Apple's HomePod will support iTunes Match streaming via Siri

AppleInsider · January 29, 2018 5:59PM

Owners of the HomePod -- shipping on Feb. 9 -- should be able to ask Siri to stream any files uploaded to iTunes Match, not just material hosted on Apple Music.

Match support has been affirmed by iMore's Serenity Caldwell, as well as Daring Fireball's John Gruber. Apple's official HomePod page only mentions Apple Music, which typically costs $9.99 per month.

iTunes Match is included with Apple Music but also available separately at a cost of $24.99 per year. The service lets users sync their local music with the iCloud Music Library, including imported tracks that might not be available on the iTunes Store or Apple Music.

That could make the HomePod more attractive to some early adopters. The speaker doesn't offer Siri support for third-party streaming services like Spotify or Pandora, though people will also be able to broadcast music via AirPlay or Bluetooth.

The $349 HomePod was originally due to ship in December, but was hit with a last-minute delay as Apple raced to finish development. At launch the device will still lack some promised features, such as stereo pairing and multi-room support.

eightzero · January 29, 2018 6:08PM

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

nottylerdurden · January 29, 2018 6:15PM

Think of it this way. I buy a CD at lunch. I rip the album to my computer at the office and listen to it. I forget to take the CD home. I get home and I tell my HomePod to play the album that has been ripped to iTunes. The HomePod can play the album because I can access it anywhere through iTunes because I pay for iTunes match. Instead of having to also rip the cd at home.

macxpress · January 29, 2018 6:20PM

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

auxio · January 29, 2018 6:24PM

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

For the $25 per year, iTunes Match lets you search and stream your personal music collection to every single Apple device you have (not just HomePod). As someone who spent a bunch of time managing and syncing my music collection to different devices over the years, I can say that $25 is a bargain for the time saved.

But if your money is more valuable than your time (or you need to support non-Apple devices), then it remains to be seen whether HomePod can find your locally shared iTunes library. My guess is that it should be able to given that the AppleTV can do it, but there may be technical hurdles to indexing and searching local music libraries using Siri.

edited January 2018

rayz2016 · January 29, 2018 6:28PM

auxio said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

For the $25 per year, iTunes Match lets you search and stream your personal music collection to every single Apple device you have (not just HomePod). As someone who spent a bunch of time managing and syncing my music collection to different devices over the years, I can say that $25 is a bargain for the time saved.

But if your money is more valuable than your time (or you need to support non-Apple devices), then it remains to be seen whether HomePod can find your locally shared iTunes library. My guess is that it should be able to given that the AppleTV can do it, but there may be technical hurdles to indexing and searching local music libraries using Siri.

Yes it can find it, but no Siri.

mdriftmeyer · January 29, 2018 6:32PM

auxio said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

For the $25 per year, iTunes Match lets you search and stream your personal music collection to every single Apple device you have (not just HomePod). As someone who spent a bunch of time managing and syncing my music collection to different devices over the years, I can say that $25 is a bargain for the time saved.

But if your money is more valuable than your time (or you need to support non-Apple devices), then it remains to be seen whether HomePod can find your locally shared iTunes library. My guess is that it should be able to given that the AppleTV can do it, but there may be technical hurdles to indexing and searching local music libraries using Siri.

Agreed. People waste $50-$100 in one night sulking their woes away in a bottle. If they can justify that insanity, this should be a simple decision. You're paying Apple for doing all the AI work for just $25/yr.

eightzero · January 29, 2018 6:32PM

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

OK. So I need to go upstairs to the computer, set it up to play what I want, then go back to the other room to listen? And if the volume isn't right, I need to go back to that computer, reset it, and go from there. That's how this works? Or pay $25/year for functionality with Siri?

Fairly, I have a surplus iPod I could set next to it and stream free stuff. I guess the "all works together" moniker is now "it all works together for a fee."

rayz2016 · January 29, 2018 6:39PM

eightzero said:

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

OK. So I need to go upstairs to the computer, set it up to play what I want, then go back to the other room to listen? And if the volume isn't right, I need to go back to that computer, reset it, and go from there. That's how this works? Or pay $25/year for functionality with Siri?

Fairly, I have a surplus iPod I could set next to it and stream free stuff. I guess the "all works together" moniker is now "it all works together for a fee."

Am I missing something? Why won’t the controls work?

edited January 2018

eightzero · January 29, 2018 6:41PM

Rayz2016 said:

eightzero said:

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

OK. So I need to go upstairs to the computer, set it up to play what I want, then go back to the other room to listen? And if the volume isn't right, I need to go back to that computer, reset it, and go from there. That's how this works? Or pay $25/year for functionality with Siri?

Fairly, I have a surplus iPod I could set next to it and stream free stuff. I guess the "all works together" moniker is now "it all works together for a fee."

Oh. I see now.

rotateleftbyte · January 29, 2018 6:42PM

I'm sure that a lot of these question will get answered in due course but from the information I've read, there is no way my 23Gb of Music is going up to the cloud and then back again just so that I can listen to it. I can do that already via my iPod and my HiFi system.
Apart from the fancy dynamics with the sound, I fail to see the point in this device. I'm sure it will sell but ... {remains totally unconvinced}

macxpress · January 29, 2018 6:44PM

eightzero said:

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

OK. So I need to go upstairs to the computer, set it up to play what I want, then go back to the other room to listen? And if the volume isn't right, I need to go back to that computer, reset it, and go from there. That's how this works? Or pay $25/year for functionality with Siri?

Fairly, I have a surplus iPod I could set next to it and stream free stuff. I guess the "all works together" moniker is now "it all works together for a fee."

Most people have the music on their phone or iPad. I guess you don't...

Go get the Sonos and stop bitching if that's what makes you happy. This isn't for you obviously. Not every Apple product can be for each individual person. Apple can't suit everyone's needs/wants in one product.

rogifan_new · January 29, 2018 6:49PM

How does this work with music in iCloud Music Library that is not available in iTunes or Apple Music. Can you use Siri for that or only Airplay from iPhone?

lorin schultz · January 29, 2018 6:49PM

auxio said:
[...] As someone who spent a bunch of time managing and syncing my music collection to different devices over the years, I can say that $25 is a bargain for the time saved.

For years I insisted on retaining my own naming convention and folder structure for music files because Apple's is... um, "unusual." Like you, I eventually got tired of renaming iTunes Store purchases and syncing libraries between devices. Just over a year ago I "surrendered" to Apple's way of doing things and subscribed to Match. Now I can't imagine why I ever bothered to manage everything myself. Match is fantastic.

auxio said:
[...] it remains to be seen whether HomePod can find your locally shared iTunes library.

The way the Apple TV 4K all but ignores my locally-stored video content leaves me feeling less than optimistic about the HomePod being able to work well with a Homeshare library, but it would be nice if it did.

For me, this article is one more nudge towards getting a HomePod for the kitchen. Apple Music isn't a good value for us since we already own just about everything we'd ever want to hear and our purchases of new material add up to less than what an Apple Music subscription would cost (even after we factor in the cost of Match), so confirmation that we can play our library on the HomePod without needing another device to "push" content to it is welcome news!

rayz2016 · January 29, 2018 6:50PM

eightzero said:

Rayz2016 said:

eightzero said:

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

OK. So I need to go upstairs to the computer, set it up to play what I want, then go back to the other room to listen? And if the volume isn't right, I need to go back to that computer, reset it, and go from there. That's how this works? Or pay $25/year for functionality with Siri?

Fairly, I have a surplus iPod I could set next to it and stream free stuff. I guess the "all works together" moniker is now "it all works together for a fee."

Oh. I see now.

You didn’t know about the touch controls on the top?

vadimyuryev · January 29, 2018 6:55PM

eightzero said:

Rayz2016 said:

eightzero said:

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

OK. So I need to go upstairs to the computer, set it up to play what I want, then go back to the other room to listen? And if the volume isn't right, I need to go back to that computer, reset it, and go from there. That's how this works? Or pay $25/year for functionality with Siri?

Fairly, I have a surplus iPod I could set next to it and stream free stuff. I guess the "all works together" moniker is now "it all works together for a fee."

Oh. I see now.

You have a lot to learn, my friend.

strangedays · January 29, 2018 7:13PM

eightzero said:

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

OK. So I need to go upstairs to the computer, set it up to play what I want, then go back to the other room to listen? And if the volume isn't right, I need to go back to that computer, reset it, and go from there. That's how this works? Or pay $25/year for functionality with Siri?

Fairly, I have a surplus iPod I could set next to it and stream free stuff. I guess the "all works together" moniker is now "it all works together for a fee."

Nope. If you don't have AM or Match (no iCloud Music Library), and you wanted to play your local library on a HomePod it works as it does with any AirPlay speaker -- you either: 1) initiate playback & manipulate it via the Mac with the library, or 2) you open the iTunes Remote app and connect to the Mac and manipulate it via the Remote app. You can change volume, skip tracks, etc.

And as others pointed out the speaker has controls too. But you can still use the iTunes Remote app on a Mac running iTunes or Home Sharing on the network.

edited January 2018

eightzero · January 29, 2018 7:20PM

vadimyuryev said:

eightzero said:

Rayz2016 said:

eightzero said:

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

OK. So I need to go upstairs to the computer, set it up to play what I want, then go back to the other room to listen? And if the volume isn't right, I need to go back to that computer, reset it, and go from there. That's how this works? Or pay $25/year for functionality with Siri?

Fairly, I have a surplus iPod I could set next to it and stream free stuff. I guess the "all works together" moniker is now "it all works together for a fee."

Oh. I see now.

You have a lot to learn, my friend.

I do. That's why I turn to AI. AI had a nice article about how this works.

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

OK. So I need to go upstairs to the computer, set it up to play what I want, then go back to the other room to listen? And if the volume isn't right, I need to go back to that computer, reset it, and go from there. That's how this works? Or pay $25/year for functionality with Siri?

Fairly, I have a surplus iPod I could set next to it and stream free stuff. I guess the "all works together" moniker is now "it all works together for a fee."

Most people have the music on their phone or iPad. I guess you don't...

Go get the Sonos and stop bitching if that's what makes you happy. This isn't for you obviously. Not every Apple product can be for each individual person. Apple can't suit everyone's needs/wants in one product.

I don't, no.

Obviously. And neither is Sonos.

eightzero · January 29, 2018 7:22PM

StrangeDays said:

eightzero said:

macxpress said:

eightzero said:

Just so I understand: if you have a drive of music on the same network you connect the $349 HomePod to, you have to then pay $25/year to let the HomePod have access to it? Is that about it?

Only with Siri yes. I don't see why you can't just use your library without paying $25 and without using Siri to play your music. Basically, just using HomePod as a AirPlay speaker and you control what song plays yourself manually on your phone. I would assume if you had a play list and started playing it, then it would just keep playing that playlist. You just wouldn't be able to ask Siri to play the song(s) or playlist(s) for you.

OK. So I need to go upstairs to the computer, set it up to play what I want, then go back to the other room to listen? And if the volume isn't right, I need to go back to that computer, reset it, and go from there. That's how this works? Or pay $25/year for functionality with Siri?

Fairly, I have a surplus iPod I could set next to it and stream free stuff. I guess the "all works together" moniker is now "it all works together for a fee."

Nope. If you don't have AM or Match (no iCloud Music Library), and you wanted to play your local library on a HomePod it works as it does with any AirPlay speaker -- you either: 1) initiate playback & manipulate it via the Mac with the library, or 2) you open the iTunes Remote app and connect to the Mac and manipulate it via the Remote app. You can change volume, skip tracks, etc.

And as others pointed out the speaker has controls too. But you can still use the iTunes Remote app on a Mac running iTunes or Home Sharing on the network.

Got it. Very helpful. I forgot about the iTunes remote app thingy. Thanks.

auxio · January 29, 2018 7:37PM

rotateleftbyte said:

I'm sure that a lot of these question will get answered in due course but from the information I've read, there is no way my 23Gb of Music is going up to the cloud and then back again just so that I can listen to it.

There's a reason why it's called iTunes Match. Unless you have a lot of very, very obscure music (which I do, and it still finds a lot of it) or unreleased stuff, it simply matches your version with a version their database of music already contains. No uploading required.

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT204146

edited January 2018

auxio · January 29, 2018 7:41PM

lorin schultz said:

auxio said:
[...] it remains to be seen whether HomePod can find your locally shared iTunes library.
The way the Apple TV 4K all but ignores my locally-stored video content leaves me feeling less than optimistic about the HomePod being able to work well with a Homeshare library, but it would be nice if it did.

If you convert your videos to an iTunes supported format (.m4v) using Handbrake, you can add them to your homeshared iTunes library and they'll show up on your Apple TV under "Home Videos".

Apple's HomePod will support iTunes Match streaming via Siri

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