Apple's page on the HomePod mentions Apple Music repeatedly. To wit:
"together with Apple Music, gives you effortless access to one of the world’s largest music catalogs..."
"Built to bring out the best in Apple Music..."
"Apple Music unlocks every song you can imagine...."
So does the HomePod *require* Apple Music in order to function? Or can it work with one's existing iTunes library?
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014), macOS Sierra (10.12.5), null
Music directly through homepod will require Apple Music subscription. Although music will be able to be played from your Mac or iOS devices using AirPlay 2 also. So if you use Spotify or Amazon music, you won't be able to tell homepod to play music through these services as it will only use Apple Music, but you can airplay to homepod from your device using these music services.
Music directly through homepod will require Apple Music subscription. Although music will be able to be played from your Mac or iOS devices using AirPlay 2 also. So if you use Spotify or Amazon music, you won't be able to tell homepod to play music through these services as it will only use Apple Music, but you can airplay to homepod from your device using these music services.
no the marketing material for the homepod mentions the use of airplay 2 which allows direct integration with itunes on your mac or ios device.
bjaminkelley88 wrote:
Music directly through homepod will require Apple Music subscription.
Where did you get this? So far what is known is it will work with Apple Music, but there's nothing that outright states Apple Music is required for it to work.
My guess is it will be able to Playback music from a HomeShared library over the network. Beyond that, it will probably just act more or less like a normal wireless speaker, and let you play anything over AirPlay [2].
So the HomePod can't function with a normal, every-day, garden-variety, non-subscription, non-streaming iTunes library? (a library which is *on the Mac*, not an iPhone) This is rather unfortunate news. 😟
I mean, even the AppleTV can work with Home Sharing. If the HomePod can't, I'd really like to hear an explanation.
And yes, I'm aware that it's still rather early in the announcement, but for those of us who aren't Apple Music members, wouldn't it make sense to know whether the HomePod will work with our libraries before we put down hundreds of dollars on one?
David Blank2 wrote:
I wish Apple was a little more explicit on what it can and cannot do rather than just being vague.
Again, it was a very early Preview. They were probably still working on finalizing all its features and what it can do. Once its ready to be released, Apple will surely say more about it and be more specific.
It will very likely be able to pay your iTunes library over Wifi via HomeSharing.
David Blank2 wrote:
They did say it supports AirPlay 2, right? What does that mean? So it should be able to have music routed wireless from a Mac to the HomePod.
Yes, that's probably what it means. Apple also states:
AirPlay 2.
Add HomePod to every room.
When you add HomePod to multiple rooms, the speakers communicate with each other through AirPlay 2 — so you can play your music all around the house. You can also control any other AirPlay 2‑compatible speakers
You can read more about the Homepod at: HomePod - Apple
This page: http://uk.businessinsider.com/apple-homepod-apple-music-spotify-2017-6?r=US&IR=T indicates that you can 'blast', as they put it, music from your iPhone to the Homepod. Otherwise you are limited to Apple Music, where the other devices give you more choice of music services. It can perform other functions, though really only with Apple's own devices.
This review - http://www.techradar.com/reviews/apple-homepod - also gives some information: but it's early days yet an no-one has yet been able to get hold of one for a detailed review; all the reports appear to be from people who have had a few minutes to play with it in a demo situation.
Since this was a very early preview they weren't too specific about what it requires or what it works with specifically.
If sounded like it would be the most useful with an Apple Music subscription, but its possible it may work with Home Sharing for the local library.
We'll have to wait until its released later in the year to know more about it.
I would have read the report as meaning that you could play music from your own iTunes library from a device to the Homepod. By the time it's even possible for you to buy one there should be detailed reviews and a lot more information available.
> By the time it's even possible for you to buy one there should be detailed reviews and a lot more information available.
I suppose so. And you'd hope that, once the HomePod goes on sale, Apple Store staff would know (one way or the other) whether or not a subscription is required, so you could make an informed decision before putting down your hard earned money on such a device.
This is not intended as a diatribe against Apple Music, BTW. It's just that Apple could be a little more clear as to whether or not the HomePod *requires* that service in order to function.
They might be in negotiations to open it up to other things. They just added Amazon TV to Apple TV and I'm sure Amazon would like to be able to have HomePod users buy things from Amazon. It's not like Amazon wants to limit people from buying their products only through their devices. I just think Apple has to release the product first with limitations until they figure out what makes sense to add and then making proper arrangements with others. That's what they did with Apple TV, it was limited at first, but it's being opened up to more content, even Amazon.
What about iTunes Match? I can play my library from my computer that's stored on Apple's servers through my iPad or iPhone, or Mac so maybe that's how we can route music to the HomePod. Just a thought. I would think that we could route audio from our Mac's iTunes Library to the HomePod. I personally think that Apple sometimes is a little too vague with product descriptions lately. I wish they would say if it would work for iTunes Match customers and/or if it would work for customers that have iTunes libraries that want to route to the HomePod. I wish they were a little clearer in what it can and cannot do. Frustrating.
That's what he said, and he's right. Except an Apple Music subscription WILL be necessary to play music through the HomePod and the HomePod alone. But iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Macs (and hopefully Apple TVs) will all be able to AirPlay to the HomePod. And yeah it'll probably function like a normal Bluetooth speaker for everything else.
But couldn't one blast their music from their iTunes catalog that's residing on their Mac? That's all I care about since I already have a large catalog of music stored on my desktop. I also have iTunes Match, which should be able to be streamed to it. I wish Apple was a little more explicit on what it can and cannot do rather than just being vague.
They did say it supports AirPlay 2, right? What does that mean? So it should be able to have music routed wireless from a Mac to the HomePod.
It does mention Podcasts, so where would those be coming from? I certainly hope it can work where I can play music from my iTunes library.
Does the HomePod require Apple Music?
