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HomePod HomePod WWDC Speculation

ipedro

ipedro

macrumors 603
Original poster
Nov 30, 2004
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Toronto, ON
HomePod was introduced last year at WWDC and this year’s event is quickly approaching. Will HomePod leap ahead like the first AppleWatch did with watchOS 2.0 less than a year after its release?

What new HomePod features realistically do you think will be announced at WWDC?

(This is a speculation thread, not a wish list)
 
There's the low hanging fruit like Stereo pairing and AirPlay 2 but also Calendar support which has been leaked in iOS beta.

Multi User support is important for every other feature that comes from here on out because it depends on identifying the correct user. And it isn't that difficult. Apple already does Voice ID in iOS and the beam forming microphones are far more sensitive on the HomePod. I expect the HomePod would do its best to guess on identifying who is speaking and if it's unsure, Siri could ask: "Is this John?"

Continuous Conversation. Rather than having to say Hey Siri for each prompt, Siri would listen for a few more seconds in case you have follow up questions.

I expect that HomePod will become the testbed for Siri going forward like AppleWatch has become for technologies that roll out to the iPhone, the most notable of which was 3D Touch and the OLED screen. With that in mind, I think we're going to see some serious advancements in Siri come to HomePod first.
 
ipedro said:
There's the low hanging fruit like Stereo pairing and AirPlay 2 but also Calendar support which has been leaked in iOS beta.

Multi User support is important for every other feature that comes from here on out because it depends on identifying the correct user. And it isn't that difficult. Apple already does Voice ID in iOS and the beam forming microphones are far more sensitive on the HomePod. I expect the HomePod would do its best to guess on identifying who is speaking and if it's unsure, Siri could ask: "Is this John?"

Continuous Conversation. Rather than having to say Hey Siri for each prompt, Siri would listen for a few more seconds in case you have follow up questions.

I expect that HomePod will become the testbed for Siri going forward like AppleWatch has become for technologies that roll out to the iPhone, the most notable of which was 3D Touch and the OLED screen. With that in mind, I think we're going to see some serious advancements in Siri come to HomePod first.
Click to expand...

I can see it now:
Ted: “Siri sell all my bitcoin to this account.”
Siri: “Is this John?”
Ted: “Why yes it is.”
...
 
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- Multiple simultaneous “nameable” timers
- Siri voice volume control
- Some type of basic equaliser

Multi User Support linked to individual Apple IDs has huge potential!
 
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Apple just released this bad boy in 2018, I highly doubt we'll see any homepod hardware updates. They have other hardware older and more in need of an update, then an refreshing a product that hit the streets 3 months ago.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a price cut, or some updates to the homepod software being announced but no hardware
 
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maflynn said:
Apple just released this bad boy in 2018, I highly doubt we'll see any homepod hardware updates. They have other hardware older and more in need of an update, then an refreshing a product that hit the streets 3 months ago.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a price cut, or some updates to the homepod software being announced but no hardware
Click to expand...

This thread is about software of course. I don't think anybody expects a HomePod 2 any time soon.

Apple Watch got a 2.0 firmware update within months of the Watch being released. I'm sure there are many HomePod features that were in development that just couldn't make it to launch day so they were held back for the next OS update. It's been a year since the announcement so several of those features should be ready.

As an OS gets older, it gets polished over many iterations and eventually new features get scarce but a brand new product like HomePod can come out with dozens of new features easily.
 
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I bought a HomePod for the sound, not Siri. The sound is really good. I have two Sonos Play 5’s in my living room. The sound is spectacular. However, my living room is not that big, and the Sonos speakers are (relatively) large. Looking forward to release of Airplay 2 and the ability to pair. The much smaller HomePods would give me better placement options, and I think the sound would be great.
 
I think that the big leap for HomePod will come with the Siri API. It’s year 3 of SiriKit and more and more third party capabilities are being added. This year will be no exception and might be the year that Apple opens the floodgates. Going forward, Siri will be developed with HomePod in mind so those new app types should arrive on HomePod as well.

Of the low hanging fruit on SiriKit ported to HomePod, I can see it supporting third party apps like list/to do apps, restaurant reservations, messaging and workouts.

“Hey Siri, start a yoga session” — Starting a yoga session with Yogaia
“Hey Siri, book a reservation for 2 at Patria tonight at 8” — Booking a reservation with Open Table

CamiMR said:
- Multiple simultaneous “nameable” timers
Click to expand...

Multiple Named Timers would be good. In fact, I suspect that cooking/recipe apps will be one of the new SiriKit app types. It’d be a great fit for HomePod.

“Hey Siri, read me the recipe for Lentil Soup in Jamie Oliver’s Ultimate Meals”

Integration with other Apple devices is another obvious easy win.

Not only “Hey Siri, play Star Trek Discovery on the living room TV” but displaying album art on the TV for Now Playing on HomePod or augmenting HomePod apps that benefit from a visual aid such as those recipe or workout apps.

HomePod is brand new and was launched with the bare essentials — a platform to build on. I think that us HomePod owners are in for a treat at WWDC and for upcoming years as Apple fills out the feature set.

CamiMR said:
- Siri voice volume control
Click to expand...

You can ask Siri to “Lower/raise your voice”. ;)
 
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ipedro said:
I think that the big leap for HomePod will come with the Siri API. It’s year 3 of SiriKit and more and more third party capabilities are being added. This year will be no exception and might be the year that Apple opens the floodgates. Going forward, Siri will be developed with HomePod in mind so those new app types should arrive on HomePod as well.

Of the low hanging fruit on SiriKit ported to HomePod, I can see it supporting third party apps like list/to do apps, restaurant reservations, messaging and workouts.

“Hey Siri, start a yoga session” — Starting a yoga session with Yogaia
“Hey Siri, book a reservation for 2 at Patria tonight at 8” — Booking a reservation with Open Table



Multiple Named Timers would be good. In fact, I suspect that cooking/recipe apps will be one of the new SiriKit app types. It’d be a great fit for HomePod.

“Hey Siri, read me the recipe for Lentil Soup in Jamie Oliver’s Ultimate Meals”

Integration with other Apple devices is another obvious easy win.

Not only “Hey Siri, play Star Trek Discovery on the living room TV” but displaying album art on the TV for Now Playing on HomePod or augmenting HomePod apps that benefit from a visual aid such as those recipe or workout apps.

HomePod is brand new and was launched with the bare essentials — a platform to build on. I think that us HomePod owners are in for a treat at WWDC and for upcoming years as Apple fills out the feature set.



You can ask Siri to “Lower/raise your voice”. ;)
Click to expand...

These are all great ideas. I would like to see a more seamless integration with the Apple TV, like asking it to turn on the TV to play a specific episode of a TV show, or a movie etc. BTW you can already display album art on the TV for now playing on the HomePod. Just long press the play button on your remote and swipe to the right to choose your HomePod. It saves me time from asking Siri what’s currently playing.
 
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Aside from Siri improvements I'm hoping for

-Being able to set the Homepod to do things using scenes in the home app. Eg. Music on when I come home, turn off when I leave, go to bed.
-Volume setting by time, similar to DND on the iPhone, have it reduce volume at specified time automatically.
-Option to only play music in my library.
 
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My wishlist for HomePod:

1. Ability to set a sleep timer for music playback. "Hey Siri, stop playing music after 1 hour." So convenient when you just wanna sleep with ambience music and not have to worry it'll disturb my sleep.
2. Ability to pick a favorite version of certain tracks. Acoustic, remix, or radio edit. Not just picking up the top listed ones.
3. Continuous listening (no need to say Hey Siri for certain amount of time after last command), and picking up several commands in one speech. "Hey Siri, play X song and turn on balcony light purple, and set sleep timer for 30 minutes".
4. Voice recognition.
5. Initiating a phone call, via my iPhone on the same network of course.
 
maflynn said:
I've been wrong before (actually more often then not), but I just don't see apple rolling out an update or another model so close to the homepod 1 (if you want to call it that), release.
Click to expand...

I have to agree and think an additional smaller model would be a mistake but if not Apple will be dropping the price on the original to increase market share. What Apple needs to do is get Siri up to speed as it seems she is getting farther behind the competition.
 
I don't think the HomePod will be the focus at all at WWDC. I would be really surprised if it is. If there are improvements, then they will just be Siri-related and will inevitably trickle down to the HomePod. Airplay2 is long overdue and just needs to fix the reliability of that function - it's still frustrating to try and use Airplay from Apple TV to HomePod - audio will cut out intermittently and that is not a cute experience.
 
HomePod integration in HomeKit...

I want to use it in scenes: when everybody leaves the house: stop playing. etc. Or when I set my "good night" scene to turn of all the lights and stuff: that it plays some chill-playlist for 30 minutes at a set volume in the bedroom for me to fall asleep peacefully.

HomeKit-scenes = pure awesomeness.
 
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BlankStar said:
HomePod integration in HomeKit...

I want to use it in scenes: when everybody leaves the house: stop playing. etc. Or when I set my "good night" scene to turn of all the lights and stuff: that it plays some chill-playlist for 30 minutes at a set volume in the bedroom for me to fall asleep peacefully.

HomeKit-scenes = pure awesomeness.
Click to expand...

Also, tune into your favourite radio station when you say "Good Morning." That would also require support for radio...
 
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