HomePod Owners With an iTunes Match or Apple Music Subscription Can Access Their iCloud Music Library Using Siri

[szw-mapple fan]

"Ow bin ya Siri" here in the Black Country.
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Good news about iTunes Match but I still don't understand why Apple are being so cagey about the HomePod's functionality.

I'm guessing the the HomePod software is still being finished up, and Apple doesn't want to promise any unfinished features that won't be turned on in the initial batch.

 

[Sevendaymelee]

Another win for listening to music with substandard bitrates through substandard, weak little speakers. Progress!

 

[Loge]

I'm guessing the the HomePod software is still being finished up, and Apple doesn't want to promise any unfinished features that won't be turned on in the initial batch.

Even so, it should have been possible for Apple to post much of this relevant information on its website prior to orders going live; we shouldn't have to find all of this out secondhand.

 

[OllyW]

I'm guessing the the HomePod software is still being finished up, and Apple doesn't want to promise any unfinished features that won't be turned on in the initial batch.

I don't think I would be very confident about buying one just now if that is true.

 

[Keirasplace]

I think it's more like a deficit in documentation trickling down to marketing.

Anyone who has worked on big software - systems projects know how engineers HATE to document things... Just total hate. Though product management would have been driving specs initially so they should have known too (maybe they're as lazy as engineers on that count ;-).

 

[dannys1]

although how Siri works with cloud-stored tracks not directly sourced from the iTunes Store catalog remains unknown.

Errr - exactly the same it does on the phone? There's nothing new to guess here.

 

[BruceEBonus]

Yep, the UK trigger phrase should be "Oi, Siri" or maybe "Now then Siri"

Or “Hey!”

“Siri mate. I was looking at me phone whilst driving”

“That’s six points on your driving licence and a heavy fine”

“Thanks Officer. Hey Siri. How much is the fine for texting and driving?”

“Let me save you the trouble, Sir. £200. Now if you would just step out of the vehicle”

“‘Ang on a minute mate. I’ve got an eBay sale ending in a minute, yeah?”

 

[Rogifan]

For those unaware, iCloud Music Library lets users upload or "match" up to 100,000 songs from their personal music library with the DRM-free iTunes Store catalog, without eating into their standard iCloud storage allocation. The feature comes as part of Apple's iTunes Match service ($24.99 a year) and is also included with every Apple Music subscription ($9.99 monthly).

iCloud Music Librady allows you to upload anything whether there’s a match for it in iTunes or not. I’m assuming if I have a bootleg live concert uploaded to iCloud Music Library that’s not in iTunes it won’t work with Siri and will have to be manually launched via iPhone?

 

[gnipgnop]

Good news about iTunes Match but I still don't understand why Apple are being so cagey about the HomePod's functionality.

Cagey? They just have marketing priorities. They probably already know that iTunes Match functionality isn't going to be a big sales driver, so it's not surprising that it's left to Q&A rather than part of the main marketing copy.

 

[CB1234]

Yep, the UK trigger phrase should be "Oi, Siri" or maybe "Now then Siri"

I think 'Oi Plonker' would be more appropriate, seeing how dumb it can be....

 

[Duncan-UK]

I always wondered why do we have to say "Hey" instead of just saying Siri! I can't imagine many of us have family members named Siri, to confuse Siri assistant.

Its one of the crushingly embarrassing Americanisms that Apple thrusts upon us. When they removed the ability to navigate the phones music library from the watch, someone said that apparently it works if you ask Siri. Now can you imagine the bone-crushing embarrassment of being on public transport (or indeed anywhere outside the home) and having to say "hey siri" followed by your music of choice...

I should add that Americanisms are absolutely fine - for those living in the USA...

It's all part of what I call Apple's "beautiful people" viewpoint. In their universe - everyone is a "creative" and uses their watch for Apple Pay in a vegan organic food shop - whereas the more accurate version would be some fat bloke buying a KFC bucket...
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I just hope that this thing is reliable enough and featured enough for the phrase of choice to not be "F'fk's sake, Siri!!!"

Indeed - I don't use Siri on my phone, but have tried ti use it on the Apple TV - its usually a complete waste of time - which results in me shouting "**** off Siri" at it. The voice search on the Amazon Firestick however is excellent.
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Another win for listening to music with substandard bitrates through substandard, weak little speakers. Progress!

That's a little bit snobbish though- this sort of device surely isn't intended to be a replacement for a "main" sound system - this is the sort of thing you might put in a bedroom or conservatory.
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Yes, I've often wondered that. I suppose that it could be that it would get triggered too often by words that sound similar. We get a few inadvertent "hey Siri" activations, so the one word would probably be worse.

Having stayed recently with someone who has Alexa, and also a grandchild called Alex, I can confirm that accidental activations are a big problem when using just one word.

I think on Alexa stuff you can change the name - indeed my wife's name is Alex, so I'd have to change it. Although nothing would give me more pleasure than to have one and give it the name Orac.

 

[mgauss7]

Could a separate inexpensive speaker be also deployed to aid separation for the stereo, in order to improve sound?

Apple began taking pre-orders for its HomePod on Friday, but the company has remained unusually reticent regarding some of the Siri-based smart speaker's finer functions.

Last week we learned that HomePod can play songs purchased through iTunes Music as well as stream podcasts and Beats 1 radio, but Apple didn't address questions about the device's handling of iTunes Match content stored in iCloud Music Libraries.

For those unaware, iCloud Music Library lets users upload or "match" up to 100,000 songs from their personal music library with the DRM-free iTunes Store catalog, without eating into their standard iCloud storage allocation. The feature comes as part of Apple's iTunes Match service ($24.99 a year) and is also included with every Apple Music subscription ($9.99 monthly).

As it turns out, both iTunes Match and Apple Music subscribers will be able to use HomePod's Siri voice-based activation to access tracks stored in iCloud Music Library. The detail was seemingly confirmed on Sunday by Apple, as relayed by iMore's Serenity Caldwell in a tweet. Also Sunday, Daring Fireball's John Gruber reported hearing similar iCloud Music Library support from "a friend seeded with HomePod", although how Siri works with cloud-stored tracks not matched with the official iTunes Store catalog remains unknown.

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To reiterate, the user whose iCloud account is linked to HomePod can access their Apple Music subscription, tracks stored in their Cloud Music Library, and iTunes Store purchases via Siri. However, Siri will not be able to control any content streamed over AirPlay from supporting devices.

Meanwhile, HomePod owners without an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription can still play music they've purchased on iTunes, as well as stream podcasts and Beats 1 radio, but Siri requests for playing songs by name, genre, artist, and so on will not be available. Apple has still to clarify how HomePod handles Family Sharing subscriptions to Apple Music, and whether the speaker's Bluetooth 5.0 specification means it will accept pairing requests from devices over the Bluetooth protocol.

Apple has positioned the HomePod as a speaker that can stream Apple Music, but with built-in Siri, users can also send messages, set timers and reminders, check the news, control HomeKit-enabled smart home accessories, and complete several other tasks without needing to take out their iPhone. The speaker is equipped with spatial awareness and Apple-engineered audio technology, including a seven-tweeter array and high-excursion woofer. It stands almost seven inches tall and is powered by Apple's A8 chip.

HomePod is available in the United States ($349), UK (£319), and Australia ($499). Apple is currently taking pre-orders for the HomePod, with the device set to ship on Friday, February 9.

Article Link: HomePod Owners With an iTunes Match or Apple Music Subscription Can Access Their iCloud Music Library Using Siri

 

[CmdrLaForge]

It will require a subscription to Apple Music though.

Not according to an article on iMore:
https://www.imore.com/how-homepod-w...h-icloud-music-library-airplay-and-flac-files

Here is a quote from the article:

If you do not subscribe to Apple Music or iTunes Match, here's what you get


If you buy HomePod and do not have a subscription to either of Apple's streaming services — Apple Music or iTunes Match — you'll be able to use the following audio-based features.


Siri requests
You can ask Siri to play the following:

• Any podcast or episode from Apple's iTunes podcast directory
• The news
• Any song, album, or audiobook purchased through your Apple ID associated with the device (which you can change at any time in the Home app)
• Beats 1 and other live radio stations

You'll also be able to use Siri to play, pause, skip songs, and the like. And all the other Siri features advertised (HomeKit, timers, weather, traffic, etc) work, too.

Stream other audio via AirPlay
Even though HomePod doesn't ship with AirPlay 2, it can still receive audio from any device that can AirPlay. That includes your Macs, Apple TV, iPhones, and iPads, along with any third-party apps that support the feature (including work-arounds for Android and things like AirSonos).

I want to reiterate, because I've seen a number of people passing around conflicting information: You can stream any audio (including anything from your iTunes library on your Mac) to HomePod via the original AirPlay protocol.

When AirPlay 2 launches, you'll be able to stream that audio to multiple AirPlay-compatible speakers, but the AirPlay 2 protocol is not required to stream audio from your Mac or other sources.

What does this all mean in practice if you're not an Apple Music subscriber? Essentially, you'll just have to use one of your devices to AirPlay content to your HomePod instead of using Siri to request it. You'll miss out on a lot of the Siri-specific music features, but it's not the end of the world if you're primarily interested in HomePod as a speaker and for its better privacy implementations than other smart speakers.

 

[threesixty360]

Hold on... Does Itunes Match come with Apple Music? I'm sure Apple are charging me for both? Thats nuts!

 

[gnipgnop]

Hold on... Does Itunes Match come with Apple Music? I'm sure Apple are charging me for both? Thats nuts!

iTunes Match does not come with Apple Music. It's the uploading to iCloud that comes with both.

 

[rforno]

Let me see if I understand correctly: you need to pay for an Apple service for the privilege of listening to your locally-stored music through your local speaker using Siri?

Seems like this is nothing more than a money-grab to get more ppl blindly walking into Apple's music ecosystem......
[doublepost=1517226758][/doublepost]Reading the iMore post was helpful, but still this seems like this is making the process more convoluted than it needs to be..

 

[starkmj]

Hold on... Does Itunes Match come with Apple Music? I'm sure Apple are charging me for both? Thats nuts!

Yes, you definitely don't need both. Apple Music does what iTunes Match does, and ALSO adds all of the Music in the iTunes catalog.

Drop iTunes Match ASAP!

 

[threesixty360]

iTunes Match does not come with Apple Music. It's the uploading to iCloud that comes with both.

Oh ok.. So personal files I can get uploaded but my existing matched itunes library would be lost if I stopped paying for itunes match.. I suppose there's still stuff that I have that is only available on itunes and not Apple music... oh well.

 

[ErikGrim]

I feel I should get some credit for this story, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[starkmj]

Oh ok.. So personal files I can get uploaded but my existing matched itunes library would be lost if I stopped paying for itunes match.. I suppose there's still stuff that I have that is only available on itunes and not Apple music... oh well.

Isn't it the same thing? Apple music allows you access to all the music in iTunes catalog, but ALSO uploads any music that you have in your personal file that isn't in the iTunes catalog (bootlegs, music by lesser known local bands, etc). Thus allowing you access to ALL of your music (personal collection and iTunes catalog) from any device.

Do I have this wrong?

I always thought there was no need to pay for iTunes Match AND Apple Music.

 

[ErikGrim]

Yes, you definitely don't need both. Apple Music does what iTunes Match does, and ALSO adds all of the Music in the iTunes catalog.

Drop iTunes Match ASAP!

There used to be a separation between the two in that AM only let you redownload DRM versions of your tracks. I believe that separation is now gone.

 

[69Mustang]

Cagey? They just have marketing priorities. They probably already know that iTunes Match functionality isn't going to be a big sales driver, so it's not surprising that it's left to Q&A rather than part of the main marketing copy.

This makes no sense. People simply want to know what services the HomePod works with and what functionality can be handled by Siri - being a smart speaker and all. That's not unreasonable and should be a minimum expectation. No one should be guessing what works and how it works.

*hyperbole* There is no marketing from any company in the history of the world that decides "hey let's not tell people what this thing will do. Let's just be evasive and let speculation sell the product." Derp.

There's no excuse for the lack of information surrounding the HomePod.

 

[robjulo]

So in short, you cannot play your OWN music ripped from CDs or other sources unless you have an Apple Music or Match subscription?

 

[groovyf]

So in short, you cannot play your OWN music ripped from CDs or other sources unless you have an Apple Music or Match subscription?

My take on it is that Siri won't be able to access those files in iTunes... but you can use AirPlay from iTunes to fire the output to the HomePod.

 

[OllyW]

So in short, you cannot play your OWN music ripped from CDs or other sources unless you have an Apple Music or Match subscription?

You can use AirPlay from your iOS device or computer but you wont be able to play them direct from the HomePod or use Siri.