HomePod Disables Calendar, Messages, Notes, and Reminder Features When Owner Isn't Home, But Apple Music Account Remains Accessible

Earlier this week Apple announced the official HomePod launch date and revealed more details about the Siri-equipped smart speaker, including a built-in speakerphone feature and support for third-party music app streaming via peer-to-peer AirPlay, both of which anyone in the home can use. However, Apple has yet to adequately clarify the extent of its multi-user functionality with regards to Apple Music and other iCloud integrations, leaving many readers wondering if the HomePod is the right fit for their home.

homepod availability interior placement 012218
In possibly the first hands-on HomePod report since Apple's launch date announcement, Refinery29 on Wednesday shed further light on the device's multi-user capabilities. According to the article, many of Siri's personal assistant features can only be tied to the individual iCloud account used to set up the HomePod. These features can be manually disabled by the account holder, but they also appear to be automatically disabled when said account holder isn't home.

Although everyone in your apartment will be able to use the speaker, only the person who sets up HomePod on their iCloud account will be able to send texts, set up reminders, and get calendar notifications via voice commands.

If you do set up personal notifications on HomePod, these will only be available when you are on the network, so you don't need to worry about your texts being read aloud at home when you are at work. If you don't want them read aloud when you're home, you can go into your HomeKit settings and turn off the notifications.

Apple hasn't revealed how the HomePod detects when the owner of the iCloud account it is linked to is home, but the article suggests the speaker is able to keeps tabs on any iOS devices serving the same user account on the same local network. This function also appears to relate to how HomePod makes a (presumably single-user) Apple Music subscription accessible to other users at home when the owner is away, as revealed in documentation shared with Apple Store staff:

Everyone can enjoy music – After HomePod is set up, anyone in the home can enjoy music even when you're not there. HomePod streams Apple Music directly so your iPhone doesn't need to be nearby.

We already know that if no Apple Music subscription is linked to a HomePod during setup, users are still able to play content that's been purchased from iTunes along with Beats 1 radio content and podcasts, but it remains unclear to what extent this content is available to others when the user of the iCloud-linked account isn't home. Also still up in the air is how Apple Music's personally tailored curation service will fare under the pressures of multi-user HomePod access, as well as how Apple Music Family subscriptions will factor in.

Otherwise, the Refinery29 article comments on the HomePod's design and acoustic intelligence similar to what we've heard in previous hands-on reports, including its "crisper and clearer" audio quality when compared against speakers like the Google Home Max, the latest Amazon Echo, and Sonos One. However, it's worth noting Google Home and Amazon Echo can recognize different voices and serve personalized content to multiple users, something which the HomePod doesn't seem capable of at this stage.

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 £319 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

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
iphone air concept weis

iPhone 17 Air Could Look Like This in Real Life

Friday February 14, 2025 3:41 am PST by
There have been several alleged leaked details of the iPhone 17 Air, Apple's rumored new slim iPhone, but images have been limited to grainy shots taken in component factories. However, this hyper-realistic concept created by WEIS Studio gives us the best idea yet of what Apple's thin device might actually look like. The concept design is inspired by recent leaks indicating that the device...
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
M4 Mac mini Apple Video

Apple's Refurbished Mac Mini Pricing Has a Problem

Thursday February 13, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple this week began selling refurbished Mac mini models with the M4 chip for the first time, but this has led to a pricing conundrum. In the United States, Apple is offering a refurbished Mac mini with the base M4 chip, 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and Gigabit Ethernet for $509, down from $599 new. This is the standard 15% discount that Apple offers on refurbished Macs. The issue is...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...

Top Rated Comments

69Mustang Avatar
92 months ago
Hot damn Apple. Stop being so vague! You're trying to sell a product and there are still just as many questions about it's operation as there are answers. The pre-orders start tomorrow. People shouldn't be speculating what the product does/doesn't do. That should be readily available info by now.

/Rant over
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jakebrosy Avatar
92 months ago
"...only the person who sets up HomePod on their iCloud account will be able to send texts, set up reminders, and get calendar notifications via voice commands."

I don't understand tying a speaker to a specific person. Speakers are (nominally) relatively communal in nature. With this setup we would need 2 speakers to enjoy the supposed benefits of having a smart speaker in the home. Which makes the smart speaker seem pretty dumb.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisCW11 Avatar
92 months ago
So, "everyone" can enjoy music, but nuts to anyone else for any other feature.

Funny how much Apple is Trumping up the idea it can be used by everyone when in reality it will only fully benefit one user in the house. It's Apple's usual tactic of spinning and downplaying a negative into a feature. I guess Apple wants you to buy many $400 HomePod's for each iCloud user to set up in their own room.

Why can't they just duplicate what both Google and Amazon devices do, let you pair multiple iCloud user accounts and then use "i-n-n-o-v-a-t-i-o-n" to identify different voices and link actions and skills to that user's account? Why can't two users in the same household ask an "assistance" product what their next appointment is without having to go into earshot of their own specific HomePod?!?!?!? Or what are people going to do, line up 2 or more of these in a row and hope they response properly to each "owner" without the other one hearing?

It's not rocket science, and it shouldn't be for a near 1 trillion dollar company, and yet Apple keeps dismissing the capabilities of their, supposedly, inferior competition while struggling to implement their own less capable version.

But sure, HomePod will sound the best...yay...it's not like I don't have access to numerous great sounding speaker products already.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
everythingapplerainbow Avatar
92 months ago
A family device that doesn’t support multiple iCloud accounts. What?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rpat701 Avatar
92 months ago
Tell me why we need another voice assisted speaker again?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GDF Avatar
92 months ago
So if you don't care about voice, then Homepod is not for you. There are plenty of Sonos speakers that offer much more and probably much better sound.

If sound quality doesn't matter to you, you don't. To me HomePod's voice features are barely relevant - sound quality is all I care about.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)