50 Things You Can Do With Apple HomePod

From managing your music to controlling your home, we find out exactly what Apple’s new smart speaker is capable of.

HomePod is a product that at first glance looks as if it is behind the curve. It is a wireless speaker with some smart capabilities and is designed in the most Apple of ways, which will make it feel aesthetically perfect in a living room, bedroom or anywhere else. It is not unsubstantial in size, but there is a reason for that because it needs to pump out music in glorious audio quality, and in this regard it truly delivers. Some have compared the sound quality to that of dedicated speakers costing £1,000s, but even this is not enough for HomePod. Apple has used its experience in many different areas to create a solution that can be used for a multitude of day-to-day tasks in the home which culminates in a product that can be many different things to the people who live with it. The cost is high in comparison to competing products like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, but it compares well to the Sonos speaker range which puts it firmly in the centre of a fast-growing technology genre. You may be surprised at how versatile and easy to use HomePod is.

Set up your new Apple HomePod

Apple, as is now expected, has obviously spent a great deal of time in ensuring that the initial setting up of the HomePod as seamless and quick as possible. Provided you have your iPhone with you, it will literally take seconds to have it set up and connected to the services you want to use. Here we demonstrate just how easy it is by guiding you through the steps required. Just make sure that you have decided on a suitable location in your home for the device and ensure that the environment is quiet when setting up.

It just appears

Unpack the HomePod, remove the high quality packaging and then plug it into a power socket. Move your iPhone close to it and the first setup screen will appear.

Choose your room

In the next screen, select the room that the HomePod is currently situated in. Tap the one you want and make sure it is placed on a hard surface.

Personal requests

HomePod cannot differentiate between voices at this time so consider whether you want to allow anyone in the home to send and read messages and to create new notes etc.

Account access

The same privacy considerations should be given to allowing HomePod to access your iCloud account, Wi-Fi etc from your iPhone during the initial setup.

An audio passcode

Audio is used to initially connect your iPhone with HomePod so try to avoid background noise or the connection may fail. It only needs to be set up once and it will stay set up.

Time to play

Once connected, you can follow the simple instructions that HomePod offers through your iPhone screen. The instructions are interactive as well which helps a lot.

Post your Set-up

Play from your iPhone

You can send music from any of your iOS devices that are close to HomePod and which are capable of sending media through AirPlay. The connection is instant and the sound will retain the excellent audio quality you expect once you have spent a few days with it.

Just play music

If you have an Apple Music subscription, you will be able to ask Siri on your HomePod to play music without using any other Apple device. It effectively becomes a full music system that takes up minimal space and which can offer millions of tracks whenever you want to play them.

Learn your preferences

While playing any song on HomePod, you can say “Hey Siri, I like this song” and it will add it to your preferences for when choosing playlists and music recommendations for you in the future. At this point you can let HomePod choose what tracks to play for you at any time.

Music management

HomePod can also be used to manage your music collection without the need to touch anything. You can, for example, say “Hey Siri, add this track to my party playlist” while a song is playing and it will be added instantly. If you understand how Siri works, you will understand HomePod.

Tap to control

The top of HomePod can be used to control the sound and many other features.

Tap once to play or pause

Double-tap for the next track
Triple-tap for the previous track
Touch and hold to activate Siri
Tap or hold Volume + and - to change the loudness

Play podcasts

If you subscribe, you can also play podcasts that you enjoy without moving from your favourite chair. Just ask HomePod to play a podcast and include the title, and it will begin immediately. Audio entertainment involves more than music and you can play audiobooks as well from your iPhone to HomePod.

Speak to people

While a call is active on your iPhone, you can instantly hand it off to HomePod to continue the conversation with much better clarity. It is another example of how Apple is using previously built technologies and software features in new products for the benefit of the user.

Control your home

Once HomePod is set up and connected to your Wi-Fi you will be able to use it to control various smart devices in your home. From turning on lights to changing the temperature you will be able to manage your home’s environment with just your voice and HomePod neat!

Read your messages

You can also ask HomePod to read messages when they arrive on your iPhone which is useful if you are doing other things at the time. Even better, you can create new messages and dictate them to Siri on HomePod without touching any device at all.

Manage explicit content

You can manage explicit content on HomePod by going to the Home app and tapping and holding the HomePod icon. Now tap ‘Details’ and then scroll down to ‘Allow Explicit Content’ where you can decide whether explicit music is allowable or not.

Add new scenes

Within the Home app you can use HomePod within newly created scenes. It works just like any other connected Apple product and can be used within any scene to save you time and manage specific aspects of your home life. It will feel invisible over time.

Automate your HomePod

You can use the ‘Automation’ feature in the Home app to turn HomePod on or off at specific times. This potentially offers the best alarm clock in the world for waking up to your favourite tunes every day. Many other types of HomePod automation are also available within Home.

Languages and accents

Changing the accent and language of Siri is very easy. Open up the Home app and then long-press the HomePod. Tap ‘Details’ and scroll down to the ‘SIRI’ section. Here you can play around with the options and set HomePod to sound exactly as you want it to.

Your music genre

HomePod, using Siri, is able to cope with complex music choices when asked to play music. For example, you can ask for soothing, upbeat or whimsical music and also more traditional choices such as alternative, indie and smooth. There are music choices no matter what your current mood.

Natural music choices

Siri can understand natural language and this works particularly well on HomePod. You can say “Play the latest song by Norah Jones” and it will use the Apple Music functionality to understand exactly what you need and to then play the chosen track immediately.

Turn off ‘Hey Siri’

You can disable the ‘Hey Siri’ option by saying “Hey Siri, stop listening”. You will then be asked to confirm this request to which you simply say “Yes” and it will be disabled. To re-start the function, just say “Hey Siri, start listening”. It really could not be simpler to use.

Apple TV and HomePod

You can send audio from your Apple TV to HomePod by going to Settings>Audio & Video>Audio Output and choosing ‘HomePod’. The resulting sound quality effectively turns it into a very high-quality soundbar for your TV which will help to justify the cost.

Set a timer

Siri’s functionality will let you do a lot with HomePod and one of the most used is the ability to set a timer. Simply say “Hey Siri, set a time for x” and it will start. While it is running you can turn the timer off by saying “Hey Siri, turn off the timer”.

Music playback

You can play around with music playback in many ways using just your voice. For example, you can say “Hey Siri, next song”, “Hey Siri, skip forward 30 seconds” and “Hey Siri, stop” to manage music without having to move. It is a hands-free experience that is a true joy to use.

Track detail

The fun doesn’t stop with just controlling your music. While a track is playing, try saying “Hey Siri, when was this released?”, “Hey Siri, what song is this?” or “Hey Siri, what is AC/DC’s latest album?” Siri will then connect to the internet and provide the information you require in an instant.

An iPhone remote

Pull down the Control Centre on your iPhone and look for the tiny wireless icon in the music panel. Tap it and you can then select your HomePod to play music through it. At this point, you can use the music controls in Control Centre or Apple Music to remotely manage music being played on the HomePod.

Multiple music streams

When you open the music panel in Control Centre or the Apple Music app, you will be presented with the currently playing tracks on your iPhone and HomePod simultaneously. This lets you decide what to play and to transfer playback with just a couple of taps on your iPhone screen. Apple has nailed multiple music streaming in iOS and macOS.

Create notes

If there is something you need to quickly note down for future reference, you can say “Hey Siri, create a note (title)”. You can then say what you want in the note and it will be available in all of your other devices through the Notes app.

Add new reminders

You can quickly set up a new reminder by saying “Hey Siri, create a reminder to get milk at eight o’clock tomorrow”. It works just as it does on the iPhone or iPad and will, as with notes, be available on your other devices. You can also mark reminders as completed with HomePod.

Reminders integration

If you prefer to use a third-party app for your reminders, HomePod supports Things 3, Evernote, Picniic, Remember the Milk and Streaks, as well as some other selected apps.

Recalibrate HomePod audio

The audio setup procedure on HomePod detects the environment it is in to offer the best possible sound quality. It works extremely well, but if you are unhappy with the quality there is a simple fix. Pick up the HomePod, lift it in the air and replace it to force audio recalibration.

Check the news

Say “Hey Siri, what is the latest news?” to have HomePod play back all of the major events that you may have missed. You will be asked for your preferred source, but the way it is presented really does feel as though you have a personalised newsreader in your home.

Avoid delays

Apple Maps is used by Siri and HomePod as part of the ecosystem which means that you can say something like “Hey Siri, what’s the traffic like going to Brighton?” to check that you will not be delayed on your commute. All of this can be done without even getting out of bed.

Specify the news

Now that you know you can quickly catch up on the news with HomePod, you can also specify what type of news you need to know. For example, you can say “Hey Siri, read me the sports news” to avoid anything that you are not currently interested in. Business news is also available.

Subscribe to podcasts

While a podcast is playing, there is an option to subscribe in an instant by saying “Hey Siri, subscribe to this podcast”. It will then be available in your podcast library whenever a new episode is released which adds another string to the HomePod’s bow.

Change the speed

You can actually change the speed of the audio that is currently playing which is especially useful when listening to podcasts or the news. Say “Hey Siri, play this slower” and the playback will slow down. Playing certain audio faster could save you a lot of time if you listen to a lot of spoken word content.

Audible feedback

If you want to make sure that Siri is hearing you, which it does 99% of the time, you can enable the ‘Sound when using Siri’ option in the Home app settings for HomePod. A bass tone will play to add a little extra reassurance that your request is being understood.

Dismiss alarms

If you use HomePod in your bedroom and it is near to you, dismissing alarms requires you to do little more than simply tap the top of it. This will save you waking your partner by having to speak to HomePod and causing even more disturbance. The same tapping method works for pausing and resuming music playback.

What device?

‘Hey Siri’ is used by all of your iOS devices and HomePod which you may expect to cause multiple devices to respond when you say the magic two words. However, HomePod will respond the majority of the time with other devices responding if they are heard best by the group. All of your devices work together to decide the best option for you.

Multiple accessibility features

In the Home app you can access a wide range of accessibility features including touch accommodations, hold duration and ignore repeat. It will take a few seconds to set up and could save you much time in the future whenever you have a need to use HomePod.

Precise volume controls

It can be difficult to get the volume just right for your tastes, but you can control it extremely precisely using Siri. For example, say “Hey Siri, turn the volume up to 82%” and it will do just that. Play around a little until you have the perfect volume for the tracks you are
currently playing.

It finds songs

When a song is playing on another device that is within audible range of HomePod, to find out what song it is you can say “Hey Siri, Shazam this” and it should be able to recognise it and then tell you all of the details you need to know. You can then play it on HomePod through Apple Music and save it to a playlist.

Factual information

The staple services in Siri work particularly well on HomePod. For example, you can ask maths-based questions or manage quick conversions when you are writing something and need information in a hurry. HomePod will be there waiting for you to need its help and over time will feel even more convenient in a static location.

HomePod remembers songs

If there is a song that you cannot remember the title of, you can play around with the descriptive elements and HomePod should still be able to find the song you are looking for. If, for example, you said “Hey Siri, play the Sam Smith song featuring ASAP Rocky” it should tee up I’m Not The Only One for your listening pleasure.

Automatic VoiceOver

HomePod will intelligently know if VoiceOver is enabled on the iPhone it is connected to and will enable VoiceOver. You can also enable it in the Home app by longpressing the HomePod. As usual, Apple’s dedication to accessibility shines through in every new product it makes.

THINGS WE WANT FROM HOMEPOD

Recognising voices

As it stands, HomePod will take commands from anyone who says “Hey Siri” which can pose a privacy concern if you allow it to send messages etc using Siri. It can only be connected to one account so this slightly limits the ability for multiple people to use the feature.

True stereo sound

The ability to use two HomePods to create a true stereo audio experience is coming later this year. The HomePods will interact with each other and automatically balance the sound for a much more immersive experience. It sounds great already, but will get even better.

Room by room

You will be able to use HomePods in multiple rooms to play the same tracks everywhere or different songs in each room, but it’s a solo experience currently until the launch of AirPlay 2 later this year. Potentially you will have a brilliant quality sound system that covers the entire house.

Radio playback

Strangely, HomePod can control your music playback from Apple Music and also let you play podcasts using Siri, but you cannot currently play the radio stations available in the service apart from Beats 1. This, however, is a feature that we expect to arrive at some point in the near future. You can still AirPlay Apple Music radio to HomePod, but it’s not quite as convenient.

Third-party services

HomePod is locked down to predominately use Apple Music by default. There is no native support for Spotify, Audible or iPlayer Radio and, despite the fact that AirPlay can again be used to play the audio through HomePod, we would love to see it be made much more versatile with the ability to use such services natively.

Apple products only

AirPlay is currently the only workaround for the lack of openness in the HomePod setup, but for those who use Android or any other non-Apple device there is no support to allow streamed playback where a service is not supported. It’s unclear whether this will change in the future.

A smarter Siri?

The perception that Siri is not as smart as rival services from Amazon and Google is valid to a point. There is no doubt that the latter services offer a completely different experience, but Apple has chosen to focus on privacy which means that some areas are rightly off limits. A smarter Siri would be great, but few things are as important as your privacy.

It’s one way

At this time you cannot send specific results to your iPhone when they are presented on HomePod. It would be very useful to be able to send the likes of map results or web searches to your phone and headphones for a more seamless experience and to integrate better with your overall iOS setup.

Bluetooth streaming

HomePod is a speaker above all else and it is perhaps unusual that you are currently unable to stream audio from any Bluetooth device that is within range. The lack of support for Bluetooth is a surprising omission and one which, if fixed, would add a huge amount of versatility to the product.

HomeKit only

At this time there is support for HomeKit compatible devices, but not the likes of Nest, Kwikset and multiple other third-party home-related products. With HomePod offering such quality and potentially becoming a very important part of your household technology, it would be good to see more flexibility.