Apple HomePod update adds Canadian French support, among other new Siri-related features

Apple’s HomePod speaker recently got a software update that brings some useful new features to it. One is that it now gets support for Canadian French in Canada and Spanish in the U.S., Spain, and Mexico. On top of this, you can now ask Siri to do more. You can now ask it to search songs by lyrics (in English), set multiple timers, make or receive calls, help locate your iPhone with Find My iPhone feature, and access Siri Shortcuts. An example Apple gives is, you can say “Hey Siri, good morning” and it can go through your morning routine and do things like “order coffee from a coffee shop’s app, turn on the kitchen lights from the Home app, and share the first few calendar appointments for the day—all with one simple, customizable command.”

Apple HomePod will reportedly let you make calls soon

Review: Apple HomePodA recent report claims you’ll get more out of your HomePod soon. It’ll supposedly bring one important feature: the ability to make and receive calls. According to iGeneration, their look at the iOS 12-based software update for the device will let this happen, among some other useful features. As long as the HomePod is paired with your phone, it’ll let you make or answer calls. It’ll also help you locate your iPhone, improve translation features, and have the ability to switch Wi-Fi networks without needing to reset the device. If the report is to be believed, this might make the HomePod a more attractive purchase for consumers.

Source: TechRadar

Is a cheaper Beats-branded Apple HomePod in our future?

It’s a rumour that needs to be taken with a big grain of salt, but word coming out from supply chain sources in Taiwan claim a new HomePod is on its way and it’ll try to go up against its competitors more, at least price-wise. Sales of the original HomePod have not been stellar. A recent report from Strategy Analytics shows that Apple’s smart speaker only accounted for 6% of the global smart speaker market in the recent March quarter. Amazon’s Echo devices account for 81.8% market share.

Price is considered one of the big things the HomePod has going against it. And if the rumours are true, then this might put Apple in better footing to get more people to use HomePods. According to Loveios, this cheaper version of the HomePod can be priced around US$199 and it could be released under the Beats brand. Again, these are all rumours at this point. But if this would happen, will you be willing to get one?

Source: BGR

You’ll need Apple devices to use HomePod

If you thought Apple would allow for cross-platform use of its HomePod speaker, we’re sad to report that this won’t be the case. The company posted the official specs of the HomePod speakers on its site and it shows the current limitations of the device if you’re not using Apple products. While it supports Bluetooth 5.0, if you want to stream from third-party apps like Spotify you can only do so via AirPlay, which means you need Apple devices to stream (even using Apple Music app on Android won’t work). And if you are using an Apple product to stream Spotify on the speaker, it doesn’t support voice commands using Siri. You’ll need to be using Apple’s own music services for that. On top of this, you can only set up the HomePod with devices running iOS 11 or higher. Of course, Apple could later on change their minds and add support for non-Apple devices but we’re thinking that won’t happen anytime soon. The HomePod is coming to the US, Australia, and UK starting February 9.

Source: Android Authority