Apple announces HomePod Software Update coming Sept. 12

At the close of today’s event, Apple CEO Tim Cook also briefly mentioned Apple’s HomePod speaker, touting the recent addition of AirPlay 2 and stereo pairing, and announcing that Apple will be releasing a new HomePod Software Update that will bring some of the previously-rumoured features such as multiple timers and the ability to place and receive calls directly from HomePod (using a paired iPhone). Cook also noted a few additional features that we previously hadn’t heard of, although they aren’t particularly surprising, and include the ability to search songs by lyrics, ping and locate other devices from HomePod, and trigger the new iOS 12 Siri Shortcuts from the HomePod. Apple has also published a news release detailing the upcoming features.