HomePod

If you're willing to make the investment to add a HomePod or HomePod mini to several rooms in your house (if not all of them), you'll be able to take advantage of the new Intercom feature. Intercom is incredibly handy, allowing users to send and receive communications via a network of Bluetooth connected devices. This means that, for instance, instead of yelling to your kids that dinner is ready, now Siri can do it for you. That's right, you can now use Intercom to make Siri do some of your parent-to-child yelling. Just keep in mind that they, too, can join in the fun!

Your Apple's HomePod delivers a high-fidelity audio experience and helps control Homekit devices with Siri. Did you know that you can also transfer phone calls from your iPhone to your HomePod for speakerphone calls? Simply tap the audio icon while making a call, and select the HomPod from the list of audio options. Using your HomePod as a speakerphone is a great way to go hands-free when you need to move around the room without carrying your iPhone or worrying about sounding muffled. Let's get started learning how to transfer calls on your iPhone to your HomePod so you can use your HomePod as a speakerphone. 

As part of the Apple home automation wave, the HomePod is a fun way to use Apple HomeKit accessories. The smart speaker connects to other iOS devices and can access Siri for voice commands, responding to questions, or playing music. If you want to let family members or friends use the HomePod to do things like turn lights on and off and adjust the thermostat in your house, you can give access via the HomePod. Here's how to add another user to the Apple HomePod.

iOS 11.4 has made it possible to AirPlay audio content to multiple Apple devices and third-party AirPlay compatible speakers at once, including HomePods and Apple TVs. A really cool outcome of this upgrade, called AirPlay 2, is the ability to set up two HomePods in the same room, sync them, and have them work together to create stereo sound. If you'd like to utilize this new iOS 11.4 AirPlay 2 feature, you'll need to set your HomePods up as a stereo pair. Let's get started learning how to set your HomePods up as a stereo pair right from your iPhone, so you can start enjoying amazing, upgraded audio right away. 

One of the coolest features of Apple's new HomePod is its ability to team up with your Apple Music subscription and act as a personal DJ, playing custom playlists based on your listening habits for you enjoy whenever you ask. Your HomePod's mixology skills can get thrown off kilter, though, if family members or visitors are also asking Siri to play their favorite tunes. And this will also influence what Apple Music thinks you like and plays for you on your other Apple Devices as well. Fortunately, there's a HomePod setting you can change to ensure that you won't end up listening to a mish-mosh of all your friends' and family members' musical tastes. Let's get started learning how to keep other HomePod users from influencing your "For You" Apple Music recommendations on your HomePod.

In the 75th episode of the iPhone Life Podcast, the team shares how to preorder the HomePod, which arrives February 9. Other topics include the latest rumor that Apple will discontinue the iPhone X and a review of Google’s Arts & Culture app. As promised, David and Sarah have shared their best and worst selfie/museum portrait matches. Send yours and we'll add them to the post!

To say I’m obsessed with speakers might be an understatement. In eighth grade, I was supposed to write an essay on my most valued possession. I chose my Sony boombox. As an adult, I now have a speaker in almost every room of my house. So when I watched Apple announce the new HomePod at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, I felt like a kid in a candy store. Then I heard the price ($349) and things got a little more complicated.

At the recent WWDC 17 keynote, the HomePod smart speaker was one of the biggest announcements of the day. The seven-inch HomePod will come in Silver and Space Gray and will be available in the U.S., U.K., and Australia in December 2017. The Siri smart speaker has better audio quality than Amazon Echo and Google Home and is smarter than the Sonos smart speakers. It's also significantly more expensive than the Echo and Home speakers and there is reason to doubt it will be as smart as the Amazon and Google smart assistants. However, unlike the Echo and Home, the HomePod promises a great deal more privacy to its users. Wondering whether you want to invest in Apple's latest gadget? Here's what you need to know before you make a decision.

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