HomePod update hints at launch in Norway and Sweden
Apple this week released HomePod Software 15.6 along with iOS 15.6 and other updates. While iOS 15.6 isn’t exactly a major update, the latest HomePod software enables voice recognition support for more languages. But more than that, the update hints at an imminent launch of the HomePod in Norway and Sweden.
As we previously reported, HomePod Software 15.6 enables Siri voice recognition for Mandarin Chinese (Mainland China, Taiwan), Cantonese (Mainland China, Hong Kong), and Japanese (Japan). With this feature enabled, Siri can learn and recognize different people’s voice so that they can make personalized requests based on their own information.
HomePod’s multi-user feature works with up to six different people, allowing them to access their own playlists, notifications and calendar from the same HomePod or HomePod mini.
One thing that was not mentioned in the HomePod Software 15.6 release notes, however, is the addition of Norwegian and Swedish languages for Siri. Previously, these languages were not available at all for HomePod users, but now they have been quietly added with the 15.6 update.
Right now, HomePod is not available in Norway and Sweden, which means that Apple is probably getting ready to launch its smart speaker in those countries. In the past, every time Apple has added a new language to HomePod’s Siri, the product has hit stores in that country a few weeks later. Apple has yet to confirm the launch.
Last year, the company expanded the availability of the HomePod mini to several new countries, including Germany, Italy, Austria, New Zealand and Ireland. Earlier this year, the device was also launched in Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
An earlier version of the HomePod Software also added support for the Russian language, but since Apple suspended its operations in Russia due to the events of the war with Ukraine, the HomePod was never made available there.
More about HomePod mini
For those who don’t know, HomePod mini is Apple’s smart speaker with built-in Wi-Fi, so it provides access to Apple Music, HomeKit and a few other apps through Siri. Apple also had a larger version of the HomePod, which was discontinued in 2020. According to rumors, Apple will announce a new HomePod in the coming months.
In the US, the HomePod mini costs $99 and comes in five different colors: black, white, yellow, orange and blue.
H/T: Kristoffer Blix.
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