HomePod Now Supports French, German, and Canadian English, While Canadian French Coming Later This Year - MacRumors
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HomePod Now Supports French, German, and Canadian English, While Canadian French Coming Later This Year

Apple today announced that the HomePod will be available in Canada, France, and Germany beginning June 18, but ahead of then, the speaker has gained support for languages and dialects spoken in each country.

homepod canada france germany
Today's new 11.4 software update for HomePod enables Siri to speak in French, German, and Canadian English in any region, including the United States. Apple says Canadian French will be added in a subsequent software update coming later this year, but it has not provided a specific timeframe as of yet.

The new software update should be pushed to the HomePod automatically after updating to iOS 11.4 on a paired iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, but it can also be installed manually through the speaker's settings in the Home app.

To change a HomePod's default language, open the Home app on a paired iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 11.4, 3D Touch or long press on the HomePod's icon, tap on Details, and tap on Languages. There are now six languages, including the previous options of U.S. English, U.K. English, and Australian English.

homepod settings languages
Canadian residents who purchased a HomePod in the United States, for example, can now switch from American English to Canadian English.

While the switch from American English to Canadian English doesn't yield any significant differences, it does allow the language of a paired iOS device to be set back to Canadian English as well, as in Canada, a HomePod and paired iOS device must be set to the same language for Siri to deliver Personal Requests.

Despite support for Canadian English, the HomePod still isn't completely localized for Canada, as Siri still doesn't work with music charts, for example, as demonstrated by MacRumors reader Pedro Marques in the video below.


Of course, the HomePod should gain support for additional languages as it launches in more countries in the future.

Related Roundup: HomePod
Buyer's Guide: HomePod (Neutral)

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Top Rated Comments

102 months ago
LOL. HomePod doesn't even understand English.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
102 months ago
UK, Canadian and Australian English are the one and the same, it's only the U.S that don't get this and invent their own lazy version. When I read the English languages supported I had a laugh.
Australian is the same as Canadian? You must not be a native speaker if you think so. Australian is close to some British dialects but by no stretch of imagination is it close to Canadian.

Canadian English is very close to American English. Canadian English has it's own pronunciation patterns in different parts of Canada, though. I can recognize people from Ontario pretty easily by the way they pronounce "about" (like "a boat"). But, I've met Americans from the areas adjacent to Ontario whose pronunciation is exactly the same as residents of Ontario.

Canadians from the West Coast (in Vancouver and Victoria, BC) speak exactly like Americans who live on the West Coast (in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, etc.). The only real difference between the Canadian and American English is the spelling, which in Canada mostly follows British standards.
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Canadian English is nothing like Australian which is a lot closer to English. Canadian English is American with a few spelling deviations, which, considering English roots, make no sense.

American English spelling- at a minimum was standardised around real-world pronunciation for the American continent.
American spelling was intentionally changed by Noah Webster following the American Revolution. Canadians mostly follow British spelling rules, except for in some words American spelling is acceptable as well.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gwaizai Avatar
102 months ago
Canadian English, eh?
It's a boat time.
Take off, hoser!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Smoak5 Avatar
102 months ago
oh this is intere.... no never mind its not.
I think the home pod will look nice on my shelf next to my Apple newton.

Sorry Apple. You are too late to this party. Sonos all the way in my house and not making any changes since I am so vested in sonos.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
102 months ago
I've always had more success when I use Siri in Australian, I'm British, but for some reason it seems to understand me more.

Note: I said more success, not complete success, Siri is still about as much use as a chocolate teapot.
There is very little difference. As you noted Canadians typically use British spelling as opposed to American spelling but the pronunciations of those words is usually identical to American.

I would imagine it just makes the HomePod more compatible with the slight pronunciation variations in words like "sorry" and "home" as well as variations in how Canadians say things like "grade 9" instead of "9th grade" etc.
Or maybe if Canadians say, "Hey Siri, set the second *storey* thermostat to X degrees" instead of *second floor*. Like you said, this may have more to do with word usage than pronunciation.

Also, a Canadian would certainly say something like, "Hey Siri, I locked my house, eh?" Siri would need to understand that this is actually a question.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
102 months ago
The problem with Canadian French is not really different words or grammar but the pronunciation/accent (though there are also quite a number of words and expressions that are different). I've been in Quebec only for a few short stays, so most of my experience comes from movies, radio, Youtube videos, podcasts, etc.. But I can assure you, that there is a clear difference between 'standard Quebec French' and standard Metropolitan French. You won't mistake one for the other.
I'll tell a quick story: I have a québécoise friend from just outside Quebec City, born and raised. In high school, she took a trip to France and after getting off the plane and asking for some help from the airport staff, they switched to english and asked her what she wanted.

She kept speaking french, telling them she couldn't speak english. Once again, they asked her what she wanted in english.

It took several more increasingly frustrated attempts before they realized she was from Quebec and spoke to her in French.

The difference is real. Folks from some french-speaking African countries also have to deal with this to some extent.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)