“Apple today updated its HomePod tech specs page with a new Audio Sources section that lists all of the ways in which the speaker can stream audio, setting the record straight on some conflicting information,” Joe Rossignol reports for MacRumors.
HomePod Audio Sources (via Apple Inc.):
• Apple Music
• iTunes Music Purchases
• iCloud Music Library with an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription
• Beats 1 Live Radio
• Podcasts
• AirPlay other content to HomePod from iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, and Mac
Rossignol reports, “HomePod orders began last week ahead of the speaker’s official launch on February 9 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.”
“Even though HomePod doesn’t ship with AirPlay 2, it can still receive audio from any device that can AirPlay,” Serenity Caldwell reports for iMore. “That includes your Macs, Apple TV, iPhones, and iPads, along with any third-party apps that support the feature (including work-arounds for Android and things like AirSonos).”
Caldwell reports, “I want to reiterate, because I’ve seen a number of people passing around conflicting information: You can stream any audio (including anything from your iTunes library on your Mac) to HomePod via the original AirPlay protocol.”
“Why does Apple support FLAC for HomePod when iTunes doesn’t stream FLAC files?” Caldwell reports. “Simply put: Because you can AirPlay FLAC (or Lossless, WAV, or AIFF) files from any device to your HomePod.”
“Despite Apple listing Bluetooth 5.0 as part of HomePod’s specifications, I haven’t heard anything that would lead me to believe it can be used as a Bluetooth speaker — AirPlay only,” Caldwell reports. “To my knowledge, Bluetooth 5.0 is in there to aid in the setup process, but again, I don’t yet have confirmation on this so can’t state definitively.”
Read more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s a testament to how far behind Apple is on this thing – let’s face it, HomePod is another Tim Cook-era beta product for which beta testers have the privilege of paying (see numerous Apple TV and the original Apple Watch for other examples) – that Apple is updating the product’s specs page several days after it went on sale.
Only Apple can trumpet the importance of quality audio while shipping a speaker that's incapable of being set up as a stereo pair out of the box. https://t.co/y66UXnPt1u @tim_cook @pschiller #HomePod pic.twitter.com/OIw4KgdBUP
— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) January 31, 2018