You’re most likely in love with the quality of sound you get from your Homepod and chances are you’re aching to find out about all the things you can do with the smart speaker. To really unlock the awesome power of your Apple device, we’ve put together some tips and tricks so you could get the most out of the $399 price tag.
1.You can place your HomePod anywhere in the room
That’s right, the device comes with seven speakers pointing outward from the main unit with a top firing subwoofer. The speaker then uses smart sound analysis based on its location in the room. So if it happens to be placed near a wall, you shouldn’t experience any sort of loss in audio quality, nor should you have to consider the placement of the speaker. Just pop it onto a desk, shelf or table, anywhere in the room.
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2.Use your HomePod to read your last text message
Your HomePod can be used to read off the last message you received for a trouble-free experience. Be warned though, if another user in the room calls on Siri to read of the last message, your HomePod is going to read off from its paired device – your iPhone.
3.Use your HomePod to ask multi-part questions
If one question leads to another, don’t hesitate to pile it on, as Siri’s smarts are perfect for multi-threaded questions. For example you can follow “Hey Siri, who is LeBron James?” with “How tall is he?” immediately after she responds. This keeps you immersed and connected to your thought process as you interact with your HomePod.
4.Use your HomePod with Evernote
Your HomePod can be used to engage with many third party apps including Evernote. Have it log a note to your favorite app and stay productive. Just ensure that you have the latest version of Evernote running.
5.Set your kitchen timers with your Homepod
Need a quick timer while you’re in the kitchen with your hands tied? Or maybe you need a quick countdown until your next rep during an intense workout routine, your HomePod can handle it no problem. Call on Siri to set a timer but only one timer can be set each time.
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6.Make phone calls with your Homepod using Airplay
Airplay enables you to pass off incoming calls to your HomePod. Once the call is in progress simply hit the HomePod icon after tapping audio on your iPhone. You can even put answered calls on hold using the touch controls on the top of the HomePod.
7.Get better sound out of your TV using Airplay through your Homepod
With your Apple TV, you can take advantage of the great sound quality of the smart speaker by using Airplay. Hold the play button on your Siri remote, while on the Home screen and select the your speaker from the list of options under your TV’s audio output.
8.Queue a song to Up Next on Apple Music
If you’re grooving to tunes and begin to anticipate what the next song ought to be, have Siri queue it by saying “Hey Siri, play (this song) next.” Stay hands free while you party or if you’re just relaxing to a great song.
9.Stay updated with Apple News briefings
Not only can you retrieve news briefings with your HomePod, you can have Siri take from multiple sources such like BBC or MSNBC, you need only say “Hey Siri, change news source to (source name)” and stay up to speed with you favorite news outlets.
10.Listen to what’s playing on your Mac with Airplay
Not only does your HomePod support your Apple TV with great audio, you can take advantage of the richer sound that the smart speaker has to offer while using your laptop. Unfortunately only Mac users can benefit from this slick feature.
11.Let HomePod control your smart home with Siri
Create scenes that let Siri help control your HomeKit in really useful ways. For instance you can have Siri open the garage door and flip on the lights in your hallway on your way out the door with the command “Hey Siri, it’s time to go to work.” You can create as many scenes such as this as you like and execute a series of actions depending on where you are.
12.Have your Homepod add notes
In addition to Evernote for note taking, your HomePod can store notes on Apple’s native note taking app. You can also start to-do lists and grocery lists to stay organized while you’re on the go.
13.Let your Homepod set your reminders for you
Need a reminder? Have Siri create them for you. You can also set location specific reminders that trigger when you’re in specific rooms of the house.
14.Rename your Homepod based on what room it’s in
During or even after you set up your HomePod, set a name for your device. Naming it after the room it’s placed makes selecting audio outputs easier if you have other similar devices in the room. On that note too, you can name it to avoid any conflicts while setting your audio output.
15.Listen to Spotify using your Apple HomePod
Rely on Airplay to play Spotify tunes through the HomePod. The only drawback is that you won’t be able to use voice commands to control playback or volume. Instead you’ll need to rely on the touch controls at the top of the device, controlling the volume and skipping to the next track using a double tap on the center.
16.Enjoy any radio station on your HomePod
Use other third party radio apps that support Airplay on your smart speaker. This works in much the same way as it does for Spotify.
17.Use your HomePod for quick translations
Need a quick reminder of how to say something in French? Call on Siri to translate a simple sentence for you into another language.
18.Perform a spell check with Siri
Often times we take for granted how tricky our language really is. If you’re at work or you’re about to send an important message, you’ll want to your words to be perfect, especially when you’ve got to make that impression. Rely on Siri when it comes to your spelling.
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19.Make your HomePod free of explicit content
Prevent your Apple device from playing content inappropriate for children by filtering tracks. Do this by heading over to the Rooms tab after launching the Home app on your iOS device. After
pressing and holding on the HomePod icon, you’ll have the option to tap on Details. Simply hit the switch next to Allow Explicit Content and you’re home free.
20.Use your HomePod to add a song to a playlist
You can do this while listening to your favorite playlist on Apple Music. Simply say “Hey Siri, add this track to (the playlist).” Careful though, this feature tends to be a bit buggy with iTunes.
21.Send text messages to your contacts using HomePod
“Hey Siri, send a message to Brandt…” remember to pause after this initial phrase, then clearly dictate your message. A really cool hands-free way to stay connected with friends and family from the comfort of your smart home.
22.Switch between voice presets for Siri on your HomePod
It’s possible to optimize the way Siri sounds. You can have a male voice or keep the well known female voice and you can also assign either American or British accents to Siri’s voice profile. .
To enable these presets, first look for your HomePod’s name in Favorite Accessories after launching the Home app. When you see your HomePod, apply a long press or 3D touch to tap Details located at the bottom. In the Siri section, you’ll see the option to select Language and Voice menus. Select Siri voice to select the desired accent and gender.
Remember that when you change Siri’s voice, it doesn’t change on any other Apple devices you use so be sure to make the change across the board for a seamless experience.
23.Make your reminders location-specific within your home
Let your HomePod know what you need to do something when you’re in a particular room of your smart home. Just say something like “”
24.Put Siri on mute
If you’d like Siri to stop listening for a while just hit her with “Hey Siri, stop listening.” To re-enable, simply say “Hey Siri start listening.” This is perfect for when you need to rely on the iPhone’s more powerful version of Siri or if you need to use your Apple watch. The HomePod’s version of Siri always overrides other Siris in the room, by default.
25.Switch between your Homepod’s Wi-Fi networks
To switch Wi-Fi networks while using your HomePod is not as straightforward as straightforward can be. It also isn’t that hard. To switch your HomePod’s wifi network, navigate to the HomePod after launching the Home app and remove it. Once you’re connected to the desired network on iOS, reconnect the HomePod and you’re all set.
26.Keep your For You recommendations safe from other users
To avoid other users’ musical choices modifying your For You recommendations, switch off the ‘Listening History’ setting in the Details section of your Home app. This is a great way to ‘secure’ your HomePod if there are multiple users nearby.
27.Take advantage of Siri’s smats when choosing a song
If you request song using only the song’s title, you can ask Siri to play a different version if the wrong artist’s rendition started to play. Additionally, You don’t have to remember every detail about that song you love. Simply say “Hey Siri, play that <> and <> song.”
28.Set your alarms with HomePod
You can call on Siri to set an alarm for you, and add conditions so that the alarm is optimized by frequency (every weekday or every Tuesday and Friday) or by label. It’s really useful to label alarms especially since you can manage them later through your device.
Just tap the Home app and head over to your HomePod, you’ll see the Alarms button, bottom left of the screen. Once inside, you can enable or disable, edit or delete an alarm from the list of alarms you created using your Apple HomePod.
29.Remember to pause after you say “Hey Siri”
Be sure that Siri listens to your every word by allowing it time to handle the request, this way, you’re more likely to avoid the need to repeat your question or command. Speak clearly once you know Siri is listening.
30.Find out what’s on at your local cinema
Just say “Hey Siri, what movies are on right now?” – Siri will provide you with a list of showings based on your current location. This little trick can save you the time and effort of manually searching your movie listings through a website.
31.Use the touch controls
If you can’t or don’t want to speak for some reason, you can still enjoy your HomePod. Just use the touch controls at the top of the device to control what’s playing using gestures and tapping. You can also control the volume using the touch controls.
32.Use your iPhone’s control center to control your HomePod
Calling on Siri isn’t the only way to control your HomePod. In any case, you wouldn’t want to call on Siri in the middle of your favorite track to turn the volume up, or to jump to the next track.
Instead, you can access playback controls from your iOS device, you simply navigate to the control center from your Home screen. Press the Now Playing panel after opening up the Control Center. You’ll see the HomePod Now Playing panel, and all the controls you need to manage the HomePod without using voice commands with Siri
33.Plug your HomePod in and out again to reset it
Apple advises to only reset your HomePod when it’s unresponsive, when you need to reset it to factory settings, if you need to send the device in for service or if you want to sell or give away your HomePod.
34.Let your family add to shared shopping lists
Any user can call on Siri to add an item to an existing list, say a shopping list perhaps. This is a great way to collaborate on an important task in the house. You can also have family members set reminders for you, so you remember to actually get your shopping done!
35.Let Siri build better playlists for you
“Hey Siri, I like this track” or “Hey Siri, I don’t like this track” is pretty much the long and short of how to add songs to your favorites or even to a specified playlist while listening on your HomePod.