Siri Will Learn Your Music Preferences With HomePod Software 17.4

Alongside iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, and tvOS 17.4, Apple plans to release a HomePod 17.4 software update that adds a small but meaningful change to Siri.

homepod blue green
‌Siri‌ will be able to learn what a user's preferred media service is, which means that there won't be a need to include an app name when asking ‌Siri‌ to play content or go through the process to set a default third-party app.

‌HomePod‌ users have been able to play songs, podcasts, audiobooks, and other media using supported third-party apps through a ‌Siri‌ request for quite some time now, but this needed to be set up in the Settings section of the Home app. The option was fairly hidden, so some ‌HomePod‌ users might have forgotten the feature was even available. From Apple's release notes:

This update enables Siri to learn your preferred media service, so you no longer need to include the name of the media app in your request.

With ‌HomePod‌ 17.4, ‌Siri‌ will learn preferences and use those preferences to select apps. If you have YouTube Music, for example, you won't need to say "Play [song name] on YouTube Music" to bypass Apple Music, nor will you need to set YouTube Music as your default music service in the Home app.

‌Siri‌ already works this way on the iPhone and the iPad, and asks users for their preferred app when playing content for the first time. As ‌Siri‌ has been updated to set a preference automatically, Apple has removed the Home app option that let users select a default media service.

Third-party apps that work directly with the ‌HomePod‌ include YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio. Streaming music services need to support ‌HomePod‌ for the feature to work, and not all do. Note that popular music service Spotify can play content through a ‌Siri‌ request on ‌HomePod‌, but it uses the ‌iPhone‌ to do so.

Along with ‌Siri‌ support for a preferred music service, the ‌HomePod‌ 17.4 update also includes performance and stability improvements. The ‌HomePod‌ 17.4 software will see a release as soon as this week.

Related Roundups: HomePod, HomePod mini

Popular Stories

Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
iOS 26

Apple Continues to Prepare iOS 26.0.1 With Multiple Bug Fixes Expected

Sunday September 28, 2025 1:30 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The account initially said iOS 26.0.1 would have a build number of 23A350, but they now expect the update to have a build number of 23A355. This suggests that the software update will include more bug fixes or changes than initially...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year

Sunday September 28, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next MacBook Pro models will enter mass production soon, according to the latest information shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he continues to believe the new MacBook Pro models will be released at some point between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, meaning they should be available to order by March at the latest. Apple often...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iphone 17 ceramic shield

Regular iPhone 17's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Friday September 26, 2025 9:01 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the standard iPhone 17 model's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 27W to 28W with these Apple chargers:29W USB-C Power Adapter 30W USB-C Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max...
maxresdefault

Review: A Week With the iPhone 17 Pro

Friday September 26, 2025 12:51 pm PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 models have been out for a week now, so we thought we'd do a longer-term review of the flagship iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max now that we've been able to spend more time with them. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has a Silver iPhone 17 Pro and a Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max, and despite a lot of concern over...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...

Top Rated Comments

Gengar Avatar
21 months ago
But will they ever introduce an update where Siri will check your library first when you tell it to play a song? It plays so many stupid remixes of songs if you don’t include “from my library” when giving it a command…
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
uptownnyc Avatar
21 months ago
Cool. Now tell me how to get the HomePod two rooms away from responding to the "Hey Siri" request intended for the phone sitting on the table next to me.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
clg82 Avatar
21 months ago
Wow, now if they could teach Siri to do simple tasks that would be nice
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kagharaht Avatar
21 months ago
The one product from Apple that I have is a true Love hate relationship is the HomePod. This thing has frustrated me to no end. The sound is wonderful and when it works it’s beautiful. Still too many occasions “ I didn’t get that, working on it , hmmm taking too long, there is a problem with Apple Music“ then all speakers just stops playing or one or two stops and the rest plays. Then the volume suddenly increases then decreases... The Audio is beautiful with Homepod, but the software and Siri is pure GARBAGE.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dustin_ Avatar
21 months ago

Notably missing from that list is Spotify. Which is also missing from the Vision Pro. Must be a strange coincidence.
solely by spotify’s choosing
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
5097842 Avatar
21 months ago
Notably missing from that list is Spotify. Which is also missing from the Vision Pro. Must be a strange coincidence.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)