“Apple has detailed an upcoming feature included in the new iOS 11.2 developer beta called SiriKit for HomePod,” Zac Hall reports for 9to5Mac. “When HomePod launches in December, SiriKit for HomePod will allow developers to use the smart speaker as an access point to sending commands to their apps on iPhone and iPad.”
“SiriKit was first introduced with iOS 10 and expanded to support ‘to-do lists, notes and reminders, banking for account transfers and balances and apps that display QR codes’ with iOS 11,” Hall reports. “Prior to this announcement, Apple had not addressed third-party support or developer opportunities for HomePod.”
“While SiriKit for HomePod isn’t exactly direct integration,” Hall reports, “Apple is encouraging developers to test their apps with the Handoff-like feature.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’l be interesting to see how (if?) developers utilize this capability.
We’re sure there’ll be a reason to use HomePod to send commands to apps via Siri other than using the iPhone’s or iPad’s Siri, even if we can’t think of a “killer app” reason right now. Perhaps to accomplish some action(s) if the iPhone or iPad happens to be in another room? Or you can just ask HomePod to do something without fishing your iPhone out of your pocket? This would also perhaps allow HomePod stake out preeminence in the “Hey Siri” sweepstakes, too, where your devices all trigger with “Hey Siri,” not only HomePod would.
In theory I suppose it would at least in part be the difference fiddling with our TVs directly and going to a remote instead, you only realise how ludicrous the former was when the latter becomes ubiquitous. It all really depends on Siri actually being that intelligent ‘just works’ assistant that was intended at which point it will become like talking to a fellow human rather than bothering to think where did I leave my phone/iPad or having to fish phones from pocket or jackets. Cant see many instances when you wouldn’t need the screens on those devices at present but I guess we will see what comes of it while it is sensible to head for a seamless existence where each piece of tech fade into the background and things just happen using whatever part of the ecosystem is best suited to do any given job and apps with them are open to you at almost any time through any device.
Thats the future Apple always wanted and was headed for any why they clearly originally did not want to introduce a speaker hub which in many ways a rather intelligent way of achieving that but at times we have to understand the best way to get to that ideal and that a physical device is that intermediary that humans need it seems to do so. I do wonder what Sj would have made of it for that is usually the sort of thing he understood very well even if he would I suspect have been pretty disgusted with the concept of that unecessary physical box to do it. Again its another reason why Apple gave the HomePod an additional purpose of quality sound too.
Here’s a killer app reason. Make the HomePod capable of controlling the Apple TV and use the HomePod as your remote since my remote is lost all the time. Would be so much easier to use the HomePod as the remote. And while they’re at it they could support Apple TV linking to the HomePod for sound rather than sending through the tv. Just a couple of features that would be nice and integrate everything.
HomeKit Siri, where’s my iPhone?