Video: How to use Apple’s HomePod, and other stories

by Jonny Evans · February 17, 2018

Soon he’ll be able to link all those HomePods together, using AirPlay 2 and stereo pairing.

As millions of HomePod owners everywhere pick up their smart speaker system to find no trace of a big white circle and wonder what the fuss is all about, interest in getting the best out of the new Apple audio system is at its peak.

Watch the movies

Apple has published a range of videos explaining how to get the best possible use out of HomePod.

WARNING: All these videos use the phrase “Hey Siri..”, so if you are playing them near your HomePod your system will respond to the instructions contained in the video. That’s why before you watch these you should say, “Hey Siri, stop listening.” Siri will ask you if that’s what you really want, say “Yes”. When you want to get Siri listening again, just tap the center of the display at the top and say “Hey Siri, start listening”. (You can also use the Home app, but this is easier).

Now you’ve switched Siri’s ears off, you can watch these videos.

How to use Siri for music

The following video explains how to choose and play tracks, fast forward and rewind through tracks, raise and reduce volume and more.

https://youtu.be/42pt67WbvZU

How to adjust HomePod Settings

This video explains how to configure your HomePod using the Home app on your iPhone. It’s well worth taking becoming familiar with this as it is likely that future HomePod software upgrades will be delivered using Home app.

https://youtu.be/Qegtls2wtYk

How to use the touch controls on your HomePod

HomePod actually has touch controls:

Tap: Play/Pause
Triple tap: Play Previous Track
Tap or hold plus: Volume Up
Tap or hold minus: Volume Down
Double tap: Next Track
Touch and hold: Siri

https://youtu.be/abOW_Cj0y5M

How to get the most from HomePod

This 3-minute clip is a much more complete account of some of the things you can do with Siri on your HomePod. It includes:

Use of music and podcasts
Control from an iPhone, and use HomePod as a speaker phone
More you can do with Siri, including timers and useful information
How to control a smart home

https://youtu.be/ZABBsla6dtA

Looking for even more information?

I’d really like it if you took a look at my other HomePod guides, and I’ve also assembled a large collection of links to other useful information sources:

Siri is fast and accurate

If you want to dig more deeply into what you can do with your HomePod, Apple has also published a complete guide that you can read online here. It also offers a set of technical support notes, including the following: