun, a guitar pick, a knife, and after all else failed, even a hacksaw and an ultrasonic cutter.
Underneath the rubber foot, iFixit found a hidden 14-pin connector that they speculate is probably used to test or program HomePods on pogo pins during assembly in Taiwan. Given the port sits below a layer of strong adhesive, it's unclear if it will be used for any other purpose, such as diagnostic testing.
HomePod's hidden 14-pin port
Digging further, the team found the HomePod has an Apple A8 chip, as advertised, likely paired with 1GB of RAM layered underneath. There's also a 16GB flash storage chip from Toshiba, although users can't store songs on the speaker directly, as music must be streamed from Apple Music or an AirPlay source.
HomePod also has a two-part power supply, composed of an inner block handling the AC/DC conversion, and an outer ring distributing power to all eight of the speakers. The seven tweeters each have a conductive screw post.
There's also AppleCare+ for HomePod, which adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $39 in the United States, plus the upfront cost of the plan. But even then, it still appears that Apple is simply replacing damaged HomePods outright beyond power cable repairs.
HomePod reviews from the tech press came thick and fast last week, and while the smart speaker's sound quality was consistently praised, most reviews were based on subjective assessments and didn't take into account professional-grade output measurements. Early on Monday, however, Reddit user WinterCharm posted exhaustive audio performance testing results for HomePod to the Reddit audiophile community.
Using specialized equipment and a controlled testing environment, the review features in-depth analysis of the smart speaker's output when compared to a pair of $999 KEF X300A digital hi-fi monitors, representing a "meticulously set up audiophile grade speaker versus a tiny little HomePod that claims to do room correction on its own".
As expected, WinterCharm criticized the HomePod for its AirPlay-only output limitation and Siri's often-lackluster performance as a virtual assistant, but the speaker's audio quality appraisal was a different story. Interested readers can check out all the details and technical minutiae here, but in short, WinterCharm offered the following summary after a battery of exhaustive tests.
I am speechless. The HomePod actually sounds better than the KEF X300A. If you're new to the Audiophile world, KEF is a very well respected and much loved speaker company. I actually deleted my very first measurements and re-checked everything because they were so good, I thought I'd made an error. Apple has managed to extract peak performance from a pint sized speaker, a feat that deserves a standing ovation. The HomePod is 100% an Audiophile grade Speaker.
Do you agree with WinterCharm's review? Let us know in the comments. And make sure to check out our HomePod roundup if you're new to HomePod or planning to purchase one -- it's got everything you need to know about HomePod along with a running list of our HomePod how tos.
While a Reddit user recently demonstrated that the HomePod's power cable can technically be disconnected from the speaker by pulling on it with a lot of force, Apple warns that it should not be removed, according to an internal document distributed to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers.
Apple's internal HomePod Service Readiness Guide, obtained by MacRumors, states that detaching the HomePod's power cable could potentially cause damage to the speaker's internal components or to the cable itself:
The HomePod includes a built-in power cable that should not be removed.
In the rare instance that the cable is detached or damaged, do not attempt to remove or plug it back into HomePod. If the cable is removed or impaired, damage could have occurred to the cable or the internal components of HomePod.
If the power cable is damaged due to an unintentional reason, such as a dog chewing on it, Apple notes the HomePod can be mailed to one of its repair centers and fixed for a flat-rate out-of-warranty fee of $29 plus tax in the United States, £25 including VAT in the UK, and $39 including GST in Australia.
Out-of-warranty essentially means that the flat-rate cable repair fee is available to any customer at any time. The affected HomePod does not need to be within Apple's limited one-year warranty period, nor is AppleCare+ required.
The only requirement is that the HomePod passes Apple's visual-mechanical inspection, which checks for other external or internal damage. If the HomePod does not pass, but is still eligible for repair, then the only option is a whole-speaker replacement for $279 in the United States, £268 in the UK, and $399 in Australia.
The whole-replacement fee is also applicable to mostly any other kind of damage, unless a customer purchases AppleCare+ for HomePod.
AppleCare+ extends a HomePod's hardware coverage to two years from its original purchase date, and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $39 in the United States, £29 in the United Kingdom, and $55 in Australia, plus the upfront cost of the plan.
One of the main uses for Siri on HomePod is to control your Apple Music collection. There are Siri voice commands for accessing content like playlists, genres, moods, liking or disliking songs, playing more music based on something you've heard, starting a new radio station, and much more.
Because the list of Siri commands is so extensive, this guide won't be covering every possible option and genre supported by available through Siri, but it should serve as a good starting point when getting to know what exactly your HomePod can do with your Apple Music library.
Your playlists may be the content you'll interact with most often in Apple Music, and Siri on HomePod can play any Apple Music playlist you've made in the past on an iOS device or Mac. Siri can also play Apple Music's personally curated mix playlists.
For items in your library, use the "play my" command and Siri will play albums and songs already added to your library. For everything else, Siri will play any songs available on Apple Music, even if they aren't in your library yet.
"Hey Siri, play my Book Time playlist."
"Hey Siri, shuffle my Book Time playlist."
"Hey Siri, add this song to my Book Time playlist."
"Hey Siri, add this to my library."
"Hey Siri, play My New Music Mix."
"Hey Siri, play the A-List Pop playlist."
"Hey Siri, play my music from Sam Smith."
"Hey Siri, play the newest music from Vance Joy."
Genres, Moods, and Radio
Siri can understand a wide range of commands requesting various musical genres and moods found in Apple Music. You can find some of these moods in Apple Music itself by navigating to the Browse tab, tapping Playlists, then looking through all of the Activities and Moods. You can also request songs based on decades, specific years, and exact dates. We've compiled a few examples below to get you started.
"Hey Siri, play some recent pop music."
"Hey Siri, play some chill music."
"Hey Siri, play some romantic music."
"Hey Siri, play some music to dance to."
"Hey Siri, play the best songs from the '90s."
"Hey Siri, play the top 10 songs from 1986."
"Hey Siri, play the top song from April 17, 1992."
"Hey Siri, create a radio station based on The Killers."
Here are some examples of more keywords that you could enter into the above commands:
Sad
Angry
Lazy
Somber
Calm
Fun
Romance
Weekend
Cooking
Party
Workout
Focus
Motivation
Bedtime
You'll also find the same results for essentially every genre, like Country, Alternative, Blues, and others.
General Controls
There are multiple commands you can relay to Siri to control music playback, with some examples below.
"Hey Siri, play music."
"Hey Siri, pause."
"Hey Siri, skip this song."
"Hey Siri, skip forward 30 seconds."
"Hey Siri, jump back 10 seconds."
"Hey Siri, previous track."
"Hey Siri, raise/lower the volume."
"Hey Siri, increase the volume to 50 percent."
"Hey Siri, turn on repeat."
Other Commands
"Hey Siri, play Party in the USA."
"Hey Siri, I like/dislike this."
"Hey Siri, what song is this?"
"Hey Siri, what was the last song called?"
"Hey Siri, who sings this?"
"Hey Siri, who is the drummer in this?"
"Hey Siri, what year is this song from?"
"Hey Siri, how many songs are on this album?"
"Hey Siri, play more like this."
"Hey Siri, after this play Rolling in the Deep."
"Hey Siri, play some Florence and the Machine."
"Hey Siri, tell me more about this artist."
"Hey Siri, I want to hear the live version of this song."
If you ever want to revisit the playlists and radio stations that Siri creates for you through voice commands on HomePod, head over to the For You tab in Apple Music. If you scroll down a bit, you should see "Recently Played" filled with the content that Siri played on HomePod.
If you have any other useful Siri commands we didn't mention, be sure to share them in the comments.
Apple's new $349 HomePod sounds incredible and is the ultimate speaker for Apple Music subscribers, but it's also an excellent way to manage your HomeKit-compatible devices through Siri voice commands.
Controlling HomeKit accessories with Siri on HomePod isn't radically different from controlling them via an iOS device, but there are some extra HomePod benefits to be aware of.
If you've never used HomeKit before and you purchase a HomePod, when you set it up it's added to HomeKit and to the Home app.
Setup includes a step asking you to choose a Home you're using HomePod in, and if you don't have Home settings already established, it'll let you choose the default "My Home" option, which is established for every iCloud account. If you use HomeKit already like I do, you can choose your existing home, if it has a different name.
From there, you'll choose the room where your HomePod is located, which is also a HomeKit setup step. You'll be familiar with this if you've ever used HomeKit before.
With these two setup steps, you establish a HomeKit setup if you didn't have one before. HomePod itself is a HomeKit accessory, and it's controlled and managed in the dedicated "Home" app along with all other HomeKit accessories.
HomePod in the Home App
The HomePod is listed in the Home app as an available accessory, and if you're a HomeKit user, you know how this works. If you're not, the Home app isn't tough to navigate.
Your HomePod will be listed as "HomePod" on the main screen, and if you tap it, it will either play or pause your music. A 3D Touch or a long press on the HomePod icon in the Home app opens up a full menu where you can get to the HomePod settings by tapping on "Details."
This is where you can change HomeKit settings like turning off Siri, deactivating the Siri lights, disabling listening history, and more. Your HomePod is controlled entirely through the Home app.
Home Hub
HomePod, like the Apple TV and iPad, serves as a home hub, which means it communicates with all of your HomeKit devices all the time, allowing you to control them even when you're away from home.
A home hub is essential for controlling HomeKit devices remotely and setting up automations based on time of day, location, or conditions detected by HomeKit-compatible sensors. If you have an Apple TV or an iPad, you've already got a home hub and don't need to worry about this functionality, but if you don't, this is added bonus functionality.
HomePod as a home hub covers all of the HomeKit devices in your home, even if they're not located close by the HomePod itself.
Siri on HomePod
One of the best benefits of the HomePod is how well it can hear and react to "Hey Siri" commands. It will hear you from across the room with loud music playing, and it's so sensitive that it's even going to detect the "Hey Siri" command if you whisper it nearby.
It's not an exaggeration to say that the HomePod's listening capabilities work incredibly well, so for HomeKit-based voice commands, it's much better than attempting to use an iPhone. You can essentially say "Hey Siri" and repeat a HomeKit command from anywhere in a room with a HomePod, and you're going to get a speedy response.
The listening range far exceeds the iPhone or iPad, and it makes the HomePod the perfect hands-free device for controlling everything from the lights to the door locks. Longtime HomeKit users who often use voice commands will find this much simpler, and HomeKit users who don't often use Siri should give the personal assistant a second chance on HomePod.
By the way, if you have both a HomePod and an iOS device that responds to "Hey Siri," when you speak, it will almost always default to the HomePod. This is because all of your devices communicate with one another and are smart enough to know that the HomePod is the device that you're aiming to use.
TIP: Don't pause between "Hey Siri" and whatever HomeKit command you're speaking. If you want to turn on the lights, for example, say "Hey Siri turn on the lights" all at once rather than saying "Hey Siri" and waiting for a response. Siri on the HomePod works well enough that a pause isn't required, and it can even confuse your HomeKit commands if you insert a pause.
Manually Activating Siri
If you want to issue a Siri command without "Hey Siri," you can do so by placing a finger on the HomePod and leaving it there for a few seconds until the Siri waveform lights come on. From there, Siri works as usual.
HomePod Siri Commands
While Siri on HomePod is excellent at detecting "Hey Siri" commands, Apple hasn't implemented any upgrades to the way Siri is controlled via voice on the HomePod. If you already use Siri to manage HomeKit devices on iOS, Siri on HomePod works in the exact same way.
If you're new to Siri and HomeKit, though, there are tons of commands you can use, many of which are specific to certain devices. With lights, for example, you can use some of the following commands:
Hey Siri, turn on the lights
Hey Siri, turn off the lights
Hey Siri, dim the lights
Hey Siri, make all of the lights in the office maximum brightness
Hey Siri, are the lights in the office on?
Hey Siri, turn all of the lights in the office blue
Hey Siri, turn the Hue lightstrip purple
HomeKit commands vary, so you'll need to learn the different options available for each device. With locks, for example, you can ask Siri to lock or unlock the door, and if you have a temperature sensor or thermostat, you can ask Siri what the temperature is.
Scenes and automation are a major part of HomeKit, but there's no voice-based way to set these up. If you want to link your HomeKit devices together to have them do certain things at set times of day, such as turning on all of the lights at night, you're going to need to set that up in the Home app or a third-party HomeKit app.
That said, Scenes are incredibly useful, and you can set up handy automations for waking up, going to bed, leaving home, arriving home, and more, and all of these can be controlled via HomePod by asking Siri to set the scene name. If you have a night time scene called "Good Night," for example, you can trigger it just by saying "Hey Siri, Good Night."
Conclusion
If you already have a HomeKit setup, the HomePod has some handy features that make it a worthwhile purchase, and if you have a HomePod but no HomeKit devices, it may be worth looking into HomeKit accessories because they work so well with HomePod.
For those of you who have never used Siri with HomeKit or have abandoned Siri because of spotty results, it's worth giving Siri on HomePod another try. In my experience as a longtime HomeKit user, HomePod is a solid evolutionary step towards a better hands-free home automation setup.
"Hey Siri" on HomePod seems to be more responsive on HomePod, and it's easier to use because you don't need to make sure your iPhone is close at hand to accomplish tasks around the house.
HomePod has built-in Siri functionality, which means it can be used to do a lot of the same things that can be done with an iPhone or an iPod, like setting an alarm or a timer.
If your HomePod is in the kitchen, setting a timer while cooking can be useful, and it's as simple as using a single Siri command.
All you need to say is "Hey Siri, set a timer for [x amount of time]."
You can set a timer for a select number of minutes or hours, with a maximum timer limit of 24 hours. If you ask Siri to set a timer for longer than 24 hours, Siri will suggest you use a Reminder instead.
If you need to know how much time is remaining on the timer, you can ask Siri a question like "Hey Siri, how much time is left on the timer?" and Siri will give you a time update.
When the time is up, the HomePod will play a sound. To stop the timer sound, you can either tap the top of the HomePod or ask Siri to stop it.
Turning Off the Timer
At any point while the timer is running, you can ask Siri to turn it off with a command like "Hey Siri, turn off the timer" or "Hey Siri, pause the timer."
You can also change the timer countdown with a command like "Hey Siri, change the timer to 10 minutes."
Timer Limitations
Unfortunately, you can only set one timer at a time. If you attempt to set a second timer while the first timer you set is still running, Siri will say "A timer is already running at [x minutes]. Would you like to replace it?"
There's also no way to view or manage your HomePod timers on an iOS device like there is with alarms -- timers on HomePod all handled via voice with Siri.
The HomePod offers great sound, and with AirPlay connectivity, you can set the HomePod up to function as a speaker for your Apple TV, routing Apple TV sound through the HomePod.
You can use Apple TV and HomePod together as long as you have a third, fourth, or fifth-generation Apple TV
Pairing Apple TV and HomePod
Open the Settings app on the Apple TV.
Scroll down to the Video and Audio section and select it.
Choose "Audio Output."
Select the HomePod icon from the list of available devices.
Once the Apple TV is paired with the HomePod, TV sound will be routed through your HomePod instead of through your TV. Using the HomePod's physical controls, you can change the volume of the Apple TV, or you can ask Siri to do so. You can also play/pause content through the top of the HomePod or through Siri.
Unpairing Apple TV and HomePod
You'll presumably want to use your HomePod for purposes beyond playing audio from the Apple TV, and unpairing is done through the same settings you used to pair the HomePod and Apple TV in the first place.
Open the Settings app on the Apple TV.
Scroll down to the Video and Audio section and select it.
Choose "Audio Output."
Click on the HomePod icon from the list of available devices to deselect it.
Choosing Audio Output Device with the Apple TV Remote
You can also choose your HomePod as your audio output device using your Apple TV Remote, which is a quicker way to swap between devices.
Go to the Home screen of the Apple TV.
Hold down the Play/Pause button on the Apple TV Remote.
In the menu that comes up, select the HomePod option.
To go back to using the Apple TV audio, you can repeat the same steps above, but this time select your Apple TV instead of the HomePod.
In a new test shared today by Loup Ventures, Apple's HomePod was put through its paces in categories including Siri, sound quality, and ease of use. For Siri, Loup Ventures' Gene Munster reported that while the AI assistant understood 99.4 percent of queries asked of it, it answered only 52.3 percent of them correctly. Loup Ventures tested three separate HomePods and asked 782 queries total.
Compared to previous tests of rival speakers, HomePod is "at the bottom of the totem pole" in the AI assistant performance category. Google Home answered 81 percent correctly, Amazon's Alexa answered 64 percent correctly, and Microsoft's Cortana answered 57 percent correctly.
Munster broke this information down further, stating that Siri is good for "local" and "commerce" queries, like asking about nearby coffee shops or assisting in buying new shoes. In this area, Siri beats Alexa and Cortana but still falls behind Google Assistant on Google Home.
Despite the low percentage of correctly answering the 782 total queries asked of it, Munster said Siri's overall performance rose above expectations "given the limited scope of HomePod's music focus."
The researchers explained that over time HomePod and Siri should grow to match, or surpass, rival assistants by simply adding query domains like calendar, email, calling, and navigation.
Some domains like navigation, calendar, email, and calling are simply not supported. These questions were met with, “I can’t ___ on HomePod.” Also, in any case that iPhone-based Siri would bring up Google search results, HomePod would reply, “I can’t get the answer to that on HomePod,” which forces you to use your phone or give up on the question altogether. Removing navigation, calling, email, and calendar-related queries from our question set yields a 67% correct response, a jump from overall of 52.3% correct.
This means added support for these domains would bring HomePod performance above that of Alexa (64%) and Cortana (57%), though still shy of Google Home (81%). We know Siri has the ability to correctly answer a whole range of queries that HomePod cannot, evidenced by our note here. Apple’s limiting of HomePod’s domains should change over time, at which point we expect the speaker to be vastly more useful and integrated with your other Apple devices.
As discovered in the research, where HomePod excelled was its "superior" listening skills. The HomePod allows users to speak at a normal volume, even when music from the speaker is particularly loud, and Siri will pick up on the voice and hear the user. "This was HomePod's most stellar feature," according to Munster.
Loup Ventures also favored HomePod's sound quality, saying that "it sounds incredible." Like other reviews and impressions of the device, Munster's enjoyment of the HomePod's audio quality was countered with the speaker's lackluster Siri performance, which he thinks will be changing fairly soon.
Don’t be fooled by HomePod’s sound quality-focused first step into smart speakers; Apple has a grander vision than delivering a better sounding Echo. While not present in the first version of HomePod (i.e. you can’t even make a phone call with HomePod), we believe Apple’s goal is to make Siri a ubiquitous, ambient presence that connects and controls all your connected devices and services – and to make a leap forward in the transition to voice-first computing.
Visit Loup Ventures to read more of the information gathered from the HomePod "smart speaker gauntlet," including the publication's prediction for demand and market share of HomePod through the rest of 2018.
Following the launch of the HomePod, Apple updated its dedicated YouTube support channel with three new tutorials for the smart speaker, walking users through features like using Siri to play music, using the HomePod's touch controls, and adjusting the HomePod settings.
Each tutorial video is about a minute in length, and in the description, Apple links relevant support documents, which can be useful for finding additional HomePod documentation.
Apple's YouTube support channel, introduced back in November, is where Apple shares tutorial videos that are designed to provide users with tips on using their iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other devices.
Along with the new HomePod videos, Apple has in the past shared quick tips on features like 3D Touch, iCloud backups, editing videos, sending emails, signing documents, taking screenshots, deleting photos, and more.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Google's upcoming software update for its Android smartphone operating system will "embrace" an iPhone X notch-like design, according to people familiar with the company's plans speaking to 
