HomePod Disables Calendar, Messages, Notes, and Reminder Features When Owner Isn't Home, But Apple Music Account Remains Accessible

[MacRumors]

Earlier this week Apple announced the official HomePod launch date and revealed more details about the Siri-equipped smart speaker, including a built-in speakerphone feature and support for third-party music app streaming via peer-to-peer AirPlay, both of which anyone in the home can use. However, Apple has yet to adequately clarify the extent of its multi-user functionality with regards to Apple Music and other iCloud integrations, leaving many readers wondering if the HomePod is the right fit for their home.

In possibly the first hands-on HomePod report since Apple's launch date announcement, Refinery29 on Wednesday shed further light on the device's multi-user capabilities. According to the article, many of Siri's personal assistant features can only be tied to the individual iCloud account used to set up the HomePod. These features can be manually disabled by the account holder, but they also appear to be automatically disabled when said account holder isn't home.

Although everyone in your apartment will be able to use the speaker, only the person who sets up HomePod on their iCloud account will be able to send texts, set up reminders, and get calendar notifications via voice commands.

If you do set up personal notifications on HomePod, these will only be available when you are on the network, so you don't need to worry about your texts being read aloud at home when you are at work. If you don't want them read aloud when you're home, you can go into your HomeKit settings and turn off the notifications.

Apple hasn't revealed how the HomePod detects when the owner of the iCloud account it is linked to is home, but the article suggests the speaker is able to keeps tabs on any iOS devices serving the same user account on the same local network. This function also appears to relate to how HomePod makes a (presumably single-user) Apple Music subscription accessible to other users at home when the owner is away, as revealed in documentation shared with Apple Store staff:

Everyone can enjoy music - After HomePod is set up, anyone in the home can enjoy music even when you're not there. HomePod streams Apple Music directly so your iPhone doesn't need to be nearby.

We already know that if no Apple Music subscription is linked to a HomePod during setup, users are still able to play content that's been purchased from iTunes along with Beats 1 radio content and podcasts, but it remains unclear to what extent this content is available to others when the user of the iCloud-linked account isn't home. Also still up in the air is how Apple Music's personally tailored curation service will fare under the pressures of multi-user HomePod access, as well as how Apple Music Family subscriptions will factor in.

Otherwise, the Refinery29 article comments on the HomePod's design and acoustic intelligence similar to what we've heard in previous hands-on reports, including its "crisper and clearer" audio quality when compared against speakers like the Google Home Max, the latest Amazon Echo, and Sonos One. However, it's worth noting Google Home and Amazon Echo can recognize different voices and serve personalized content to multiple users, something which the HomePod doesn't seem capable of at this stage.

At launch, HomePod will be available in the United States, UK, and Australia. In the U.S., it will be priced at $349, and it will cost £319 in the UK and $499 in Australia. Apple will begin accepting orders for the HomePod on Friday, January 26, with the device set to launch two weeks later on Friday, February 9.

Article Link: HomePod Disables Calendar, Messages, Notes, and Reminder Features When Owner Isn't Home, But Apple Music Account Remains Accessible

 

[Razzerman]

Wait...does this look like UK prices have come down, or is it just me?

 

[rpat701]

Tell me why we need another voice assisted speaker again?

 

[RightMACatU]

A (security) step in the right direction.

 

[asdavis10]

The software features seem to be pretty fleshed out. If it sounds as good as Apple is billing it to be, then this won't have much competition from the other smart speakers on the market. I've heard them all and they don't sound good.

Hopefully HomePod eventually comes in other form factors. I'd like a sound bar form factor as well as satellite speakers to mount on the walls/ceiling. If Apple gets voice recognition right, you wouldn't need touch controls on them. Or maybe a better Siri remote with OLED screen.

 

[darkpaw]

Wait...does this look like UK prices have come down, or is it just me?

It's just you. It was announced the other day at £319, but even with US tax added and our VAT taken into account, UK buyers still pay about £45 more than US buyers.

 

[jadot]

Wait...does this look like UK prices have come down, or is it just me?

It's just you - the speaker was always going to be ~£320 as far as we know.

 

[69Mustang]

Hot damn Apple. Stop being so vague! You're trying to sell a product and there are still just as many questions about it's operation as there are answers. The pre-orders start tomorrow. People shouldn't be speculating what the product does/doesn't do. That should be readily available info by now.

/Rant over

 

[jakebrosy]

"...only the person who sets up HomePod on their iCloud account will be able to send texts, set up reminders, and get calendar notifications via voice commands."​

I don't understand tying a speaker to a specific person. Speakers are (nominally) relatively communal in nature. With this setup we would need 2 speakers to enjoy the supposed benefits of having a smart speaker in the home. Which makes the smart speaker seem pretty dumb.

 

[spazzcat]

Hot damn Apple. Stop being so vague! You're trying to sell a product and there are still just as many questions about it's operation as there are answers. The pre-orders start tomorrow. People shouldn't be speculating what the product does/doesn't do. That should be readily available info by now.

/Rant over

Just wait a month or two before buying one...

 

[Ted13]

Tell me why we need another voice assisted speaker again?

If sound quality doesn't matter to you, you don't. To me HomePod's voice features are barely relevant - sound quality is all I care about.

 

[grobik]

Huh, already have multi user support on my google home. Switches users with voice detection. Pretty cool about needing your phone in proximity to access data. Except when you get home and your battery is dead.

 

[Lidar]

I am waiting for clarification on the multu-user specific task. That is s deal breaker for me if it’s not a feature.

 

[Kermit262]

I was originally uninterested in the HomePod but now I'm looking forward to the early reviews. While it's more expensive than Amazon's or Google's offerings, it could still be a decent value if the sound is terrific and if Siri integration is good. Several years ago I purchased a Big Jam Box Bluetooth speaker for $300.00 - in comparison the HomePod is a steal.

 

[D.T.]

After HomePod is set up, anyone in the home can enjoy music even when you're not there.

...because thieves might want to bust into some funky dance moves while they're stealing your TV.

 

[x-evil-x]

will HomePod work with wink at all? I still want to use my nest. Also want to use zwave devices.

 

[Hans_J]

Hot damn Apple. Stop being so vague! You're trying to sell a product and there are still just as many questions about it's operation as there are answers. The pre-orders start tomorrow. People shouldn't be speculating what the product does/doesn't do. That should be readily available info by now.

/Rant over

what more do you need? its a speaker...

 

[GDF]

So if you don't care about voice, then Homepod is not for you. There are plenty of Sonos speakers that offer much more and probably much better sound.

If sound quality doesn't matter to you, you don't. To me HomePod's voice features are barely relevant - sound quality is all I care about.

 

[Phonephreak]

Wouldn’t this hurt family subscriptions. I would think having Apple Music open to the family at home would be enough to cancel a lot of family subs.

I’m all for making it easier for home use. These are cool features.

 

[DevNull0]

If sound quality doesn't matter to you, you don't. To me HomePod's voice features are barely relevant - sound quality is all I care about.

But if sound quality does matter to me (and it does), I'd rather listen to music in my living room on my 7.1 home theatre setup for my TV (and i do).

For people who want a high quality, self-contained wireless speaker, the space is full of products in the $200-400 range from several companies. Even assuming the homepod does sound magnificent, which it most likely will, Apple is going to have a very hard time standing out in this market. Unless they make it all about siri integration.

If, as you say, sound quality is all you care about and the voice features are barely relevant, I'm surprised you didn't buy a wireless speaker years ago; they're hardly a major investment, homepod included.

 

[ocnitsa]

Tell me why we need another voice assisted speaker again?

I was thinking that, too...but with the iCloud integration, for people in the Apple ecosystem, this offers some additional functionality. If you want to text someone or check your calendar or add to it, apparently you can use Siri. It's a little more convenient if you are cooking or something than using your phone. But, that's not worth that price to me...and I don't use Apple Music.

 

[DevNull0]

Wouldn’t this hurt family subscriptions. I would think having Apple Music open to the family at home would be enough to cancel a lot of family subs.

I’m all for making it easier for home use. These are cool features.

Most people I know listen to music on the go a lot more than at home. And family subs give each family member their own profile for curated music which a huge part of the experience -- you don't want your listening experience filled with your parents' or kids' music preferences.

By your logic, nobody would ever buy a family plan on spotify since they can just all log into the same single account. But it's worth the extra $5/month to have the curation work properly for each family member.

 

[Bestevaer]

If sound quality doesn't matter to you, you don't. To me HomePod's voice features are barely relevant - sound quality is all I care about.

If sound quality is all you care about there are many other options which are much better then this. If you prefer sound quality get an AV receiver with a pair of stereo speakers. Like Quadral or B&W speakers.

Then you have sound quality.

These kind of speakers are for convenience mostly.

 

[Phonephreak]

Most people I know listen to music on the go a lot more than at home. And family subs give each family member their own profile for curated music which a huge part of the experience -- you don't want your listening experience filled with your parents' or kids' music preferences.

By your logic, nobody would ever buy a family plan on spotify since they can just all log into the same single account. But it's worth the extra $5/month to have the curation work properly for each family member.

Good points. I admit listening to my kids video game songs would drive me crazy.

Might cost a few subs but not many.
[doublepost=1516887892][/doublepost]

So it supports only one “owner”/iCloud account? Rendering it essentially useless in my house where, you know, multiple people live in an arrangement called a “family?”

Yes but when your not home Apple Music is still available to the rest of the family. Correct?
[doublepost=1516887985][/doublepost]Man it messes me up when my answer is listed before your question.

 

[cmaier]

So it supports only one “owner”/iCloud account? Rendering it essentially useless in my house where, you know, multiple people live in an arrangement called a “family?”

 

[awdodson24]

My wife and I have a family Apple Music subscription. We have a few shared playlists, but I have my own playlists, she has hers. Will HomePod be able to differentiate if I say, "Play my Sunday Morning Jazz Playlist," or if my wife says, "Play my workout playlist?" We have family sharing setup.