Playing Third-Party Streaming Services on HomePod Is About to Get Easier - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Playing Third-Party Streaming Services on HomePod Is About to Get Easier

Siri on HomePod will soon be able to remember what your preferred media service is, thanks to an upcoming software update from Apple.

homepod purple
With the release of ‌HomePod‌ 17.4 software, ‌Siri‌ will learn what third-party app you like to play media through most often, which is a change to the way things currently work.

As things stand, ‌HomePod‌ users need to set up third-party audio services in the Settings section of the Home app, and then include the name of the media app in each request to make sure ‌Siri‌ plays from the preferred service.

However, with ‌HomePod‌ 17.4, ‌Siri‌ will learn your preferences and select apps for you, and you won't have to specify the service yourself each time. If you have Deezer, for example, you won't need to say "Play [song name] on Deezer" to bypass Apple Music, nor will you need to set Deezer as your default music service in the Home app.

The change will bring parity between the ‌HomePod‌ and iPhone/iPad, since ‌Siri‌ already works this way on the latter devices. Third-party apps that work directly with the ‌HomePod‌ include YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio.

Note that not all streaming music services support ‌HomePod‌ in this way. For example, Spotify can play content through a ‌Siri‌ request on ‌HomePod‌, but it uses an iPhone to do so. The ‌HomePod‌ 17.4 software should see a release as soon as this week.

Related Roundups: HomePod, HomePod mini

Popular Stories

HomePod 2 and Mini feature 1

Apple Releases HomePod Software 26.5

Monday May 11, 2026 9:59 am PDT by
Alongside iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, and macOS Tahoe 26.5, Apple has released new HomePod 26.5 software for the HomePod and the HomePod mini. The update comes a little over a month after Apple released HomePod Software 26.4. According to Apple's release notes, HomePod Software 26.5 includes performance and stability improvements. ‌HomePod‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ software is installed...
HomePod mini and Apple TV Sage

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Are 'Nearly Ready' to Launch, New Siri Remote Also Rumored

Sunday May 31, 2026 8:47 am PDT by
New models of the Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini are "nearly ready to go," according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Both devices have been ready "for months," but Apple is holding off on launching them until the more personalized version of Siri is available, he said. "I am told the hardware for the next Apple TV...