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

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.

f1623089740
‌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.

home features 2021

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.

Top Rated Comments

kp98077 Avatar
26 months ago
i still have NO idea why they did away with the normal size home pod.... sounded SO much better than the mini...
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mattb326 Avatar
26 months ago
But can I dream and hope that Siri could be the default voice assistant on Sonos? Could we get rid of google and Alexa all together?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BMox81 Avatar
26 months ago
Get Siri in my Sonos Beam and One!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kp98077 Avatar
26 months ago
yes because everyone lives in a house like that! LOL
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AlbinoPigeon Avatar
26 months ago
Argh, is it too much to ask for FaceTime on the biggest screen in your home? A camera add on to ATV is the biggest no brainer and yet it’s no where to be seen.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Madmic23 Avatar
26 months ago
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! :)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

gmailbeforeandafter

Gmail, Google Docs and Google Sheets Gain Support for 2018 iPad Pro Models

Monday February 4, 2019 1:51 pm PST by
Google today updated its Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Sheets apps for iOS devices, introducing support for the new 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models. The update brings an optimized form factor that no longer features distracting black bars at the top and bottom of the display in portrait mode or at the sides in landscape mode. Following the update, the Gmail app takes up the entirety of the...
macos monterey

Here Are All the Macs Compatible With macOS Monterey

Monday June 7, 2021 12:17 pm PDT by
macOS Monterey is compatible with many of the Macs that were able to run macOS Big Sur, but it drops support for some older MacBook Air and iMac models from 2013 and 2014. A full compatibility list is below: iMac - Late 2015 and later iMac Pro - 2017 and later MacBook Air - Early 2015 and later MacBook Pro - Early 2015 and later Mac Pro - Late 2013 and later Mac mini -...