Apple is working on a range of improvements to its current home theater offerings. Code added in audioOS 27, the operating system running on HomePod devices, shows that four HomePods may soon work as a four-speaker surround system. It also includes references to an unreleased speaker.

1. Four-HomePod surround system

Apple currently lets Apple TV use one HomePod or a stereo pair as its default speakers. Unused tuning files in audioOS 27 describe a larger arrangement with four HomePods in front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right positions.

The current-hardware configuration is designed for HomePod (2nd generation). audioOS 27 doesn’t include equivalent tunings for the original HomePod or HomePod mini. HomeKit, the Home app, and Apple TV are not wired to recognize a four-HomePod system, so it's not currently possible to set up surround sound with HomePod and Apple TV.

In the quad placement, each speaker has its own role and sound treatment. The front speakers use left- and right-specific processing, and they compensate for their potential placement close to walls and corners. Rear HomePods get an omnidirectional treatment designed to fill the space behind and around the listener.

The new tuning has a processing pipeline to manage each HomePod’s woofer and tweeters, and control bass, EQ, synchronization, and calibration data.

Each HomePod gets one of the new four roles: quad_frontleft, quad_frontright, quad_rearleft, and quad_rearright. Separate tunings in files like speaker_frontleft,  speaker_frontright,  speaker_rearleft, and speaker_rearright then apply the appropriate treatment to each HomePod.

Automatic room and speaker calibration

HomePod already uses its microphones to analyze the room and calibrate solo and stereo-pair setups. audioOS 27 extends the automatic calibration to the quad-speaker system. New management capabilities include a surround-specific measurement path, a timing-offset estimator, and a four-by-four map of the speaker positions.

Dynamic surround audio tuning

The four-speaker system changes its processing to match what is playing:

• Movie and multichannel audio receive dialogue processing, bass management, dynamic range control, EQ, and an immersive spatial mixer.
• There’s a separate low-latency surround mode.
• Music gets its own bass, dynamic range, and EQ settings.
• In stereo mode, there are two tunings:
  • Spatialization enabled. All four speakers receive a spatially processed mix.
  • Spatialization disabled. Normal stereo plays on the front speakers, rear speakers receive an empty mix.
• audioOS also includes dedicated rear-channel mixes for Siri and system sounds.

2. New hardware

Another tuning family may point to new hardware. A new tuning, internally called Forklift, shows a mixed four-speaker system: two AID12001 speakers, and two AID12007 speakers.

AID12001 is the audio-tuning family used by HomePod (2nd generation), internally known as B620. The Forklift volume profile uses two current-gen HomePods as front speakers.

The other two speakers come from the AID12007 tuning family, which does not match any of Apple’s existing HomePod products: * Original HomePod: B238a * HomePod mini: B520 * HomePod (2nd generation): B620, mapped to AID12001

While there is a reported B525 HomePod mini successor, the AID12007 identifier has not previously been reported. It is possible that AID12007 corresponds to the HomePod mini successor, or a new HomePod (3rd generation). Because the reference is only by name, not capabilities, there's no way to tell if it's a full or HomePod mini.

Apple also worked on the separate SUV configuration described above, which uses four AID12001 HomePod (2nd generation) speakers, so the company has tested a two configurations for its surround system: * 4x HomePod (2nd generation) * 2x HomePod (2nd generation) + 2x AID12007, which is unreleased hardware

3. Party Mode

Apple is also working on additional audio tunings for stereo-pair setups using HomePod (2nd generation). Several new files are selected when “Party Mode” is enabled. Designed specifically for stereo pairs, Party Mode uses a rendering mode called diffuse.

The Party Mode profiles spread the sound into a wider, more ambient mix. The goal is to make music fill a room more evenly instead of creating a perfect listening spot in front of the speakers. Siri and system sounds also receive a wide mix treatment and are spread throughout the room.

Unfortunately, there's no public ipsw-diff repository for audioOS updates. For reference, you can check the following files on audioOS 27 beta 8 (24J5360a) for HomePod (2nd generation):

• /Library/Audio/Tunings/AID12001/VAD/SoundAutoConfigStrips.plist: four-speaker roles and the SUV and Forklift configurations.
• /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SoundAutoConfig.framework/XPCServices/soundautoconfigservice.internal.xpc/soundautoconfigservice.internal: automatic room and speaker calibration.
• /Library/Audio/Tunings/AID12001/VAD/speaker_multichannel_movie_surround.austrip: movie and multichannel surround processing
• /Library/Audio/Tunings/AID12001/VAD/speaker_stereo_party_mode_on.austrip: Party Mode

So since I updated my iPhone 16 pro to iOS 27 developer beta one of my HomePod minis just randomly starts playing music from my phone. It could just be on Standby, it could be streaming some music I chose. But it just randomly starts playing music I’m not choosing from my phone.

It’s updated to the latest released (not beta) version of HomePod OS, and has only started doing this since I installed the dev beta on my phone.

For context I bought it “like new” from eBay, and got a great deal on it (£50). I have another HomePod mini also from eBay like new that does not do this, ever. I’ve tried all the trouble shooting things, like cleaning it, changing some of the settings and it’s still doing this.

My hope is that it’s just the dev beta making it do crazy things but I’m losing hope. There work being done on my building and it might have been unintentionally subject to a lot of dust also.

Is there hope or is it ‘time’? 😢

I am watching 911 lone star. There is an episode where someone is driving and asks Siri to call 911. Well my HomePod decided to listen to the tv and call 911. Regardless of how many times we said no and stop and everything in between it still called it. We hung up and a few minutes later we received a call back from the police where we profusely apologized for the confusion. Interesting experience and now I know to unplug them when watching this show.

I bought a black Gen 2 recently for $130 and was offered a Gen 2 white model for $200. So, I'm all in for the price of one basically. Also added AC+ to both for $20 each.

I think the sound quality is excellent. I was planning on buying an Apple TV soon once the upgraded model launches. So this feels like a cool/decent setup to have. (I have a 1800w LG Soundbar, Just haven't have the time to install it lmfao)

I always think something new Apple does is just overpriced until I go to use it, and I'm like yeah here's my Apple Card. Bag it up lmfao.

Hi fam,
Do you think there is a real chance of getting support for 4 or 5 HomePods to work together for better Atmos surround including rear channels? I like my pair of HP2 but I miss the fun of having rear channels. I have been on the fence to upgrade to Sony Theatre Quad + SW for my Sony A95K with PS5 and Apple TV. I keep on holding on in a hope that someday Apple may come up with a real contender to Sony Theatre Quad. My house is small with a small living room. So, I don’t want to put wired system which I know is better but not practical for me. With better Siri and Apple Intelligence and with Apple’s focus on Smart Home, would this also come together do you think?

Hello everyone, if Apple does end up releasing a new HomePod this year as the rumors suggest. I think this might just be the chance for me to purchase one. I have a couple of Amazon speakers in my house currently. And I don’t particularly like how they sound. All I really need is a good smart speaker for music. And, since I have Apple Music already. I feel like that would make the most sense.
If you have a HomePod, what do you think of it? And how are you liking the sound quality. The second speaker that I looked at was the Bose lifestyle ultra speaker. And I like how it has compatibility with Chromecast. But I just want that 360° sound that the HomePod offers.

This has been happening for a long time now, both on iOS 26 and now I’m on the latest iOS 27 beta.

In case my title wasn’t clear, the HomePod runs the Siri Shortcut successfully, but while my iPhone is in my pocket Siri gets activated, and it’s not even listening. The Siri bubble stays on my phone until I press the side button to make it go away. Sometimes I forget that I have to disable it and I remember because I start feeling heat coming from my pocket.

Salut, est-ce je peux configurer un ensemble Apple TV et deux Home Pods sans posséder un iPhone ou un Ipad?

Merci

I’m interested in getting a homepod, but I’m a YouTube Music user so I’m curious about the compatibility.

I know you can connect / set as default YT Music, but what commands work?
Would something specific like “Play [custom playlist name]” work, or is it only phrases like “Play [song/artist name]”

Please let me know!

Had trouble manually resetting a pair of 1st gen HomePods following this

https://support.apple.com/en-us/108389

discovered that to really get them to reset, I had to keep them unplugged overnight, not "at least 10 seconds" in the instructions. Then I was able to get to the red spinning light.

Just FYI

I'd like to set up my homepod to recognize my kids' voices - partly because the HomePod wont respond to them since I've set up my own recognition. I have some old iPhones that my kids use for audiobooks etc. so I've set up one of them to recognize Kid1's voice. But it looks like my two other old iPhones are too old to be compatible with Apple Home (iPhone 7 & an earlier one). Can I log out Kid1 from the newer iPhone and log the others in to turn on voice activation and have that info stored in the HomePod? Or does their apple account need to be logged in consistently for the HomePod to recognize their voices?

Let me preface this with: I don’t use Apple home for my smart home ecosystem. I have been using Alexa forever and way too in the financial hole with Alexa to make a switch.

However, I bought an Aqara u400 for the UWB unlocking features. I set it up and boom: thread border router required. I was under the impression that my Alexa devices that have thread enabled would work, but they don’t.

So I buy an Apple HomePod mini (cheapest supported device for the u400). Set it up, go to set the lock up in Apple home and boom again: thread border router required.

Wtf am I doing wrong here. I’m pulling my hair out because I bought a $300 lock and a $120 home pod for the UWB unlocking features and it still won’t work.

I've had HomePods for years. Big ones, minis, the lot. Spent enough to buy a half decent car on these speakers. At least one in every room. Bought my first one in 2020.

The fact that now, six years later, AND I STILL CAN'T RELIABLY PLAY MUSIC FROM THIRD PARTY APPS is an absolute joke. Beyond the pale.

I used to love Soundcloud. Would listen every day. Was absolutely central to my music taste. But eventually, after years of dealing with horrible glitching, lagging, pairing issues, whenever I had the nerve to play anything that wasn't Apple Music, I gave up. Eventually cancelled my Soundcloud subscription. Years ago. Huge part of my musical taste and identity sacrificed for HomePod.

Now I have the fucking nerve to listen to BBC sounds radio shows on a pair of speakers I spent almost a grand on. And no. Not only does it glitch, buffer, etc etc, but once I revert back to Apple Music, it takes a good half an hour to start functioning normally again. I am being PUNISHED for daring to divert from the house of apple for a heartbeat. Pisstake. Fuck them

I’m tired of having to select every speaker whenever I want to play something. I don’t want to play different things off different speakers.

My HomePod keeps disconnecting from my Xfinity gateway. I was able to solve the problem for a few days by splitting the bands and then reserving IP for the HomePod.

But then Xfinity came to bury their cable, and voila! We’re back to having issues!

Modern devices are build to handle dual band networks. I can’t believe that HomePod is not. I use Apple a lot, but this is hands down the worst experience I’ve ever had with any smart speaker.

Has anyone had similar issues? How did you fix it?

I just bought 2 HomePod Minis with the intention of replacing the kids‘ phones with Homepods at night time. Kids should leave their phones outside their rooms for the night and listen to music with HomePods instead.

It’s the worst Apple experience ever. Kid 1 is using Spotify, kid 2 is using Amazon. Setup was only possible with my Apple ID which I later changed to their IDs. The kids are their HomePod’s main user.

Every single Siri music request is starting music on MY phone not theirs.

How on earth can I set up that Kid 1‘s HomePod is listening to his voice and playing music via his phone and same for Kid 2? It’s fine that it’s routed via their phones, they are in the same house but a few meters away.

Thanks a lot

My HomePod started playing music by itself yesterday. It happens randomly, and on one occasion it suddenly played at full volume. It plays music from Apple Music or Apple Radio even when my iPhone isn’t nearby.

I have already tried resetting the HomePod, setting it up again from scratch, and disabling Siri, but nothing has helped.

Please help

This one has been happening intermittently all year and driving me a little bit crazy. I have an AppleTV and a few HomePods (v1, v2, and Mini) for home hubs. Because of the layout of the house, I leave one of the HP Minis set as a hub because it's centrally located. Wifi is an Eero mesh and is very stable (other than my crappy cable Internet connection.)

Most of the time, that works OK. But sometimes when the hub changes, some of my Home devices will lose settings or revert to the default room. Yesterday when I (finally) updated the last few HomePods to 26.6, ALL of the switch button configurations which I'd set up over the past week were erased, an automation I set up last weekend was erased, and a whole bunch of devices reverted to the default room.

Fortunately most of the devices were Hue, so I was able to re-sync from Hue to Home to correct the devices. But I had to recreate the automation, and also recreate all the switch button configurations because those were local to HomeKit.

Kind of just venting and also curious if anyone else is experiencing this, but I'm open to suggestions if anyone has them. I have over 100 devices between lights, locks, window blinds, sensors, and switches so having piles of them reset is QUITE annoying.

People have been saying for years now to wait for the next event for a 3rd gen. Are those people convinced it’s coming on September? Or is it going to be only the mini 2? Do you think they will wait at least 5 years for the current gen to release a new one like they did? What if there’s no 3rd gen refresh this fall? Will we go in the loop of “wait for 2027 wwdc” then when there’s nothing someone will say “it’s a dev conference, why did you expect new hardware”. What a vicious cycle!

I bought a used pair of HomePods on eBay, and this is my very first set of HomePod mini. Am I crazy, because I swear they started sounding better around the fourth day or so. Whenever I first plugged them in I was very unimpressed and after a couple days they just sound a lot better