HomePod Can Be Used as Speakerphone, Will Support Commands From Multiple Users

by

Apple this morning announced the official launch date for its much-anticipated HomePod, and that announcement included several new details that we hadn't previously heard about the Siri-equipped smart speaker.

In the HomePod press release, Apple says HomePod can be used as a speakerphone with the iPhone "for crisp and clear audio quality."

HomePod on shelf 800x451
This means users will be able to take calls on the HomePod using a nearby iPhone, with the HomePod able to serve as a speaker and a microphone for the call. Further documentation shared with Apple Store staff (via Guilherme Rambo) says that this feature will allow "anyone" to make a call on their iPhone and then hand it off to the HomePod.

Everyone can continue a phone call on HomePod--Anyone can start a call on their iPhone and hand it off to HomePod for a hands-free conversation.

HomePod will not be limited to a single user, as suggested and confirmed in the HomePod documentation. Once the HomePod is set up, anyone in the home will be able to listen to music using the Apple Music account installed on the device, and anyone will be able to ask Siri questions.

Everyone can ask Siri questions--Anyone in the home can use HomePod to get everyday information like weather, traffic, new, translations, general knowledge, and more. For example, just as "Hey Siri, what's the weather like this week?"

HomePod is primarily designed to work with an Apple Music account, and while it does support Bluetooth 5.0, it's not yet clear if it will support playing music directly to the device from an iPhone or another smartphone. It will, however, support peer-to-peer AirPlay, so you can play content from third-party music apps on the HomePod using AirPlay.

Sans Apple Music subscription, though, HomePod will be able to play content that's been purchased from iTunes along with Beats 1 radio content and podcasts.

As Apple shared earlier this morning, HomePod will eventually support multi-room playback and stereo sound by linking one or more HomePods together using the new AirPlay 2 protocol, but that functionality will not be available at launch.

At launch, HomePod will be available in the United States, UK, and Australia. In the U.S., it will be priced at $349, and it will cost GBP319 in the UK and $499 in Australia.

Apple will begin accepting orders for the HomePod on Friday, January 26, with the device set to launch two weeks later on Friday, February 9.

Related Roundup: HomePod
Buyer's Guide: HomePod (Neutral)

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Read Full Article • 36 comments
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Read Full Article • 79 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
Read Full Article • 45 comments
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report, Including Under-Screen Face ID

Tuesday December 16, 2025 8:44 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu. As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
Read Full Article • 57 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Read Full Article • 90 comments
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
Read Full Article • 158 comments
apple iphone air battery pack

Apple Aims to Boost Popularity of iPhone Air 2 in Two Ways

Tuesday December 16, 2025 11:06 am PST by
We have been covering iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 17e, and iPhone Fold details from The Information's report about future iPhone models, and next up is the iPhone Air 2. The report says that Apple aims to make the iPhone Air 2 more attractive in two ways. First, Apple is apparently considering adding a second rear camera to the device, which would resolve a key limitation. The current iPhone...
Read Full Article • 104 comments
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...
Read Full Article • 36 comments

Top Rated Comments

HiVolt Avatar
HiVolt
103 months ago
Once again, prominent features are not available at launch of an already delayed product...

Good one, Apple...
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
falainber Avatar
falainber
103 months ago
Wow! A speakerphone!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bryan Bowler Avatar
Bryan Bowler
103 months ago
I have a feeling this is gonna bomb and it's not gonna be as magical as Phil likes to make it.
The same thing was said about Apple's AirPods...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisCW11 Avatar
ChrisCW11
103 months ago
So, it can do what everyone else does, almost.

Not sure it sounds like Apple will do what Google does, and maybe Echo, but while anybody can ask those products anything Google lets you pair user accounts to the Home so that when Home detects your specific voice it will do customize and personalized responses. So if you have multiple users paired to the Home, it will say Hey User X, your commute to work will be 30 minutes or Hey User Y, your commute will take 23 minutes. What this also means if that multiple users have Google Music accounts, they will be able to access their specific playlists.

It sounds to me like the HomePod is tied to one Apple Music account, meaning that while it might provide personalized responses for the owner of that account, it does not really support "multiple users".

Apple has ALWAYS assumed that a user is tied to a device. They wanted everybody to have their own phones, tablets, laptops, etc. They never implemented multiple user support on iOS because Apple wanted people to buy their own devices, and I think this is going to kick them by introducing a product that will be shared between members of the same family or household. This is the first iOS device that will not be owned by an individual user, but by the household.

I think the delay has nothing to do with the hardware, I mean even Apple can't screw up a speaker that bad, but I think the delay was due to Apple trying to shoehorn this product into their existing service limitations, and I think this will be the HomePod's Achilles heal. I just don't think it will do a lot of little things that people already can do with Google or Amazon devices, like actually recognize different users until there are a lot of infrastructure changes to Siri and Apple Music. Sure anybody can come in and ask it the weather, EVERY other device lets you do that, but I don't think Apple has actually implemented the ability to ever know the difference between those users and give it personalized responses.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AlexisV Avatar
AlexisV
103 months ago
Does anyone actually use these things? I'd feel I right twerp talking to a machine like it's my best mate. I don't even use Siri because you feel bloody stupid.

Is it an English thing? Americans seem to love all this "Hey Siri, Hey Alexa" chirpyness!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ck2875 Avatar
ck2875
103 months ago
Once the HomePod is set up, anyone in the home will be able to listen to music using the Apple Music account installed on the device, and anyone will be able to ask Siri questions.
... but what happens if anyone besides the “installed account” wants to use it to send a text? It’s nice that anyone can ask it a question, but does it only support one user for texting, etc?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments