Apple Shares New HomePod Tutorial Videos on YouTube

[MacRumors]

Following the launch of the HomePod, Apple updated its dedicated YouTube support channel with three new tutorials for the smart speaker, walking users through features like using Siri to play music, using the HomePod's touch controls, and adjusting the HomePod settings.

Each tutorial video is about a minute in length, and in the description, Apple links relevant support documents, which can be useful for finding additional HomePod documentation.

Apple's YouTube support channel, introduced back in November, is where Apple shares tutorial videos that are designed to provide users with tips on using their iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other devices.

Along with the new HomePod videos, Apple has in the past shared quick tips on features like 3D Touch, iCloud backups, editing videos, sending emails, signing documents, taking screenshots, deleting photos, and more.

Article Link: Apple Shares New HomePod Tutorial Videos on YouTube

 

[Glideslope]

What about "How to use Siri for anything other than music?"

 

[Zachari]

I absolutely love my Homepod. Using Siri to do the basics is a breeze, but I don't need her to give me the quadratic formula... unlike most people.

 

[DevNull0]

2 Missing tutorials:

• How to use HomePod with your Mac.
• How to use HomePod for broadcast TV.

 

[MrCourtney]

Following the launch of the HomePod, Apple updated its dedicated YouTube support channel with three new tutorials for the smart speaker, walking users through features like using Siri to play music, using the HomePod's touch controls, and adjusting the HomePod settings.

Each tutorial video is about a minute in length, and in the description, Apple links relevant support documents, which can be useful for finding additional HomePod documentation.

Apple's YouTube support channel, introduced back in November, is where Apple shares tutorial videos that are designed to provide users with tips on using their iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other devices.

Along with the new HomePod videos, Apple has in the past shared quick tips on features like 3D Touch, iCloud backups, editing videos, sending emails, signing documents, taking screenshots, deleting photos, and more.

Article Link: Apple Shares New HomePod Tutorial Videos on YouTube

[doublepost=1518298014][/doublepost]My new HomePod is sitting about 5 feet away and these videos were driving it nuts. "Hey Siri" must be said 20 times.

 

[curmi]

Loving my HomePod. But it did get me thinking: wouldn’t it be good if Home let you automate HomePod? It appears as a HomeKit device, but you can’t control it at all. I’m thinking something like “create a scene for good morning” so you say “hey Siri, good morning” and the scene:

• Says “good morning”
• Reads the latest news
• After news, plays my morning mix, or some internet radio station

And if you had other devices you could open the blinds, or turn on lights etc.

 

[dennyc69]

Yeah, the Music tutorial video triggered my HomePod to start playing music.

 

[The Martian]

I absolutely love my Homepod. Using Siri to do the basics is a breeze, but I don't need her to give me the quadratic formula... unlike most people.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that feels this way. I don't need it to play games with me as I have real friends to play games with or I can use my video game machine.

Siri does all the basic things I need from it. I don't need it to order a pizza for me or any myriad number of other tasks. I just need it to do basic tasks and it does those well.

I am going to enjoy the feature of being able to just tell Siri to add things to my shopping list and it appears on my iPhone though.

I'm not all about letting technology take over my life.

 

[canyonblue737]

There is an option there for "Sound Check"... so far no one can explain what it is for. By default it is off.

 

[skorpeon]

HomePOD is awesome and too cheap from what it does

 

[ck2875]

Yeah, the Music tutorial video triggered my HomePod to start playing music.

I'm hoping you enjoyed "Chill Music" Radio as much as I did.

Seriously though, I can't believe Apple doen't have family member / user voice recognition built-in considering the Burger King commercial that was designed to "Ok Google" and the entire South Park episode that was made to troll Alexa users by adding random (inappropriate) things to Alexa shopping carts / create early morning alarms. I feel like it's a very short time before a Samsung commercial is trolling HomePod users by requesting certain songs.
[doublepost=1518302642][/doublepost]

There is an option there for "Sound Check"... so far no one can explain what it is for. By default it is off.

It's the same thing as Sound Check in your music settings on iOS and iTunes on Mac. It checks the sound levels of the various songs to ensure the volume is consistent during playback. If you've ever watched TV and suddenly a commercial comes on and it's 10x louder than the show you're watching, it's basically preventing that, but with music. Music from various sources / various forms of encoding can have different base volumes. They want to make sure that if a song is quieter, that they increase the volume of it so that you don't turn up the sound a lot and the next song comes on and you're suddenly blasting the volume really high.

If you're only using Apple Music tracks as a source, they've likely already normalized the volume. If you're jumping between sources via AirPlay, it might be more useful to turn it on.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201724

 

[magicschoolbus]

This thing is way to expensive for what it does. A speaker that you can talk to, to play music and read you news. I am sorry. I just don't get it. How does this compete with Amazon at all? Is this a Sonos competitor or an Echo competitor? If the ansewer is Echo, this is a big time fail until it can be used with Amazons services. Unless Apple plans on buying Target or something.

 

[nsayer]

Fair warning: Don't play the first video near a HomePod that has "Hey Siri" enabled.

 

[FreeReignGames]

What about "How to use Siri for anything other than music?"

Until Siri can start talking dirty to me I am not sold.
[doublepost=1518315492][/doublepost]

What about "How to use Siri for anything other than music?"

I also want Siri to watch my kids while I am out drinking and do my taxes for me. If it can't do that then what the hell is it for?

 

[Glideslope]

Until Siri can start talking dirty to me I am not sold.
[doublepost=1518315492][/doublepost]
I also want Siri to watch my kids while I am out drinking and do my taxes for me. If it can't do that then what the hell is it for?

Another new member Siri Defender. This trend is increasing.

 

[JJSantoro]

I just picked mine from BestBuy and I love it. It does what it needs to do great and it’s loud.

 

[macduke]

I might get one when it’s on podOS 2 or 3 (what is the OS even called?) and it is also on sale. For now it doesn’t seem useful enough. By then I’ll also have a lot more HomeKit stuff. Maybe by then it will have a hardware refresh too. I feel like this thing is going to be roughly on a cycle like the Apple TV every 3 years or so because they won’t keep making the A8 forever. Perhaps a hardware update would allow more sophisticated delineation of commands from different family members using machine learning and even better microphones. Side note, but I wish I could set the activation phrase to be something else.

 

[Tech198]

I guess different settings for "Allow explicit content" may seems a good idea, but why if your sharing the same account anyway..

You have at least few options for this one setting, *both* in your account, and in the Home app for controlling Homepod..

All settings need to be in one place, I'm wondering if the separation of these must be done, otherwise Apple won't know which is which.

Users shouldn't have to turn off two or three settings "elsewhere." One option for all

If the iTunes accounts were seperate, perhaps, but since u can only log in to one iTunes account anyway, the Allow explict content control should be universal.

 

[himanshumodi]

I am probably behind the curve on this one, but can HomePod be used as a speaker for the TV? Currently my TV, PlayStation deliver sound output to the home theater system. Can I replace the home theater and use a HomePod or two?

 

[Z3man]

I have just watched that first video on my Mac and my HomePod kept responding to it when they said Hey Siri.

 

[RichTF]

This thing is way to expensive for what it does. A speaker that you can talk to, to play music and read you news. I am sorry. I just don't get it. How does this compete with Amazon at all? Is this a Sonos competitor or an Echo competitor? If the ansewer is Echo, this is a big time fail until it can be used with Amazons services. Unless Apple plans on buying Target or something.

It’s a high quality speaker for playing songs from Apple Music. It happens to use Siri for the main controls, but if you want a “home assistant” then there are cheaper options. As a high quality speaker though, it’s not overpriced (my opinion, and that of almost every reviewer).

I have one, and it sounds amazing, and was incredibly easy to set up and use. For me, it was well worth the price. Once the extra features are added to support multiple HomePods working together, I’ll consider getting a second one…
[doublepost=1518349463][/doublepost]

I am probably behind the curve on this one, but can HomePod be used as a speaker for the TV? Currently my TV, PlayStation deliver sound output to the home theater system. Can I replace the home theater and use a HomePod or two?

Probably not. You can use HomePod as an AirPlay destination, so if your TV setup can stream to AirPlay then yes, it would work. But that seems unlikely.

There’s no audio-input socket, so you can’t connect it to your TV via a cable.

 

[oliversl]

If you need a manual/tutorial in order to use an Apple device, someone screw it really really bad.

 

[JinDMV]

[doublepost=1518298014][/doublepost]My new HomePod is sitting about 5 feet away and these videos were driving it nuts. "Hey Siri" must be said 20 times.

Thats why most SMART people who publish videos on the HOMEPOD have figured out to mute the video when ever they say "hey Siri" otherwise if you have one you can't watch the video. Look on youtube there are many who have this figured out and have great tips on use.
[doublepost=1518361211][/doublepost]

I am probably behind the curve on this one, but can HomePod be used as a speaker for the TV? Currently my TV, PlayStation deliver sound output to the home theater system. Can I replace the home theater and use a HomePod or two?

If you have anything that is AIRPLAY then yes. And you have to have the lip sync set to on. I tried mine and it works. I don't need for that as I have a very expensive setup already.

 

[anthogag]

I have a Mac and Apple TV, do I need iPhone or iPad to setup HomePod?

My smartphone is a BlackBerry Passport. Can I bluetooth to a Pod. Does the Pod have an "aux in" hole for a cable?

 

[kruegdude]

That last video made a statement that I’m pretty sure is incorrect. It stated that after being reset the HomePod can be setup by the next person that plugs it with their own iOS device. I’m finding that the owner of the homekit home is the only person that can setup the device. It stated that during setup when I tried to setup the device using my wife’s iPhone.