Apple has distinguished itself by offering products that not only exceed expectations, but can also save lives. We particularly remember the times when the Apple Watch detected critical health anomalies in its users, or made it possible to alert emergency servicesin situations where no network was available.
Just as remarkably, Apple's HomePod has also demonstrated its potential in terms of security. At first glance, Apple's HomePod presents itself as a smart speaker with high-quality sound. Featuring the Siri voice assistant, it allows you to control music, ask questions and manage connected home devices.
However, on June 26, when a fire broke out in a house in Colorado Springs in the United States, a family narrowly avoided disaster, thanks to Apple's smart connected speaker.
The HomePod would have warned the owners
Surveillance cameras installed in their home captured the moment their puppy accidentally started the fire by lighting a hotplate with cardboard boxes on it. The incident took placewhile the owners slept.The smoke detector has notUnfortunatelynot enough to alert them. According to information provided by the firefighters, it istheir Apple connected speaker which would have woken them up by notifying them of a temperature that was too high.
Alerted by their Apple HomePod, they immediately reacted by rushing into the kitchen where they discovered the fire. They managed to put out the flames on their own before firefighters arrived a few minutes later. First responders observed evidence of the incident at the scene.
Firefighters also reported that “The owner, a man […] was then transported to a local hospital for smoke inhalation". However, they praised the performance of Apple's connected speaker, without which the incident could have had more serious consequences. They ended up recalling the importance of having reliable smoke detectors and not leaving flammable objects near heat sources.
This feature does not exist
HomePod does not have a temperature sensor.There seems to be a slight misunderstanding on the part of the firefighters and the owners in this matter. The Apple connected speaker ishowever able to detect the sound signal of a fire alarm. This is probably what allowed HomePod to wake up owners. You can see the video of the puppy in actionici, orcontinue reading the latest Apple news.
