Apple Releases 14.1 Software for HomePod With Intercom and HomePod Mini Support

Alongside iOS and iPadOS 14.1, Apple today released new 14.1 software for the HomePod, which includes a number of new updates such as support for the Intercom feature that allows you to speak to anyone in the home on iPhone, iPad, ‌HomePod‌, and more.

Apple HomePod mini iPad iPhone applewatch airpods intercom
The update also introduces support for the HomePod mini that's launching in November and it adds new Siri features. ‌Siri‌ is able to stop alarms, timers, and media across ‌HomePod‌ speakers, and web search requests from ‌HomePod‌ can be sent from ‌HomePod‌ to the ‌iPhone‌.

There's also an option to add music to alarms to wake up to a favorite song or playlist from Apple Music, and there are multiple reliability improvements.

Software version 14.1 includes support for HomePod mini and new Siri and Intercom features. This update also includes bug fixes and improvements.

HomePod mini
- Setup and automatically transfer your Apple ID, Apple Music, Siri and Wi-Fi settings to HomePod mini

Siri
- Siri suggestions appear in Maps when you ask HomePod for information about a location
- Web search requests to HomePod can be sent from HomePod to your iPhone
- Siri can now stop alarms, timers, and media across HomePod speakers
- Voice recognition support for Podcasts for multiple users in the home

Intercom
- Ask HomePod to make announcements to other HomePod speakers throughout your home
- Intercom to all HomePod speakers
- Intercom to a HomePod in a specific room or zone

Other improvements and fixes
- Add music to your alarms and wake up to your personal song, playlist, or radio station from Apple Music
- Fixes an issue where stereo pairs can sometimes play out of sync
- Improves reliability when using Siri to control multiple speakers
- Optimizes Siri performance

‌‌HomePod‌‌‌ software is installed automatically on the ‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌, but the ‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌ can also be manually updated by following the instructions in our ‌‌HomePod‌‌ update how to.

Related Roundups: HomePod, HomePod mini

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
New MacBook Pros Launching Tomorrow With These 4 New Features 2

M5 MacBook Models to Use New Compact Camera Module in 2025

Wednesday July 17, 2024 2:58 am PDT by
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...

Top Rated Comments

DarwinOSX Avatar
49 months ago

Why don't they make a mode where the HomePod is the bass and the HomePod mini is the tweeter? Do people even know what basses and tweeters are anymore?
Newsflash....the HomePod has a bass driver and seven tweeters. On what planet would your suggestion make sense?


Apple software has a latency issue, and it is most apparent on AppleTV and Siri. The lag is shamefully bad, and none of their competitors are any near as bad.

The lag on Homepod makes for a crappy device. Did Siri hear me? Do I repeat myself? Or did it fail as is typical with Siri? If you have time to think these things before Siri responds, it’s way too slow.

I’m hoping the update fixes the latency issue on Homepod to make it usable.
I have 6 HomePods and never seen any lag at all in a 5200 sq ft house. Airplay 2 avoids this by providing a large buffer and streaming faster than real time, check your wifi. I also have Sonos, Alexa, and Google devices and Apple's response times beat the pants off of all of them.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Icaras Avatar
49 months ago
Waiting for the ’Home Theater’ update...
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DarwinOSX Avatar
49 months ago

What happened to the 3rd party music support update for HomePod?! Also, why is it still not possible to send audio to HomePod over strictly Bluetooth, as an option?!
It's an API provided by Apple and the vendor has to write to it. Nothing stopping them. It's not Apple's job to do their development for them. They could have had one ready today when this version was released. So ask them.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
liberte1776 Avatar
49 months ago
What happened to the 3rd party music support update for HomePod?! Also, why is it still not possible to send audio to HomePod over strictly Bluetooth, as an option?!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BWhaler Avatar
49 months ago
Apple software has a latency issue, and it is most apparent on AppleTV and Siri. The lag is shamefully bad, and none of their competitors are any near as bad.

The lag on Homepod makes for a crappy device. Did Siri hear me? Do I repeat myself? Or did it fail as is typical with Siri? If you have time to think these things before Siri responds, it’s way too slow.

I’m hoping the update fixes the latency issue on Homepod to make it usable.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jimjiminyjim Avatar
49 months ago
One thing that I really appreciate about Apple of late is how long a product gets treated as "new." I know the bad side of this is that a product has a long life cycle and we all want the newest, latest, greatest, sooner... but the good side is that my new thing that is years old still feels like new. I love the support my old HomePod is getting!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)