If your HomePod has had problems playing podcasts recently, it might need the software update Apple released Wednesday. It brings the full-size and pint-size audio devices up to version 15.1.1.
It doesn’t include any new features, though.
An Apple job listing has people scratching their heads because it mentions an operating system that doesn’t exist. It references “homeOS” alongside iOS, watchOS and other known operating systems.
It’s possible this is something Apple is working on. But there’s a less exciting possibility: if could be another name for something millions of people use every day.
Apple today confirmed that its new color options for HomePod mini are now available to order in a small number of markets, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico. They will roll out in more territories, including the U.K., later this month.
HomePod mini is still priced at $99 in yellow, orange, and blue. The new color options are functionally identical to the earlier white and space gray models, with no internal alterations to the device.
HomePod mini’s new color options, which were introduced during Apple’s big MacBook Pro event on October 18, will go on sale in the U.S. next week, according to a new report. Fans in Europe will have to wait a little longer.
The new color options include orange, yellow and blue. Aside from the fresh lick of paint, however, the new smart speakers are identical to the original.
There’s good news for those bored by the HomePod mini’s color options. Apple just announced at Monday’s “Unleashed” event that its smart speaker will soon be available in three additional hues.
The price isn’t going up. But there’ll be a wait to order the fresh options.
Apple Music is now more affordable for those who agree not to use buttons. A new “Voice Plan,” unveiled Monday during Apple’s big “Unleashed” event, lets you access the entire Apple Music catalog using only your voice for just $4.99 a month.
That’s half the price of a regular Apple Music subscription — and it might just be ideal for HomePod users.
Apple reportedly hired Afrooz Family as its new head of software development for the HomePod. He’s supposedly been tasked with making the smart speaker a stronger rival for Amazon’s and Google’s products.
That would be something of a turnaround for the product.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The early reviews are in — let’s talk about the best and worst parts of iPhone 13, 13 Pro and the iPad mini. Plus: Apple is prepping yet another great feature coming soon to your HomePod — it ain’t dead yet, baby!
Apple’s newest HomePod beta, issued alongside the iOS and iPadOS 15.1 betas on Tuesday, brings back lossless audio and Dolby Atmos support. Both features can be enabled from inside the Home app, but only if you have an invite.
Apple has been working to bring its newest audio features to HomePod speakers for a while now. It first began testing them shortly after WWDC 2021 in June when the third HomePod 15 beta was made available to testers.
Apple’s original HomePod, the big smart speaker that predated the HomePod mini, lasted less than three years on the market. It never became a hit for the Cupertino tech giant. But a new design concept from a Swiss outfit imagines it coming back in two new forms.
Netflix has begun rolling out Spatial Audio support. This lets the streaming service offer a surround sound-like experience but without all the speakers. Currently, it requires AirPods Pro or AirPods Max but that’ll change soon.
And Netflix beat out Apple TV in offering the feature.
Dolby Atmos (spatial audio) and lossless music are on their way to HomePod and HomePod mini. Both features are available for testing in Apple’s latest HomePod 15 beta, rolled out to registered developers on Thursday.
We’ll show you how to enable them.
Apple TV engineers say “there isn’t much optimism” over the company’s weak living room hardware strategy, but there plans to change it with new devices, according to a new report from one reliable reporter.
Cupertino is still planning a combined Apple TV, HomePod and FaceTime camera — but it is not expected to appear until “around 2023.”
HomePod shipments in the United States increased 180% year-on-year in the last quarter, eclipsing the growth of smart speaker makers Amazon and Google during the period, market intelligence firm Omdia reports.
While Apple still lags behind the other two companies on shipments, it is looking more competitive than it has at any point in the history of the HomePod so far. That’s particularly impressive when considering that this was a rough three-month period for smart speakers in the US, whose growth is stalling.
Both macOS Big Sur 11.5 and iPadOS 14.7 made the jump from beta to full release on Wednesday. They bring only a handful of new features, though, as well as bug fixes.
The updates follow several days after the debut of iOS 14.7 for iPhone.
It’s easy to set alarms or timers on a HomePod smart speaker with Siri voice commands, but HomePod Software Version 14.7 adds the ability to make manual changes to of these with an iPhone or iPad. No Siri required.
Here’s how.
The latest beta of the HomePod system software adds support for Apple Music lossless audio. This allows both the large and small versions of Apple’s smart speaker to play music in a very high-quality format.
Recent reports suggest owners of the original HomePod should steer clear of the device’s software version 14.6 and the newer version 15 update for beta users.
After numerous reports surfaced on Reddit and elsewhere, it appears the updates “brick” some users’ devices in certain configurations.
Redditor DeviantSubrbanKid, based in the Philippines, knows how to impress a few computer setup mavens on social media. Make the workstation clean, tasteful and functional. And then add some weird or interesting touches.
Apple has posted a longer and more detailed list of products that it recommends you keep “safe distance away” from medical devices to avoid magnetic interference that might endanger your health.
Arizona-based Tyler Botha, aka theallseeingeye on Reddit, is a TV-focused copywriter for a San Francisco startup and a retired pro DJ. The setup and epic gear list he sent to our attention does triple duty with a capable “WFH Desk,” a powerful “Gaming Corner” and a remarkably complete “DJ Desk.”
Talk about “complete.” Botha’s gear list, represented in the links below, is probably the longest one ever published in a Cult of Mac Setups article. You don’t have to be a DJ to appreciate it, but it helps.
Mac concept-makers are really strutting their stuff lately. This week we saw two eye-catching concepts that ring true. Get a glimpse of what the next-gen Mac Pro and MacBook Pro might look like in this week’s top stories.
And don’t miss our interview with one of the concept artists, who tells what he uses to make his realistic images.
You’ll find those stories and more in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Read it on iOS or hit the links below for browser fun. If you want slightly less fanciful stuff, we’ve also got the latest Apple news, reviews and how-tos to keep you busy this long Memorial Day weekend.
A proposed HomePod speaker with a built-in screen, and another device combining HomePod, FaceTime camera, and Apple TV, remain in “early development” at Apple, a Bloomberg report Friday states.
The report, which also includes details of Apple’s AirPods roadmap, describes the pair of devices as being part of Apple’s “broader home, audio and accessories strategy.” Unfortunately, there’s no word on when either might arrive.
Apple smart speakers will be able to play Apple Music’s lossless audio after an upcoming software update. Both HomePod and HomePod mini will get support for the high-quality audio format, according to Apple.
This is good news for HomePod owners who may have been feeling disgruntled about being left out of a signature new Apple Music feature.
Apple is working on a new smart home product that would combine Apple TV, a HomePod speaker and a camera for FaceTime or Zoom-style video conferencing, Bloomberg reported Monday.
The company “has been a laggard in the smart-home space, but [this] versatile new device in early development could change that,” according to the story, which describes the in-development product as “Apple’s most ambitious smart-home hardware offering to date.”