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Apple Announces Range of New Home Features for HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and Apple Watch

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Apple today announced a range of new smart home features for HomePod mini, Apple TV, and Apple Watch, as well as third-party Siri integration on accessories for the first time.

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Siri on the HomePod now supports making commands to control content on an Apple TV. The HomePod mini can also be set as a default output for an Apple TV.

SharePlay will work with the Apple TV through FaceTime on another device, and tvOS now features a Shared With You row. There is also a new For All of You row in the TV app to recommend shows and movies suitable for all users on the device.

HomeKit accessory makers can now integrate Siri voice control for the first time. "Hey Siri"-enabled accessories will relay requests through a HomePod or HomePod mini, and will support Siri features such as Personal Requests, Intercom, timers, and alarms. The first third-party Siri-enabled smart home accessories will be available later this year.

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The Home app for Apple Watch has been redesigned in watchOS 8, offering more convenient access to accessories and scenes as needed in a particular moment, and the ability to control accessories by room. Users with a HomeKit-enabled camera can view who is at their front door directly on their Apple Watch.

Apple also highlighted support for home keys in the Wallet app, Package Detection, new Apple TV screensavers, Matter accessory support, and HomeKit camera enhancements.

Article Link: Apple Announces Range of New Home Features for HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and Apple Watch
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/06/07/apple-announces-range-of-new-home-features/
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What an ***** joke. Did they just act like they created the matter standard (that they were the last to join?)

I can already see my nest doorbell on my Apple Watch

Broadcast? The thing Google and Alexa have done for 5-6 years?



So basically, the home pod is actually going to do what every other smart speaker has been doing.



So underwhelming. With Apple using matter, no one will need Siri or home pods or smart home hardware that is limited in variety and only works with Apple.



What they didn’t promote with matter is… and the good update…. You can use your smart home stuff without the apple hassle of home kit soon. No home pod required.



The only thing I did like was the “key” feature…. Not pressing 4 buttons on my smart lock while carrying groceries and saving 1.8 seconds it a huge plus.
 
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Madmic23 said:
Whoa, they said they're opening Siri up to be added to other devices! They showed it working on an Ecobee in the video, but I want this on my Sonos One! :)
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Your Sonos one already does that.... with your choice of Alexa or Google Assistant. They didn't really highlight well that the matter standard basically ends the home kit walled garden. You'll be able to mix Siri with Alexa and Google to control pretty much everything going forward.
 
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MacAddict1978 said:
Your Sonos one already does that.... with your choice of Alexa or Google Assistant. They didn't really highlight well that the matter standard basically ends the home kit walled garden. You'll be able to mix Siri with Alexa and Google to control pretty much everything going forward.
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That's true, but it's not perfect for my setup yet. I prefer Google Assistant, but in Canada, Google Assistant can't play Apple Music. I know, they added that in the US in December 2020, but we're still waiting up here. Alexa can play from Apple Music, but I actually prefer Siri to Alexa because all of my smart home stuff is setup in HomeKit.
 
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MacAddict1978 said:
Your Sonos one already does that.... with your choice of Alexa or Google Assistant. They didn't really highlight well that the matter standard basically ends the home kit walled garden. You'll be able to mix Siri with Alexa and Google to control pretty much everything going forward.
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Yes Sonos uses Alexa and Google Asisstant, but not Siri. This will allow native use of Siri instead of having a device to hand.
 
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3rd party Siri is great, but still requires a homepod or something to process the Siri requests. But I'm glad it works this way. Looks like Ecobee is already on board
 
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kp98077 said:
yes because everyone lives in a house like that! LOL
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Indeed. It’s interesting how Apple prides itself as a company that embraces diversity, but has traditionally forgotten to tie that diversity to the economic factor of the equation.
 
New screensavers! Honestly one of the most exciting things here. These are always amazing!!
 
My outdoor camera sure doesn’t look that crisp. Wonder what camera they are using? Anyone else?? If so, what camera are you using?
 
As much as I wanted to go with HomeKit with everything in the house, the 3 ecobees I bought forced my hand to Alexa. Wasn’t excited about that one but didn’t have a choice. Mine are the latest and I guess I’ll cross my fingers they can get a software update to support Siri. I’m guessing it’s going to be hardware.

Also, cameras…this part is a joke. They need to support a Poe system and id be onboard in a second. I just want a clean interface for easy viewing from the Apple TV, iPhones, iPad, watch, etc. It would make my day if they would get in bed with ubiquiti.

And sooner or later they will finally get smart and put FaceTime capability on the Apple TV. I thought it was coming this to around after all the Covid stuff.
 
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This suddenly makes my HomePod Mini a lot more useful. I remember 8 years ago I could tell my Xbox One to pause or play video, so it’s kinda sad it took them this long. Doubt it will work consistently though if it’s anything like the rest of HomeKit.
 
anthorumor said:
Did they build a whole house in section for these recent keynotes? I’m more impressed by the presentation than the actual things they are showcasing.
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They already had it in the last keynote but with another car in the garage (it was an Audi there).
But yeah, they literally built an open house for their keynotes…crazy.
 
Madmic23 said:
That's true, but it's not perfect for my setup yet. I prefer Google Assistant, but in Canada, Google Assistant can't play Apple Music. I know, they added that in the US in December 2020, but we're still waiting up here. Alexa can play from Apple Music, but I actually prefer Siri to Alexa because all of my smart home stuff is setup in HomeKit.
Click to expand...
Fwiw Apple Music through Google doesn’t work on Sonos devices either. You can tell Google on Sonos to play something, it will say blah blah blah on Apple Music, then immediately follow with “looks like this device isn’t supported” or something along those lines.
 
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