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HomePod Software 26 to Support OG HomePod

It’s not just a speaker. It has an operating system.

Good on Apple for continuing to support such an old device. Many wouldn’t.

I’m fine when support is dropped when there’s a legit hardware reason and a current alternative.

It would be nice if the HomePods were updated more often, maybe not quite as often as AirPods but maybe AirPods Pro.
 
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dustin_ said:
I love my HomePods, and expect them to continue working into the future, but they are absolutely not an investment. They are a consumer product like everything else Apple sells.
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I mean in the sense that you would have multiples of them potentially and not expect to replace them given their very specific functionality. In a similar vein, Sonos has versions of their speakers that actually get installed in walls/ceilings. Is the expectation there that they get ripped out and replaced every few years?

I think it's also relevant that they are a speaker. Speakers are consumer products that can last many years. All the tech functionality in a HomePod is just to support them playing music. Another example is TVs..while they have been adding smart functionality, there isn't and should never be an expectation that they become unworkable if their company stops supporting them. Of course nothing lasts forever, but I think there is clear expectation that they last longer than a multi-function computer where the tech needs to advance to stay relevant.

Look, Apple may hope we replace them every few years, but I think the market needs to teach them that not all products can/should work that way.
 
Another positive thing is that, by supporting the next OS version, I am sure it won't break the connection to my AppleTV as I use that as a speaker.
 
I'm definitely surprised by this. My original HomePod just recently stopped working and it's likely the result of a diode failure that is common to the 1st gen. Now I'm more motivated to invest the $ into getting it repaired.
 
Student of Life said:
Ok but what features would make you update speakers? I can understand better sound quality. They do airplay so you already get some version of lossless. They are speakers, it’s not a phone.
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Onboard Siri processing that the Apple Watches have had for a while thanks to the S9 SiP CPU is one massive reason I will be replacing all my mini HomePods for, so instead of every single request going to the cloud to process and back down, this will definitely speed up simple requests.

Onboard Siri dramatically sped up response times on my Apple Watch Ultra 2 and even works when the internet is out of coverage, at least for simple requests. For the speaker, doing simple voice requests will be more responsive and should be more reliable when I want to control my smart home features like lights etc.
 
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WarmWinterHat said:
People should be keeping all their devices longer, regardless of tariffs, but as for replacing a HomePod, why? Unless it's broken, a new one does exactly the same thing.

Good on Apple!
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To be fair, the new one is a step down from the original in terms of hardware. All of my 6 original (launch day, or close to) original HomePods work as well as the day I got them (with the exception of Siri, which is not as good as it was).
 
I have 15 of them across my house, with one Gen.2 and one Mini. I LOVE having Apple Music available for everyone in every room, and use Siri (in her current limited capacities) dozens of times a day for information and automations.

The most frustrating thing about them is that they cannot maintain synchronized play for extended periods of time, like more than one song in some cases. I have thought about giving each one a static IP address, but it seems like they should be able to address this with a buffer or something. Otherwise, I continue to buy them as they pop up on FB Marketplace and keep at least one backup, as I have actually had 2-3 fail over the years. But by and large they make a fantastic whole-home music experience.

I'm hopeful for Apple Intelligence with Shortcuts integration to bring far extended functionality.
 
All I can say to this rumor is, “uh… duh?” And shame on Apple if they thought otherwise…
 
Supermacguy said:
"OG" seems like a not well known abbreviation. Also sort of stuck in time. I don't feel it's a good term to use in a headline as too many of us uncool people might not understand it.
For reference, it's "original gangster" as in, the first one
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I find it hard to believe you’ve never heard of “OG” for original or first version of something. It’s been so over used the last 25+ years.
 
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syklee26 said:
HomePod itself is awesome. It is such a pity that it only works with Apple devices.
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Apparently you can add AirPlay support to Android phones? I'm an Apple drone so I don't know first-hand, though.

syklee26 said:
with that said, what features would HomePod Software 26 have? Devices like HomePod would be awesome for live translation.
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When it launched I always hoped there would be a way for the HomePod to run third-party apps. Sound generation stuff, interactive storytelling for the kids, maybe something like Duolingo.
 
dustin_ said:
I love my HomePods, and expect them to continue working into the future, but they are absolutely not an investment. They are a consumer product like everything else Apple sells.
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And yet if I paid $600 for a pair of powered bookshelf speakers (which is essentially what they are, with some added processing and a wifi connection), I would expect them to soldier on for 10 years and would be pretty PO'ed if they crapped out before then. Funny how we've all been conditioned to accept that electronics now have such short lifespans.
 
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Had a pair since early on, then I did an out of warranty replacement on one of them (essentially paying full retail price). After the last update, it no longer powered on. Brought it back to the Apple Store for recycling and left the remaining unit in the closet.

Currently just using the HomePod mini.
 
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Student of Life said:
Ok but what features would make you update speakers? I can understand better sound quality. They do airplay so you already get some version of lossless. They are speakers, it’s not a phone.
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I'm not talking about speakers. The original post I replied to said we should keep ALL devices longer. It makes no sense. If something new comes out that I want/like, I'm not going to NOT buy it just to keep what I have longer.
 
dabirdwell said:
I have 15 of them across my house, with one Gen.2 and one Mini. I LOVE having Apple Music available for everyone in every room, and use Siri (in her current limited capacities) dozens of times a day for information and automations.

The most frustrating thing about them is that they cannot maintain synchronized play for extended periods of time, like more than one song in some cases. I have thought about giving each one a static IP address, but it seems like they should be able to address this with a buffer or something. Otherwise, I continue to buy them as they pop up on FB Marketplace and keep at least one backup, as I have actually had 2-3 fail over the years. But by and large they make a fantastic whole-home music experience.

I'm hopeful for Apple Intelligence with Shortcuts integration to bring far extended functionality.
Click to expand...
Same setup in my house. I know (over the years) that if it does not work initially it helps to go around the house a power down and then power up every homepod. Once it does work be sure to control the music from the same device which originated the whole-house play (same homepod or same iPhone/pad/Mac). First Pause before changing a song, then let the system be for ten seconds or so. Only after this pause resume play. There can be lags after "stop" and "play" which can adjust if other commands are not put on top. If things get out of sync pause the music, then resume after 10 seconds.

"Play everywhere" definitely worked much better when it was first introduced. The recent OS "upgrades" have made this feature much harder to make working. I wish Apple would do more work/testing on this use case. . .
 
iJulio said:
I have 2 original HomePods working without issues in my living room since release. There's no reason why they shouldn't get software updates, it's just a speaker.
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I have one, yes it is a speaker, but I try to use Siri to listen to music, but Siri doesn’t understand anything. If this fix Siri, it will be a speaker and a ChatGPT communication platform.
 
I have 8 OG HomePods, and everytime there is an update im fingers crossed that they don’t die. The past month, with 18.5 my 3rd HomePod died (doesn’t receive energy, probably the diode issue). The first one died in 2021, the second in 2023, and the third in 2025. The first 2 were replaced by Apple, but now they don’t want.
It is an amazing speaker but so bad it it can fail anytime and there is no recall.
 
I hope they fix Siri. Personal Requests fail constantly, home requests get ignored, and it frequently tells me “you don’t have a song called xyz in your library” when it's in my recently added. The original HomePod used to be good. Now it’s pointless unless I just use airplay. What a waste. I’ve got 3 and this version of HomePod OS is trash
 
This is awesome news to read a day after the OG HomePod turned 8:

www.macrumors.com

HomePod Turns 8: Here's When to Expect New Models

Eight years ago today, Apple introduced the HomePod, a smart speaker that it said would provide "amazing sound quality and intelligence" in...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com

8 years of software updates is no doubt awesome 😎 but doesn’t surpass the Apple TV at 9:

www.macrumors.com

tvOS 18 Compatible With Apple TV HD Released Nearly Nine Years Ago

Here is something that Apple TV HD owners probably didn't expect when they purchased the device all the way back in 2015: it continues to receive...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com
 
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