Your HomePod will likely get left out of the Apple Intelligence party here's why

Date:
Mon, 01 Jul 2024 10:57:57 +0000

Description:
A fresh MacRumors report (based on Mark Gurman's Power On newsletter) says Apple has 'no plans' to bring Apple Intelligence to HomePods.

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There's no surer endorsement that AI is the buzzword of 2024 than Apple essentially claiming-and-renaming it as Apple Intelligence which the Cupertino giant announced on June 10 , leading us to compile a comprehensive list of Apple iPads, iPhones and Macs that'll support Apple's own brand of AI .

But one bit of Apple kit that's reportedly being left off the list is Apple's own smart speaker, the (now seemingly humble) HomePod 2 and of course the HomePod mini .

In thelatest editionof his Power On newsletter , respected analyst Mark
Gurman said that Apple is prepping Apple Intelligence for its Vision Pro ,
aka the Apple AR headset that just turned one year old but not until next year. As reported by MacRumors , this is a top-tier Apple device boasting sufficient memory to run on-device Apple Intelligence features including
that next-gen version ofSiri I've been hoping for (in my HomePod ).

But according to the MacRumors report, Gurman does not expect the HomePod to offer Apple Intelligence, (even, presumably, the potential future HomePod
that could act more like a dedicated soundbar ) and thinks Tim Cook's
behemoth is focusing instead on "an entirely new robotic device with a
display that includes Apple Intelligence at its core." Why no Apple-Intelligent HomePods? Siri, can you be Apple Intelligent on this?
(Image credit: Apple)

HomePod owners may be understandably miffed that Apple's all-new multimodal, cross-platform approach to today's AI computing trend could completely forego their Apple smart speaker.

After all, the February 2022-issue HomePod 2 wasn't cheap, at $299 / 299 / AU$479 and despite our praise for its sound quality and design, it's no
secret that Apple's flagship smart speaker is lagging behind when it comes to smartness. (In case you missed it, Siri forgot how to tell the time on
HomePod recently).

So why is this (probably) happening? Well, Apple Intelligence requires a minimum of 8GB of memory, but both HomePod andHomePod minionly include 1GB of memory. According to MacRumors' source, the current HomePod is "too
low-volume a product to waste the engineering time" to bring Apple Intelligence to the device.

While the cheaper HomePod mini features proudly in our roundup of the best smart speakers you can buy, the notion that Apple won't be upgrading the speakers' smarts with its latest proprietary Intelligence will be seen by
many as confirmation that the iPhone giant is unconcerned about its dedicated audio products.

It's not all bad news: Apple recently announced (albeit fairly quietly) that you can curate a shared playlist queue with HomePods across multiple iPhones using Apple's SharePlay . Oh, and AirPlay now supports Dolby Atmos on your HomePods. But it's not the super-Siri involvement I was hoping for.

To clarify, Siri did get its biggest-ever upgrade as part of iOS 18
(announced at WWDC 2024 )including new ChatGPT powers thanks to an OpenAI partnership, plus deep integration with supported iPhones, iPads and Macs.
But because the new version of Siri is powered byApple Intelligence, which gives the virtual voice assistant features like 'on-screen awareness' to make it work better with your apps and even a visual makeover (with a glowing
light around the edges of your iPhone's screen which you'll 'squish' to operate ), it's something of a walled garden, reserved for Apple's most elite devices.

I accept that HomePod customers are small-fry compared to AirPods and iPhone-owners. But loyal Apple Music subscribers (and indeed HomePod lovers) do exist I am one of them. A lack of Apple Intelligence ecosystem support in Apple's once pioneering wireless speakers could still present an issue for fans waiting for September to roll around for the iPhone 16 , iPhone 16 Plus
, iPhone 16 Pro , and iPhone 16 Pro Max . You may also like Even Apple Intelligence cant save the smart home if Apple wont fix its infuriating Home app Apple won't bring Apple Intelligence to EU 'over regulatory
uncertainties' and data concerns See our roundup of the best wireless
speakers you can buy



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/your-homepod-will-likely-get-left-out-of-the-a pple-intelligence-party-heres-why


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