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The Apple HomePod can do much more than play music and answer your question to Siri. I’ve been a long-time fan of Apple’s largest smart speaker, and here’s how you can make the most of it.
1Using Sound Recognition to Be Notified In Case of a Smoke or CO Alarm
One of the HomePod features you might not have heard about can help you keep your home and family safe. When away from home, you can be notified if a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm goes off. You will receive a notification on your iPhone and even your Apple Watch.
The feature uses on-device intelligence to listen for the alarm sound, no data is sent to Apple. You can find out more about the feature in our guide onhow to set up smoke/CO alarm recognition on your HomePod.
2Making a HomePod the Sound System for Your Apple TV
If you have an Apple TV, there’s no need to worry about spending additional money to upgrade your TV sound system. You can simply use your HomePod and its top-notch sound quality. If you’re just using your existing speakers on a TV, the HomePod can provide a major step up and bring a new dimension to movie night.
The process tomake your HomePod the default speaker for an Apple TVis quick and easy.
3Checking the Room Humidity and Temperature
While you can obviously use Siri on the HomePod to control smart home devices with a voice command, the speaker can also be part of your smart home. TheHomePod features a built-in temperature and humidity sensor. You access that information in the Home app or by asking Siri on any of your devices.
But you’re able to also use the temperature or humidity information as part of a smart home automation task. For example, if the temperature exceeds a certain custom point in a room, you can automatically turn on a fan attached to a smart plug to start cooling the area.
4Pairing Two HomePods for Stereo Sound
While one HomePod can provide top-notch, room-filling sound, adding a second smart speaker to the mix can take your music and more to a new level. With two HomePods, you can create a stereo pair. Doing this creates a left and right channel for a more immersive listening experience, especially for use with an Apple TV. The end result is easily on par with a much more expensive dedicated home theater.
Find out the simple process ofhow to create a HomePod stereo pairjust by using your iPhone.
5Using a HomePod as a Home Hub
While HomeKit is a great smart home protocol, especially if you’re deep into the Apple ecosystem, there is a substantial downside. You need an Apple Home Hub to control your compatible smart home devices while away from your home Wi-Fi network, share control of accessories with others, and automate accessories.
But the good news is that your HomePod can act as a Home Hub. There’s nothing you need to do as the HomePod will automatically turn on the feature when set up.
6Making the HomePod an Intercom for Your Home
Intercom is another great way to use your HomePod as part of your daily routine. The lesser-known feature allows you to turn your smart speaker into an intercom to inform others in your home. Think of it as the old-school intercom taking a leap into the future.
And along with using your HomePod, you can use any other Apple device like an iPhone or Apple Watch with Siri. Just say “Siri, intercom” followed by the name of the room. So for example, you can send a quick message to the living room HomePod to say that dinner is ready. The other party can even respond back.
Find outmore about Apple Intercom and how you’re able to set it up.
7Finding Your Lost Apple Devices
It can happen to the best of us—a lost iPhone or other Apple device when you need it. When you misplace your iPhone, you usually think about using the Find My app. But if you don’t have any other Apple device handy, your HomePod can stand in and save the day.
All you need to say is “Siri, where is my iPhone?” Or “Siri, play a sound on my Apple Watch.” As long as the other device is on the same Wi-Fi network, it will make a sound to help you locate it. It’s a great help when you’re in a pinch. After locating the device, you can tap on the on-screen alert to turn off the sound.
8Setting Up Voice Recognition for Everyone in Your Household
If you have multiple people in your household, everyone can better customize the HomePod and Siri experience with Voice Recognition. The HomePod is usually tied to the Apple account of the person who set up the smart speaker.
When someone else in your home wants to make a phone call, play music from their library, or something else; they will need toset up and use Voice Recognition. Up to six users in a home can be recognized, they just need a separate Apple ID. you may toggle Personal Requests for each HomePod in the home. When complete, Siri will know the other user’s name and provide a more custom experience for music playback and specific apps like Messages and Reminders.
9Listening to Ambient Sounds
Ambient noise can help you all throughout the day. Whether you need something extra to sleep soundly or to just focus without distraction, your HomePod can help. The smart speaker offers a number of ambient sounds including rain, forest, ocean, white noise, fireplace, or stream sounds.
To access the sounds just say “Siri, play ambient sounds,” or for something more specific “Siri, play white noise.” You can also set a sleep timer where the sound will automatically stop after a certain period of time. The ambient sounds can also be added to Home app scenes that use multiple smart home devices or even a smart home automation.
10Using Handoff to Move Music from Your iPhone
Handoff is one of the best features of the Apple ecosystem that allows you to start work with something on one device and continue on another.
But Handoff also allows you to continue rocking out and move music directly from your iPhone 11 or later to HomePod. To transfer the music, podcast, or other audio, just place the iPhone near the top of the HomePod. You’ll feel haptic feedback on your iPhone and the music should automatically start playing.
As you can see, the HomePod is a versatile smart speaker perfect for any Apple fan. verify to use these tricks and tips to see everything that it can offer.
