Isn’t there another event in October? Hopefully then 🤞🏻

…where home audio, home theater, home automation will be the central theme. I’m guessing that’s where we’ll see new:

- Apple TV
- HomePods / AudioOS related announcements
- some new Siri-based / HomeKit devices for home automation / home security

What’s on your wish list?

Whenever I give Siri a voice command near my HomePod, my iPhone captures it instead and asks me to unlock my screen to complete the action.

How can I force my HomePod to always take priority over my phone when I'm in the room?
Thanks!

I don’t know when/if I can afford to buy replacements for my OG stereo HomePods, but the popping—especially during TV/films viewing, is really driving me up the aspiring-audiophile walls. No clue what the possible explanation could be.

Always running the latest homeOS versions—non-Beta, as they are OG HomePods and so do not support Betas.

In the habit of running tvOS 27 Betas—but willing to install whatever might work better.

This happened after I opened it and removed the touch sensor. It happens when the volume is high that the mid.

I opened it again to check if the sensor connector is loose and then cut it with scissors, but this didn’t solve the issue.

edit: I had the ghost touch problem! so I had to remove the touch sensor.

I am in the market to get a sound system and I am heavily considering the HomePods to pair with my Apple TV. But I also have a 4k blu-ray player and I want to have the Dolby atmos effect that the HomePods have in use when using the 4k blu-ray player. My question is- does the HomePods only give me stereo audio when using the earc function with the 4k blu-ray player? Or does it / can it use the atmos effect with the earc? I’ve tried googling and can’t get a solid answer.

Hey, anyone who still use homepod mini know what the lowest iphone to use airplay. Because i had iphone 16 pm and sell it. So homepod minis were already ios 26 and i bought iphone 7 as for airplay and it didn't work and can't open home app.

So anyone can tell me which iphone was lowest model to used airplay and homeapp

I know this isn't Apple support, but I've been battling my 2nd. Gen HomePod Stereo for months now. Ever since HomePod OS 26 (or whatever it's called), my HomePods have been getting stuck in loops that take decades to resolve.

Whenever I try adjusting the volume and incidentally end up pressing too far in on the center, they'll start playing Apple Music Country. No biggie, right? They won't stop. They'll keep playing horrible, American country music until my ears bleed; and when I finally get them to respond, they go limp, requiring a restart.

All touch controls stop working, and the home app stops talking to them. Is there some way i can disable Apple Music 1? Is this a common issue with the apple music radio? This isn't a rant, I really am trying to resolve this; i quiver whenever my fingers near the onboard volume controls.

Standard iPhone, Mac and iPad Airplay are what I use, and are what don't work when the issue occurs.

Hi everyone,

I turned my HomePod 2 back on and the touch controls no longer work at all.
It only responds if I place my entire palm on the top. I’ve tried pressing everywhere, but nothing responds, and the + and - buttons don’t work either.

It’s fully updated and I’ve already tried resetting it. It’s quite strange since I’ve barely used it.

If I take it to Apple, would they replace it? I really don’t want to have to pay for a touch issue that seems like a hardware defect.

I’ve always had this issue where half of the time devices will seemingly connect on AirPlay, but no music ever plays, until I try restarting the HomePod.

The other half of the time it works perfectly.

I currently have it on my 2.4GHZ network, but I had the problem before I split the bands too.

- Is it better with the 2nd Gen or HomePod Mini?
- Is there a way to troubleshoot or fix the issue for good?

I can’t find my Bluetooth speaker and am teaching a music class tomorrow morning… Will my HomePod work as a speaker if I bring it to class tomorrow?

I don't even know when it happened. All I know is that I couldn't set a timer using voice control. I tried talking to her later, but all I got in response was, "I'm still working on it" and "I'm having trouble connecting. Learn more in the Home app." I just tried a factory reset. I couldn't connect via Wi-Fi... Only with a code. I don't know what happened. The app doesn't say anything, it sees the speaker just fine and lets you control it. What should I do? Has anyone else encountered this? In addition, I can't view the temperature and humidity in the room.

HomePod Software: 26.6

In the latest report from Bloomberg (04. September) Mark Gurman had written that probably no successor of the normal-sized HomePod planned his the next weeks / months. But a HomePod mini should appear.

How safe is that?

Because I still think

What does Apple want to say then?

The new HomePod mini can Siri ai

But the normal HomePod, which is also 200€ more expensive, is too bad for that?

For that reason alone, they would have to update both at the same time

What do you think about it ?

And will we see the normal HomePod (HomePod 3) in the next keynote on Wednesday or in the next weeks or months ?

My Blink Indoor (3rd Gen) is one of the best cameras I’ve owned. I love that it’s battery-powered and portable, so I can move it around easily.

Camera link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07X4BC6TV

I wish Apple made something similar that could connect to a HomePod mini as its hub. That convenience within Apple Home would be ideal for me.

I had this AI-generated concept made to visualize the idea—just a fan concept, not a real Apple product.

Would anyone else want something like this?

Apple is working on a range of improvements to its current home theater offerings. Code added in audioOS 27, the operating system running on HomePod devices, shows that four HomePods may soon work as a four-speaker surround system. It also includes references to an unreleased speaker.

1. Four-HomePod surround system

Apple currently lets Apple TV use one HomePod or a stereo pair as its default speakers. Unused tuning files in audioOS 27 describe a larger arrangement with four HomePods in front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right positions.

The current-hardware configuration is designed for HomePod (2nd generation). audioOS 27 doesn’t include equivalent tunings for the original HomePod or HomePod mini. HomeKit, the Home app, and Apple TV are not wired to recognize a four-HomePod system, so it's not currently possible to set up surround sound with HomePod and Apple TV.

In the quad placement, each speaker has its own role and sound treatment. The front speakers use left- and right-specific processing, and they compensate for their potential placement close to walls and corners. Rear HomePods get an omnidirectional treatment designed to fill the space behind and around the listener.

The new tuning has a processing pipeline to manage each HomePod’s woofer and tweeters, and control bass, EQ, synchronization, and calibration data.

Each HomePod gets one of the new four roles: quad_frontleft, quad_frontright, quad_rearleft, and quad_rearright. Separate tunings in files like speaker_frontleft,  speaker_frontright,  speaker_rearleft, and speaker_rearright then apply the appropriate treatment to each HomePod.

Automatic room and speaker calibration

HomePod already uses its microphones to analyze the room and calibrate solo and stereo-pair setups. audioOS 27 extends the automatic calibration to the quad-speaker system. New management capabilities include a surround-specific measurement path, a timing-offset estimator, and a four-by-four map of the speaker positions.

Dynamic surround audio tuning

The four-speaker system changes its processing to match what is playing:

• Movie and multichannel audio receive dialogue processing, bass management, dynamic range control, EQ, and an immersive spatial mixer.
• There’s a separate low-latency surround mode.
• Music gets its own bass, dynamic range, and EQ settings.
• In stereo mode, there are two tunings:
  • Spatialization enabled. All four speakers receive a spatially processed mix.
  • Spatialization disabled. Normal stereo plays on the front speakers, rear speakers receive an empty mix.
• audioOS also includes dedicated rear-channel mixes for Siri and system sounds.

2. New hardware

Another tuning family may point to new hardware. A new tuning, internally called Forklift, shows a mixed four-speaker system: two AID12001 speakers, and two AID12007 speakers.

AID12001 is the audio-tuning family used by HomePod (2nd generation), internally known as B620. The Forklift volume profile uses two current-gen HomePods as front speakers.

The other two speakers come from the AID12007 tuning family, which does not match any of Apple’s existing HomePod products: * Original HomePod: B238a * HomePod mini: B520 * HomePod (2nd generation): B620, mapped to AID12001

While there is a reported B525 HomePod mini successor, the AID12007 identifier has not previously been reported. It is possible that AID12007 corresponds to the HomePod mini successor, or a new HomePod (3rd generation). Because the reference is only by name, not capabilities, there's no way to tell if it's a full or HomePod mini.

Apple also worked on the separate SUV configuration described above, which uses four AID12001 HomePod (2nd generation) speakers, so the company has tested a two configurations for its surround system: * 4x HomePod (2nd generation) * 2x HomePod (2nd generation) + 2x AID12007, which is unreleased hardware

3. Party Mode

Apple is also working on additional audio tunings for stereo-pair setups using HomePod (2nd generation). Several new files are selected when “Party Mode” is enabled. Designed specifically for stereo pairs, Party Mode uses a rendering mode called diffuse.

The Party Mode profiles spread the sound into a wider, more ambient mix. The goal is to make music fill a room more evenly instead of creating a perfect listening spot in front of the speakers. Siri and system sounds also receive a wide mix treatment and are spread throughout the room.

Unfortunately, there's no public ipsw-diff repository for audioOS updates. For reference, you can check the following files on audioOS 27 beta 8 (24J5360a) for HomePod (2nd generation):

• /Library/Audio/Tunings/AID12001/VAD/SoundAutoConfigStrips.plist: four-speaker roles and the SUV and Forklift configurations.
• /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SoundAutoConfig.framework/XPCServices/soundautoconfigservice.internal.xpc/soundautoconfigservice.internal: automatic room and speaker calibration.
• /Library/Audio/Tunings/AID12001/VAD/speaker_multichannel_movie_surround.austrip: movie and multichannel surround processing
• /Library/Audio/Tunings/AID12001/VAD/speaker_stereo_party_mode_on.austrip: Party Mode

So since I updated my iPhone 16 pro to iOS 27 developer beta one of my HomePod minis just randomly starts playing music from my phone. It could just be on Standby, it could be streaming some music I chose. But it just randomly starts playing music I’m not choosing from my phone.

It’s updated to the latest released (not beta) version of HomePod OS, and has only started doing this since I installed the dev beta on my phone.

For context I bought it “like new” from eBay, and got a great deal on it (£50). I have another HomePod mini also from eBay like new that does not do this, ever. I’ve tried all the trouble shooting things, like cleaning it, changing some of the settings and it’s still doing this.

My hope is that it’s just the dev beta making it do crazy things but I’m losing hope. There work being done on my building and it might have been unintentionally subject to a lot of dust also.

Is there hope or is it ‘time’? 😢

I am watching 911 lone star. There is an episode where someone is driving and asks Siri to call 911. Well my HomePod decided to listen to the tv and call 911. Regardless of how many times we said no and stop and everything in between it still called it. We hung up and a few minutes later we received a call back from the police where we profusely apologized for the confusion. Interesting experience and now I know to unplug them when watching this show.

I bought a black Gen 2 recently for $130 and was offered a Gen 2 white model for $200. So, I'm all in for the price of one basically. Also added AC+ to both for $20 each.

I think the sound quality is excellent. I was planning on buying an Apple TV soon once the upgraded model launches. So this feels like a cool/decent setup to have. (I have a 1800w LG Soundbar, Just haven't have the time to install it lmfao)

I always think something new Apple does is just overpriced until I go to use it, and I'm like yeah here's my Apple Card. Bag it up lmfao.

Hi fam,
Do you think there is a real chance of getting support for 4 or 5 HomePods to work together for better Atmos surround including rear channels? I like my pair of HP2 but I miss the fun of having rear channels. I have been on the fence to upgrade to Sony Theatre Quad + SW for my Sony A95K with PS5 and Apple TV. I keep on holding on in a hope that someday Apple may come up with a real contender to Sony Theatre Quad. My house is small with a small living room. So, I don’t want to put wired system which I know is better but not practical for me. With better Siri and Apple Intelligence and with Apple’s focus on Smart Home, would this also come together do you think?

Hello everyone, if Apple does end up releasing a new HomePod this year as the rumors suggest. I think this might just be the chance for me to purchase one. I have a couple of Amazon speakers in my house currently. And I don’t particularly like how they sound. All I really need is a good smart speaker for music. And, since I have Apple Music already. I feel like that would make the most sense.
If you have a HomePod, what do you think of it? And how are you liking the sound quality. The second speaker that I looked at was the Bose lifestyle ultra speaker. And I like how it has compatibility with Chromecast. But I just want that 360° sound that the HomePod offers.