Several new icons unearthed in the latest build of iOS 11.2.5 and shared on Twitter appear to reveal additional functionality included in Apple's upcoming HomePod smart speaker. On Sunday, Filipe Espósito found an image hidden amongst Apple's Home app assets that includes icons which suggest it will be possible to create custom scenes that mute the HomePod speaker's "Hey, Siri" function.
As Espósito notes, the function could be useful in a house party scenario, for example, where the owner might want to control other smart devices like lights and motion sensors while disabling Siri responses for privacy reasons.
Apple has not yet mentioned if HomePod can support more than one user, but Espósito believes there are references that indicate the speaker will distinguish between different voices to service multiple accounts. He also notes that existing assets show support for combining two HomePods for stereo sound, or using two or more HomePods to simultaneously stream music using Apple's AirPlay 2 wireless streaming protocol.
Apple originally announced the HomePod back in June 2017 at the Worldwide Developers Conference, where it demoed the speaker's advanced spatial awareness which intelligently adjusts to the surroundings to deliver the best possible sound. The company initially planned to release the Siri-based speaker in December 2017, but in a subsequent statement said it was pushing back launch to a more non-specific "early 2018" timeframe.
Rumors suggest HomePod supplier Inventec has started shipping the HomePod to Apple, whose historical definition of "early" is January through April, so it's still not entirely clear when it will launch. Supplies of the HomePod could also potentially be limited at launch, based on information shared from Inventec, and Apple has said the $349 speaker will initially only ship in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia.
Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development.
Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag.
Timing
Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false.
The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence.
Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476
The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick.
"We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote.
If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by Juli Clover
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices.
With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...
Multiple users via voice recognition is already part of Google Home. Privacy protections if it doesn't recognise your voice as well. It's nice that Apple has these features ready from day one, but this doesn't sound like something special.
While I agree with you on Apple being extremely late to the party and coming in hot at a high price point, they do have at least one other thing going for them: a business model that isn’t centered on advertising.
I am happy that Apple will apparently cater for situations such as ‘wet and windy balloon time’, ‘tiny man in the garden hour’, and ‘fried egg with popcorn day’.
These are surely the hieroglyphics of the present, destined to be uncovered and debated by historians of the future as to their meaning...
‘So when the wifi symbol is blue it means ‘on’... when it’s grey... it means... ‘off’?’ -‘There appears to be conflicting evidence on that actually!’
I get how this is great for homes without HiFi, but what about those of us who don't need Apple's "premium" speaker system? I want a Siri "Dot"...as I'm sure many others do too.... [doublepost=1516612927][/doublepost]ETA, When the heck will Logitech Harmony support homekit!?!
putting on my "jony ive" thinking cap:
if your apple watch is more than capable of doing what an Echo Dot or a "Siri Dot" could do (because of the fact that it's always with you, it has a button to activate, and it has a touchscreen), why would you want to use a smart home speaker to use Siri?
your apple watch however doesn't play music outloud. so that's where Apple figured it can contribute. let a speaker do exactly what it should do and be really good at it: playing audio. making a Siri dot compromises on its number 1 task, so it has no reason to be.
if your apple watch is more than capable of doing what an Echo Dot or a "Siri Dot" could do (because of the fact that it's always with you, it has a button to activate, and it has a touchscreen), why would you want to use a smart home speaker to use Siri?
your apple watch however doesn't play music outloud. so that's where Apple figured it can contribute. let a speaker do exactly what it should do and be really good at it: playing audio. making a Siri dot compromises on its number 1 task, so it has no reason to be.
That's an answer to a question he didn't ask. :p
He's already got a decent hi-fi system and wants to add the Siri functionality from the HomePod to it, Echo Dot style. Your Apple Watch isn't much good (even if it was somehow connected to your hi-fi) if other family members want to use it while you are away from home.
if your apple watch is more than capable of doing what an Echo Dot or a "Siri Dot" could do (because of the fact that it's always with you, it has a button to activate, and it has a touchscreen), why would you want to use a smart home speaker to use Siri?
your apple watch however doesn't play music outloud. so that's where Apple figured it can contribute. let a speaker do exactly what it should do and be really good at it: playing audio. making a Siri dot compromises on its number 1 task, so it has no reason to be.
I have a pair of studio monitors at home that sound far better than the Apple HomePod. I don't need to listen to it to know that. Physics doesn't allow a speaker that big to have a proper range. The problem is they don't have a smart assistant like Siri or bluetooth connectivity. I think the point 'farewelwilliams' was making is that a dot allows people to decouple the smart assistant from the speaker giving you the best of both worlds.
I like the idea of a HomePod but for that kind of money you can buy yourself some really nice bookshelf speakers and an Amazon Dot and end up with far superior sound. For those of us in the Apple ecosystem it would be nice to have a more integrated product but I'm not willing to sacrifice sound quality for it.
Apple originally announced the HomePod back in June 2017 at the Worldwide Developers Conference, where it demoed the speaker's advanced spatial awareness which intelligently adjusts to the surroundings to deliver the best possible sound. The company initially planned to release the Siri-based speaker in December 2017, but in a subsequent statement said it was pushing back launch to a more non-specific "early 2018" timeframe. 
