Amaya Toman Apple's HomePod smart speaker faced partial criticism shortly after its release, but the apple company plans to gradually improve it to meet the most common requests of users. What changes and improvements could be brought by its firmware update, which users should expect already this fall?
With the new update, the Apple HomePod should be enriched with several specific, brand new features that should make it even smarter. French tech blog iGeneration reported this week on a beta version of the software currently in internal testing. According to iGeneration, the tested version of the HomePod software allows users to make calls, use the Find My iPhone function with the help of the digital assistant Siri, or set multiple timers on it at once.
It could be interest you
Users who want to receive or make a call with HomePods with the current official firmware version must primarily use their iPhone, on which they will then switch the audio output to the HomePod. But it seems that with the new firmware version, the HomePod will have direct access to the contacts of its owner, who will be able to "call" directly with the help of the smart speaker.
The report on the mentioned blog also mentions that HomePod owners will soon be able to listen to voice messages or browse their phone call history through it. The voice assistant Siri has also received an improvement that could also affect the HomePod's functions - this is an overview of the nutritional values of common foods. Lastly, the aforementioned report also talks about a new Wi-Fi function, which could theoretically allow HomePod owners to connect to another wireless network if the iPhone, which will be paired with the speaker, knows its password.
It could be interest you
Dan Pražák Gallery
But it is necessary to keep in mind that the software that the French blog talks about is in the beta testing phase. Therefore, not only some completely new functions may be added, but also the ones we mentioned in the article may be removed. The official release will give us the final answer.
HomePod's latest software update – iOS 11.4.1 – came with stability and quality improvements. Apple will release the official version of iOS 12 this fall, along with watchOS 5, tvOS 12, and macOS Mojave.
Source: MacRumors
