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though you’ll still be able to tap into those features
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included in iOS13’s Home app, too, meaning devices
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Then there’s AirPlay 2, and one of the features
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AirPlay 2 devices as part of Scenes and Automations.
That’s huge. Telling Siri to set the mood and having
your favorite playlist come on as the lights dim, or
using some heavy metal as an alert when your
motion sensor’s triggered? Awesome. You can
exploit controls like playing and pausing, but also
include volume changes and a mysterious “Don’t
change what’s playing” command, which is sure to
come in useful, but not in an immediately obvious
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new controls should be applicable to everything
AirPlay 2 enabled, from smart speakers to the new
generation of smart TVs.
PLATFORM GAME
No word yet on whether these capabilities will
make their way to Apple’s macOS Home app,
though given that it’s essentially a port of the iPad
version, and considering that Apple has (as of
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Catalyst tech available for developers working in
macOS Mojave, there’s a fair chance it will. We’re
also willing to speculate that Project Catalyst will
bring a host of smart home control to your desktop
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no fundamental reason that the individual mobile
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your desktop, so you’ll be able to get high-level
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HomeKit cameras) from your Mac.
So yes, perhaps HomeKit didn’t have the loudest
showing at WWDC, but Apple’s roadmap has big
things in store for your smart devices. And it’s not
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mean more devices, and the new capabilities of
both HomeKit and AirPlay 2 make them more
attractive platforms for manufacturers. It’s a
positive feedback loop.Image rights: Apple.
You’ll be able to pass audio to your HomePod, or
pass it back to your phone — it’s the perfect use
of Apple’s Handoff tech.Welcome home
The HomePod’s evolution has been,
at least so far, a little slow. Apart from
adding searching for songs by their
lyrics, making multiple timers, and
the ability to make and receive phone
calls, not much has been added to the
smart speaker since it first launched.
But that’s set to change: among its
many upgrades, iOS 13 is due to make
the HomePod a whole lot smarter.
First up, it’ll join Google’s smart
speakers in being able to recognize
exactly who’s talking to it, and
customizing its output based on that.
So ask it what’s coming up on your
calendar, and it’ll tell you your events
— but if a family member asks
the same thing, it’ll pull from their
calendar instead. The feature also
looks set to extend to personalized
music libraries and reminders, too.
Then there’s a really big one:
Handoff. Start a tune playing on your
phone, bring it close to the HomePod,
and the music should seamlessly
transition to the smart speaker. You
can also "hand off" a phone call or
podcast — and hand it straight back
to the phone if you need to continue
it back on there.Apple’s brand new Shortcuts app will mean better and more
complex Siri automations.Smart home news
om SEP 2019 73