Speakers Archives - Homekit News and Reviews

Denon Quietly Adds Siri Functionality to its Smart Speakers

The Editor — Mon, 13 May 2024 13:36:52 +0000

A while back, Ecobee added the possibility to have Siri on a range of their smart thermostats, allowing you to activate Siri directly. Now Denon has taken the same approach for some of their smart speakers, which now allows Siri to be accessed from them.

This is all achieved via an update within the HEOS app that’s used for Denon smart speakers. Full instructions found HERE. For Siri to function in the first place, you will need a Siri enabled speaker to begin with – like the HomePod or HomePod Mini – which is also the case with the aforementioned Ecobee integration. This is because Siri isn’t actually built into these devices, but merely relayed to the speakers.

The smart speaker range has always been able to summon a voice assistant, with Alexa built into their speakers, but now with Siri, people who prefer the latter, will now be able to access Apple’s voice assistant in more locations, and not just where their nearest HomePod happens to be.

The models compatible with this update are the Denon Home series models 150, 250, 350, and Soundbar 550. All of these speakers already have AirPlay 2 integration, but in order to add the Siri update, you will initially have to remove them from your smart home, and re-add them afterwards. Additionally, if you previously used Alexa, with the Siri update Amazon’s voice assistant will be disabled, as only one of these can be active.

Big thanks to Siobhán Ellis at Practical HomeKit Blogspot for tipping us off.

The post Denon Quietly Adds Siri Functionality to its Smart Speakers appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

HomePod mini

The Editor — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 01:08:40 +0000

The HomePod Mini is a smart speaker containing the Siri Voice Assistant. It uses Bluetooth as well as AirPlay 2 for audio, showing up as a device in your HomeKit setup. It can act as a Home Hub for use within HomeKit, utilising Bluetooth and the newer Thread protocol. It connects to your home using WiFi 2.4 or 5.0GHz bands. The HomePod mini comes in two colours – White, and Space Grey – like the original HomePod.

Specifications;

Full-range driver and dual passive radiators for deep bass and crisp high frequencies
Custom acoustic waveguide for a 360º sound field
Acoustically transparent fabric
Computational audio for real-time tuning
Four-microphone design for far-field Siri
Multiroom audio with AirPlay 2
Stereo pair capable
Apple Music
iTunes music purchases
iCloud Music Library with an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription
Third-party music services
Apple Music Radio or episodes on demand
Radio stations from TuneIn, iHeartRadio, and Audacy
Apple Podcasts
News briefings
AirPlay other content to HomePod mini from iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac
802.11n Wi-Fi
Direct guest access
Bluetooth 5.0
Thread⁵
Ultra-Wideband chip for device proximity
Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
Relative humidity: 5% to 90% noncondensing
Operating altitude: tested up to 10,000 feet (3000 m)

The post HomePod mini appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Witti Beddi Smart Radio Alarm Clock (review)

Kevin Patenaude — Mon, 21 May 2018 03:44:01 +0000

So, I bought the Beddi by witti. The device has been around for a while now, but seems to have largely slipped under the HomeKit community radar, which when I saw it, I had to give it a try. So, what is it? It’s a Bluetooth Speaker, an alarm clock, and a sort of smart controller. It’s advertised as being compatible with HomeKit, which is ‘sort of’ true, but as we’ll see, that’s not the full picture.

When you turn the device on by plugging it in, whether it has been turned on (unplugged and replugged in) once or 100 times it does a bluetooth check. That check is for pairing. It will not do a ‘hard pair’ to two bluetooth devices that I know of. The controlling device (either your iPhone or an iPod Touch) always controls the device, but the speaker element can behave like a generic bluetooth speaker. Meaning in short, you can control its playback from any bluetooth device.

First of all, it’s fair to point out that as it stands, this device will only interact with HomeKit if the companion app is running in the foreground. This doesn’t however mean that the screen has to be ‘on’. The screen can be off and as long as the app is running, then the ‘limited’ Homekit functionality – which we’ll get to in a bit – will work. This may seem like a big deal, but considering the only time you might be using the device is when you’re at home, in bed watching a movie, you’ll probably want your phone to be charging, so as this device will charge your phone and add the smart buttons and speaker, it’s really logical for most purposes. The other scenario is when you’re asleep and once again, your phone will be charging, as is typical. Why not have it charging with your smart clock, that’s going to tell you the time, maybe play some music to start your day, and with the smart buttons, give you easy access to turning on scenes, like turn on the coffee machine, or set the living room lights to 30% for when you go downstairs? It has to be made clear though, that without an iPhone or iPod Touch connected to this device, it’s functionality is limited, and as such the smart buttons will simply not function.

So, onto these smart buttons; You get three buttons that can be assigned to scenes that you’ve created in the Home app, and as stated before these can be for anything you think would be useful to have quick physical access to from your bed. However, the one thing you need to be aware of is that, If you have a HomeKit Home named anything other than ‘My Home’, the app doesn’t pull in the scenes that you’ve created other than the basic pre-made scenes that exist in Home already (Arrive Home, Good Morning, Good Night and Leave Home). If you’re ok with naming your home ‘My Home’ you’re good to go. Once you’ve gone through this process, you can rename your home if you wish, but every time you want to sync new scenes to the buttons, you’ll have to go back to ‘my home’ again. Scenes are the only thing the app/device access, so you can’t use these buttons for automations, but considering you can add automations to a scene, it’s not a big deal. The one thing that does indicate that this isn’t a true HomeKit device is that it doesn’t show up at all in homeKit, even though it has a light on the underside, which is a shame really. The Beddi comes with a radio antenna, so it can act as a regular FM radio. There are two USB sockets for charging/connecting your devices and a mini USB service port.

Screen shots from the app:

So in real life terms, I get a digital clock, I get a bluetooth speaker, and I get 3 scene-only programmable buttons. These buttons are multifunction though! Each of the three buttons can react to a single, double and long press. If you want to have this device ‘always on’ and not have to leave your phone in the cradle just for this purpose, you can just as easily purchase a cheap iPod Touch that is connected to your HomeKit enabled home, which at the end of the day gets you the equivalent of an Elgato Eve Button, clock and speaker for around $85 or less on eBay or Amazon. My daughter loves pressing button one once for her scene and pressing button 2 once for her mom’s scene. She also knows if she presses button 2 twice that’s when we do our homework.

Screen shots from the app:

Lets talk about spotify: If you want to use spotify on this product, you need to log in and it will relay spotify to your phone from the speaker. Yep, it won’t play on the speaker itself. This seems odd, but as it’s a Bluetooth speaker, you can do it the other way around (Spotify from iPhone to speaker), but it won’t natively play which is a big minus point.

Onto the alarm clock; unfortunately, the alarm doesn’t kick in and then set off a scene, so it’s just a clock/alarm in that respect. This was a project on kickstarter and it isn’t really a homekit thing, it simply interacts with HomeKit in its limited scope.

Should you buy it? If you’re deep into HomeKit and just want everything to appear and be controlled from your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, then probably not. Is it nothing but an expensive alarm clock? Well, no it’s much more than that, but it is sort of a ‘halfway house’ kind of product that does a few things that no other product is doing currently with HomeKit, albeit in a round about way. It’s all down to what you want out of it versus your expectations of what this kind of device should be capable of. If you know the answer, then you either buy it or you don’t.

The post Witti Beddi Smart Radio Alarm Clock (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Witti Beddi Smart Radio Alarm Clock

The Editor — Thu, 17 May 2018 02:12:08 +0000

About the product

Easy to use app controlled alarm clock with auto time sync
Sleep better with white noise generator and wake up naturally with sunrise simulating wake-up light
Charge your phone and tablet with 2 USB charging ports (2.1A + 1A)
Listen to your favorite music with two high quality Bluetooth speakers and Spotify integration
Personalize BEDDI with three customizable buttons that interact with your other smart home devices

Product Description
BEDDI is your ultimate bedside concierge. Now you can sleep well every night with soothing white noise while your phone and tablet are charging. Wake up refreshed every morning with a wake up light that simulates sunrise, set your alarm to your favorite music, and receive weather and traffic reports. BEDDI even communicates with other smart devices in your home to adjust your room temperature, brew your coffee, and much more!

App Controlled and Fully Customizable

The BEDDI app allows you to customize BEDDI to your liking. Easily set up to 4 different alarms for specific days or the week with your favorite alarm sound or music, ideal alarm volume, and preferred snooze duration. You can also choose to receive weather and traffic information on your smartphone screen.

Spotify Integration – Wake up to Your Favorite Music

BEDDI includes two high quality speakers that can wake you up to your favorite music and start your day in the perfect mood. BEDDI fully integrates with Spotify (requires Spotify Premium account) so you can use a smart button to trigger a saved playlist. You can select a different playlist for weekdays and weekends. You can also stream music from your phone via other online music players such as Apple Music or Google Music.

Programmable Smart Button Control

BEDDI smart buttons allow you to trigger your smart home devices with just one click. You can toggle your Philips Hue light, trigger your Homekit Scene, adjust your room temperature via Nest or even call an Uber!

Multi-Color Mood Light and Wakeup Light

Whether you have a relaxed or romantic evening, the BEDDI mood light can create the perfect atmosphere. It even reacts to your music! BEDDI also includes a wake up light that simulates a sunrise by gradually brightening to help you wake up naturally.

Mutliple USB Charging Ports

BEDDI includes one 2.1A port and one 1A port for charging your smartphone, wearable, or other devices. The 2.1A port is rapid charging, which is especially good for tablets.

Provide the Best Wake Up Experience

At Witti we believe that good design and function can be combined effectively. Starting the day off right is important and your wake up experience sets the tone for the rest of your day. The BEDDI incorporates all features of a standard alarm clock radio into a very attractive and functional design, then goes a step further and automates many of your morning tasks so you can wake up and skip some of the routine to focus on getting ready for the day.

The post Witti Beddi Smart Radio Alarm Clock appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Triby Smart Speaker

The Editor — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 04:52:36 +0000

Speaker with profound bass, clear treble, and 3D sound processing (patented)
Provides up to 12 hours of continuous playback
5 preset keys to trigger up to 15 Homekit Scenes, start spotify playlist, play internet radio stations, and so more . Homekit-enabled temperature and humidity sensors
Features voice control with Alexa to play music, provide information, news, weather and more – all you have to do is ask.
WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. Also supports Spotify Connect and AirPlay (iOS)
Call anyone hands-free, or make calls to the Triby app. Instantly connect to other Triby around your home.

The post Triby Smart Speaker appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Apple HomePod

The Editor — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 04:45:14 +0000

Size, Weight, and Color

Dimensions:
6.8 inches high (172 mm)
5.6 inches wide (142 mm)

Weight:
5.5 pounds (2.5 kg)

Color:
Space Gray
White

Audio Technology

High-excursion woofer with custom amplifier
Array of seven horn-loaded tweeters, each with its own custom amplifier
Six-microphone array for far-field Siri
Internal low-frequency calibration microphone for automatic bass correction
Direct and ambient audio beamforming
Transparent studio-level dynamic processing

Audio Sources

Apple Music¹
iTunes Music Purchases
iCloud Music Library with an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription
Beats 1 Live Radio
Apple Podcasts
AirPlay other content to HomePod from iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, and Mac

Audio Formats

HE-AAC (V1), AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, and FLAC²

Touch Surface

Tap or hold + or – for volume up/down
Touch and hold for Siri
Tap to play/pause music or Siri
Double-tap to skip
Triple-tap to skip back

Accessibility

Accessibility features help people with disabilities get the most out of HomePod.

Features include:

VoiceOver
Touch Accommodations

Wireless

802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO
Direct guest access³
Bluetooth 5.0

System Requirements

iPhone 5s or later, iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation), iPad Air or later, iPad mini 2 or later, or iPod touch (6th generation) running iOS 11.2.5 or later
802.11 Wi-Fi Internet access
Apple Music subscription for full music functionality¹

The post Apple HomePod appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.