Apple Is Testing a Four-HomePod Surround System, Code Suggests

[MacRumors]

Apple appears to be working on some major new HomePod home theater features, including a four-speaker surround sound system and a new "Party Mode," according to code found in audioOS 27 beta 8, and shared on the MacRumors forums by member pdfu.

References in the software for the second-generation HomePod suggest the ability to tune for a setup with front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right HomePods. The four-speaker surround configuration references automatic room calibration, speaker-position mapping, timing adjustments, bass management, EQ, dialogue enhancement, and different processing modes for movies and music.

For stereo content, the code suggests the ability to either spatialize sound across all four speakers or limit traditional stereo playback to the two front speakers.

The files also reference a new tuning system called "Forklift" that combines two second-generation HomePods with two speakers that use an unidentified AID12007 hardware family. We haven't seen this identifier before – it doesn't correspond to any existing HomePod models – suggesting it refers to a future HomePod mini, third-generation HomePod, or some other unreleased audio device.

In addition, Apple appears to be working on a new "Party Mode" feature for stereo-paired HomePods. The feature applies a more diffuse sound field that's designed to spread sound more evenly across the room for a more immersive listening experience, rather than optimizing playback for a single listening position.

The Home app and Apple TV do not currently provide a way to configure four HomePods as a surround system. Indeed, none of these features have been referenced before. All we can say at this point is that they indicate that Apple is testing them, but whether Apple ultimately releases them remains to be seen.

A new HomePod mini, a new Apple TV, and an all-new Apple smart home hub are all coming soon, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, so it's possible that these features could be part of Apple's broader HomePod refresh. Watch this space.

Article Link: Apple Is Testing a Four-HomePod Surround System, Code Suggests

 

[sydneysider88]

As great as the sound quality was (is?), the Homepod will never be a success if it doesn't have line-in or USB support.

 

[tonmischa]

All movie and most TV content is mixed in (at least) 5.1 today.

Downmixing this to 4.0 Quadrophonic ( L, R, Ls, Rs ) creates the "phantom center" problem. Move your head just a little and you no longer hear the movie dialogue coming from the center, but from the side, outside the screen.

There is a reason 4.0 Quadrophonic never caught on in the 70s and was completely abandoned by 1980.

 

[Acidsplat]

Would love to finally be able to use 4 HomePods for surround. Tired of issues with my Sony surrounds and my TV

 

[@Brett]

Give me a HomePod soundbar with Spatial Audio. And really good sound quality.

 

[abatabia]

That’s nice but I’ll never get another HomePod until the bugs and issues that have been happening for YEARS are fixed. Hardware wise they sound great, software wise they are an endless source of frustration. WiFi issues, playing music on their own like they’re haunted, WiFi connection issues, oh did I mention WiFi connection issues? See my long post about this. This goes back to iOS 16 days. Never again. Overpriced garbage.

 

[tomtad]

 

[BlankStar]

That’s nice but I’ll never get another HomePod until the bugs and issues that have been happening for YEARS are fixed. Hardware wise they sound great, software wise they are an endless source of frustration. WiFi issues, playing music on their own like they’re haunted, WiFi connection issues, oh did I mention WiFi connection issues? See my long post about this. This goes back to iOS 16 days. Never again. Overpriced garbage.

Wow, I have two OG HomePods that I bought right after the release and several first gen minis scattered around the house and I've had no issues at all during all the years I've had them. Shame your experience with them is so bad.

 

[Macalicious2011]

All movie and most TV content is mixed in (at least) 5.1 today.

Downmixing this to 4.0 Quadrophonic ( L, R, Ls, Rs ) creates the "phantom center" problem. Move your head just a little and you no longer hear the movie dialogue coming from the center, but from the side, outside the screen.

There is a reason 4.0 Quadrophonic never caught on in the 70s and was completely abandoned by 1980.

I agree. 🙂 Every multi speaker system benefits from a dedicated and strong centre for dialogues.

This is especially important for streaming services for which dialogues suffer from compression compared with watching uncompressed audio form a dvd or bluray.

 

[macaron35]

So instead of buying only one device to benefit from an immersive experience, we will multiply the cost by 4 to achieve this ?

 

[Graphate]

All movie and most TV content is mixed in (at least) 5.1 today.

Downmixing this to 4.0 Quadrophonic ( L, R, Ls, Rs ) creates the "phantom center" problem. Move your head just a little and you no longer hear the movie dialogue coming from the center, but from the side, outside the screen.

There is a reason 4.0 Quadrophonic never caught on in the 70s and was completely abandoned by 1980.

I agree. 🙂 Every multi speaker system benefits from a dedicated and strong centre for dialogues.

This is especially important for streaming services for which dialogues suffer from compression compared with watching uncompressed audio form a dvd or bluray.

Could it be Front, L, R, Rear?

 

[tonzinho]

I attempted to use two HomePods as a stereo pair but it was a complete disaster. There were numerous sync issues even when paired with Apple TV. Frustrated, I decided to stick with just one and I’m thoroughly satisfied.

 

[JulianL]

I really hope that unidentified "AID12007 hardware family" does include a next generation full sized HomePod.

I've never owned any type of HomePod before but as soon as the updated HomePod Mini (HPM) is released I'm going to buy a single unit to play with to see if it, together with new Siri, is a big step up from my current Amazon Echo devices. I'm fairly confident that it will be and if my initial HPM experiment is a success I plan to do a wholesale replacement of all of my Amazon Echo devices (mostly Echo Dots to be replaced with the new as yet unreleased HPM) plus a few Sonos One devices.

I'd want to replace my Sonos Ones devices with full sized HomePods but I'd think twice about that if Apple's latest offering is still the 2nd gen version which by the time I get to making a buying decision to replace my Sonos Ones would be coming up on 4 years old (released Feb 2023 according to Google AI).

 

[NightFox]

For the cost of this, I really don't see a benefit over getting a similarly-priced AV amp + 5.1 speaker package, which would have the added advantage of working with any AV source and would be dependent on potentially transient technology. I get and respect that for some people the Apple ecosystem factor will be enough and you could probably level the same argument at other Apple products, but beyond that, why would I spend £1400 on this?