August 2019 • Macworld 87FEATURE- Make calls
Provided you’ve set up Personal Requests, your
HomePod can now make personal calls. It works
best if you have the numbers and names set up in
your Favourites on your iPhone. So if I say, “Hey,
Siri, call Mum,” Siri will say, “Just to confirm, you’d
like to call Mum Johnson.” If I say yes, she’ll start
making the call. Siri will also respond if you ask
her to dial a specific number.
During a regular iPhone call, you can also hand
off the call to the HomePod so it acts as a speaker.
In the regular iPhone call interface, press Audio,
and then press the name of your HomePod. The
call will immediately switch over. - Set alarms and timers
Honestly, I probably use my HomePod for this
more than anything else. It’s essentially my alarm
clock. To set an alarm, say, “Hey, Siri, wake up in
five hours” or “Hey, Siri, wake me up at 6:30am”.
For timers, you can say, “Hey, Siri, set a timer for
15 minutes,” and off she’ll go. You can even have
multiple alarms and timers going at the same time,
and you can also shut them all off with a single
phrase: “Hey, Siri, turn off all my alarms or timers.” - Translate words and
phrases into foreign languages
The HomePod is a great translator. Just ask Siri,
“How do I say ‘I love you’ in Japanese?” and she’ll
give you an answer. Apple’s voice assistant can
translate complex phrases from a wide range of