In parallel with the release of iOS 14.3, the HomePod software was also updated to version 14.3. This update, in addition to improving system performance, also brought aimprovement of multi-user use of speakers.
With the HomePod OS version 14.3, each user can be identified as a listener, even with a different Apple ID. Until now, you had to use a single account taking advantage of family sharing.
Thus, audio requests can be assigned to a specific Apple ID account registered on the HomePod. This will be particularly practical if several users of the speaker each have their own Apple Music account, with their own playlists and preferences.
For example, if the speaker recognizes the voice of a specific user, it will use that user's Apple Music account. Conversely, if it does not recognize the voice, it will use one of the Apple IDs indicated in the settings (found in the Home app).
Note that another improvement is to be expected with the HomePod OS in version 14.4, as spotted by some testers who already have access to this new update. It concernsHandoffand the ability of the HomePod mini, thanks to its U1 chip, to better adapt to the presence of an iPhone (11 or newer) nearby. Thus, by bringing an iPhone with a U1 chip close to a HomePod mini, haptic feedback takes place on the iOS device and a Handoff notification appears on the screen offering the transfer of audio between the two devices. If these are even closer together, the notification expands until it displays large-screen controls on the iPhone.
© Reddit / kyemaloy14
This can be useful for, for example, continuing a phone call on a HomePod mini after starting it on the iPhone.
Without update 14.4, the Handoff functionality still works with the HomePod mini, but in a less advanced manner. The same goes for products that do not integrate an Apple U1 chip.
Editor-in-chief for iPhon.fr. Pierre is like Indiana Jones, looking for the lost iOS trick. Also a long-time Mac user, Apple devices hold no secrets for him. Contact: pierre[a]iphon.fr.
