If I buy a HomePod or two, is it easy to ask Siri to play a specific song/mix, album and/or playlist I've uploaded to iTunes from my CD collection?

I'm not sure I understand "You can AirPlay from any other source however." The source for a song I want to play hands-free at a whim is iTunes. Are you saying that the HomePod speaker will play any track I ask it to from my whole iTunes library on my iMac? If so, what are the drawbacks of AirPlay on HomePod—is there a lesser sound quality or a delay or something like that? Because I'm not sure I understand the distinction.

Thanks for your response.

Can I use Siri from an iPad or iPhone or Apple Watch to play the song on the HomePod? Or would HomePod Siri insist on being the one that answers me and not let the iPad Siri do it?

This morning I asked Siri on my iPad to play Artist X's "Y" and it started playing a different whole album from that artist. So after breakfast I tried the other way around, asking Siri to play "Y" by Artist X and yes, Siri got it right that time! Which is fine with me, it certainly makes sense to put the song first and the artist second.

But yeah, in that case it was just a straightforward esoteric song (that's not on the iTunes store, for example, and out of print), but I wonder about whether I'm going to remember the mix name of the one mix I really liked out of the 10 or 20 mixes I just uploaded, or when the same artist has re-recorded the song and stuff like that.

Can you ask it to "Play the version of 'A' from soundtrack B THAT HAS FIVE STARS" or "Play the remix of 'Y' by Artist X THAT I ADDED TO A PLAYLIST" if, for example, I can't remember the playlist name but I know I threw the track into a playlist at some point.

For that matter, if I were to get iTunes match—for some reason I can't see where to find that and how much it costs—or Apple Music, then are Siri's abilities (leaving aside my own) improved on HomePod, or in these circumstances would they just get in the way anyway?

I was waiting until Apple introduced the stereo sync feature which they have, and I really want to get this, but I already have Siri almost everywhere I go on the Watch and in those circumstances the watch is off (in bed, getting out of the shower) the phone is nearby.

Calling out songs I've collected over the years, including esoteric ones that are my most hard-won favorites, hands-free on a good speaker, is my primary use case for this...

I had assumed HomePod would access music from my iMac on WiFi, but do I understand you to be saying that whether or not you have Apple Music or iTunes Match the HomePod is using cellular data? If I get a HomePod, do I need to activate a line with my carrier like I did with the watch and the iPad? (Worse, if I get two, do I need two lines?!)

Now, my iMac has Siri, and isn’t using up cellular data, but I never think to use the iMac Siri because almost all of the time when I'm at my desk I've got the watch on (and the phone nearby). If all the other devices draw on your cellular data plan, is there a way to set the iMac's Siri to on even when the Mac is asleep, like the iPhone or the iWatch, and then have the iMac be the one that's directing the track via WiFi to the HomePod so that I'm not paying for another cellular line or using my cellular data plan?

Ah, yes, I do have Logic Pro X and I had suspected that.

Thank you, you've really been helpful.

I just had a quick chat with an Apple rep as well who confirmed I didn't have to pay for any cellular connection like I did with the iPad and the Phone, that the HomeKit pairs with the iPhone for those purposes, so I do think I'm going to get this and once they're here I'll probably try them on their own for a few weeks to see how I like that and then give the 3-month trial of Apple Music a go.

Just out of curiosity, the thread you linked to you said you were then on the free Apple Music trial; did you elect to continue your subscription, or did you let it expire?

Aaargh!

I had just got home from picking up my one HomePod (they didn't have two in stock at my local reseller, and couldn't order one) and I sat down at my computer and the message that a new answer was posted here chimed in.

Siri on HomePod "does not know about anything in your iTunes library on Mac or iPhone/iPad"?!

I was writing earlier, that was my primary use case for getting a HomePod, to be able to ask Siri to play any song, album or playlist in my iTunes library, in particular those esoteric songs and rare mixes I've spent decades tracking down, paying for, and uploading myself from CD.

turingtest 2 wrote, "I think Siri still has a way to go, but it can play song X from playlist Y" from iTunes on the HomePod. Is this not accurate? Because he also wrote the seemingly contradictory, "HomePod can play anything in your library, you just cannot use HomePod's Siri to do it."

Are you guys saying that you can ask Siri to play the song but it's Siri on your iPhone or iPad that's doing it and not Siri on your HomePod?

It makes absolutely no sense that I can ask Siri on my iPad to play a song and it will, but I can't ask Siri on my Apple smart speaker to play a song! Six microphones on the HomePod but I can't ask it the same obvious function of playing a particular track, album or playlist that I can do on an iPad?! Is there some technical limitation to the HomePod or some other rationale for this?

I would be better off getting regular (not-smart) speakers, and plugging them into the iPad then, no?

I was intending to order a second HomePod on Monday (from Apple with their $50 bonus) for stereo and/or dual-room use. Now I'm half-considering taking the one I got back.

Please somebody tell me and Michael that he's wrong.