Apple's HomePod is getting a bit smarter thanks to a new software update. Apple rolled out iOS 12 on Monday, the latest update to its operating system for iPhones and iPads. The update — which is free and available for download now for anyone with an iPhone 5S or later — includes a few key updates to HomePod, Apple's $349 smart speaker. When HomePod made its debut earlier this year, it didn't exactly win over critics with its smarts. While the speaker sounds great, the version of Siri inside HomePod isn't as "smart" as competitors like Google Assistant or Amazon's Alexa. But the new updates to HomePod, while subtle, should make it easier to use and more useful for most people. Here's everything that's new with HomePod.<doc-sep>UPDATE: Spanish language support is coming and will be available on October 26. Apple announced at the event today that HomePod will be getting a software update soon that supports multiple timers, phone calls, and pinging your iPhone if you’ve misplaced it. HomePod will also be able to search for lyrics, something that is coming to iOS 12, as well as support for Siri Shortcuts. The new HomePod update will be released on Monday, September 17. Full press release: HomePod, the innovative wireless speaker from Apple, is adding new features that let customers do even more with Siri on HomePod, including the ability to search by lyrics, set multiple timers, make and receive phone calls and more. HomePod delivers the highest-fidelity audio quality wherever it is placed in the home, and provides unmatched stereo sound with a stereo pair that offers a wider, more immersive soundstage than traditional stereo speakers. HomePod works together with an Apple Music subscription to stream over 50 million songs directly to HomePod. Siri has a deep knowledge of music and is a convenient way to send messages, check calendar appointments, control HomeKit accessories and more. With a free software update, HomePod adds support for Spanish in the US, Spain and Mexico, and expands support in Canada with Canadian French. On HomePod, users can also ask Siri to: Search by lyrics: In addition to asking Siri to play a particular song, artist or genre, now it’s easy to ask Siri to “play the song that goes like this…” or ask Siri to “play the song that goes ‘I’m a rebel just for kicks now.’”1 Set multiple timers: HomePod now supports multiple named timers. Set a timer for the cake, another one for lasagna and another one as a reminder to dim the lights — using just your voice. Make and receive phone calls: Conveniently use HomePod to make and receive phone calls for crisp and clear audio quality. To make a call, simply ask Siri to call someone from Contacts or say the number to call. Incoming calls are automatically directed from iPhone to HomePod — just ask Siri to answer the phone — and for missed calls, it’s as easy as asking, “Hey Siri, who just called?” Using the audio picker on iPhone, calls can be moved from HomePod to iPhone at any time. Find My iPhone: The popular Apple Watch feature comes to HomePod, so users can ping any of their nearby devices to find them. Siri Shortcuts: Shortcuts opens up a world of apps to work on HomePod. As Siri learns routines and suggests ‘shortcuts’ on iPhone and iPad, these same shortcuts are now accessible on HomePod. Personalizing shortcuts for HomePod with a series of tasks is easy with a new Shortcuts app. For example, “Hey Siri, good morning” could run a morning routine and 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. Control Center provides a quick view of what’s playing in every room and simple controls to adjust volume and more. HomePod combines Apple-engineered audio technology and advanced software to set a new audio quality standard for a small speaker. Featuring an Apple-designed woofer for deep, clean bass, a custom array of seven beamforming tweeters that provide pure high frequency acoustics with incredible directional control and powerful technologies built right in, HomePod is able to preserve the richness and intent of the original recordings. HomePod delivers an even more immersive listening experience when two HomePod speakers become stereo pairs, delivering high-fidelity sound with a wide soundstage. Using spatial awareness to sense their location in the room, each HomePod automatically adjusts the audio to sound great wherever it is placed and sound great together. And with AirPlay 2, it’s easy to create a wireless multi-room audio system to play music in any room from any room, move music from one room to another or play the same song everywhere using HomePod, an iOS device, Apple TV or by asking Siri. Stereo pairs create an even wider soundstage for an incredible listening experience on HomePod. HomePod is a convenient way to send messages, set timers and reminders, check calendar appointments and the weather, control a wide range of HomeKit smart home accessories and listen to more than 550,000 podcasts from Apple Podcasts. The latest headlines, entertainment news and sports updates stream directly to HomePod, and Univision Noticias, ESPN Deportes, Telemundo Entretenimiento and others are now available with support for Spanish. Security and privacy are fundamental to the design of Apple hardware, software and services. With HomePod, information will only be sent to Apple servers after “Hey Siri” is recognized locally on the device, via an encrypted and anonymous Siri identifier.<doc-sep>At today's "Gather Round" event at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted some new features that are coming to the HomePod through a software update set to be released next Monday. The HomePod will gain a number of new features with the software update, which is going to come alongside iOS 12, tvOS 12, and watchOS 5. Search for your favorite songs by lyrics using Siri Create multiple timers Make and receive phone calls right from the HomePod Ping your iPhone or any of your Apple devices to find them in your home HomePod is also going to work with Siri Shortcuts, a feature coming in iOS 12. According to Cook, Siri Shortcuts will "open up a world of apps" for HomePod. Many of these new features are additions that HomePod users have been hoping for. The HomePod has been the butt of jokes for not being able to support more than one timer at once, and while it could be used as a speakerphone previously, the new phone call functionality will expand its usefulness as a standalone communication device. All of Apple's fall software updates are set to be released on Monday, September 17, with the exception of macOS Mojave, which will see a release on September 24.<doc-sep>
Alongside the release of iOS 12, the newest update to the iOS operating system, Apple has also released new version 12 software that's designed for the HomePod. The new HomePod software will be installed automatically on the HomePod after you update to iOS 11.4, but you can also manually update and check your software version by following the instructions in our HomePod software how to. As Apple CEO Tim Cook said during the company's "Gather Round" event last Wednesday, the software update introduces several new features that HomePod users have been hoping for since the speaker was first released back in February. The update lets you use Siri to search for your favorite songs using song lyrics, and it lets you create multiple timers. It also allows you to make and receive phone calls right from the HomePod. The HomePod could previously be used as a speakerphone, but after the update, it will be able to be used to place and answer phone calls without the need to transfer a call from the iPhone. HomePod will be able to ping your iPhone or any of your other Apple devices so you can find them in your Home, and it works with Siri Shortcuts, a new feature introduced in iOS 12. Apple's full release notes for the HomePod software update are below: iOS 12 includes support for multiple timers, music search by lyrics, telephony and Find My iPhone. - Conveniently search for a song using the lyrics if you can’t remember the title (English only) - Create multiple named timers - Make and receive phone calls directly on HomePod, or simply ask Siri who is calling - Similar to Apple Watch, Find My iPhone on HomePod allows you to quickly locate any of your iOS or macOS devices with an audible ping - Calendar support to include all languages - View the network name in Settings For more on the HomePod, make sure to check out our HomePod roundup.