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

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Read Full Article • 63 comments
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Read Full Article
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
Read Full Article • 28 comments
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
Read Full Article • 132 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Major Thermal Design Upgrade

Friday January 17, 2025 4:33 am PST by
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report. The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader. Vapor chamber technology is already used...
Read Full Article • 66 comments
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
Read Full Article • 214 comments
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple Expected to Launch 20+ Products This Year: Here's the Full List

Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year. Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
Read Full Article • 28 comments
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Read Full Article • 208 comments

Top Rated Comments

HiVolt Avatar
HiVolt
91 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
91 months ago
Wow! A speakerphone!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bryan Bowler Avatar
Bryan Bowler
91 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
91 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
91 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
91 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