Will ITunes Match work with the new HomePod?

I wouldn't say definitive. It doesn't say whether the HomePod will work with iTunes Match or not. The Apple Sales Specialist online don't know and say wait until Friday. There are a lot of us who own CD's ( yes we're old ) and have them ripped to our iTunes library. A $25 a year iTunes Match subscription fee is a lot more palatable than an Apple Music subscription. We'll have to wait and see.

You're saying wait until Friday, but we might still not get an answer on Friday, since Friday is just the start of orders. The actual shipping date is February 9th, as everyone knows.

For people with iTunes Match who want to early-order this HomePod, and who would not buy it unless it supports iTunes Match, there has to be a way to find out in advance. I called pre-sales, I did the Online Apple chat, and I called Apple tech support. No one I have contacted so far can give me an answer.

Thanks for posting that information, Susan.

This would be unacceptable for a $350 smart speaker, especially considering that Amazon's Echo and Google's Home speakers can play your song collection via voice commands without the need for any computer or phone or tablet being on. Google has a free music cloud service where you can upload up to 50,000 songs, and then ask the Google Home speakers to play those songs by title, etc. Amazon's music cloud service will allow you to upload your songs for $25 per year.

Apple's iTunes Match is $25 per year, as everyone knows. And if Apple truly doesn't allow one to ask the HomePod's Siri to play their songs in their iTunesMatch subscription without having their computer turned on, I will be very disappointed and think it unfair.

Thank you, Cblast. I hope James gave you accurate information. I tried chatting with an Apple rep this morning and was again told they do not know yet for sure. I am going to be optimistic and say that the information James gave you is correct. Since Google & Amazon allow it with their services & speakers, I am guessing Apple has to allow people who pay them the $25 per year to do it.

Cblast, I ordered mine right away, as well. If it turns out iTunes Match is not supported, I will simply return the HomePod for a refund. But I am very optimistic now that the HomePod's Siri will play my Match music collection.

cblast, did James say you do not need an external device to play music via iTunes match? I was hoping this was the case but I received conflicting info (posted earlier) that a device is required to stream library content (iTunes Match or no) to the HomePod.

Really hoping the answer I got is wrong!