Wednesday, April 19, 2023 10:45 am3 Comments

• News

Apple’s HomePod and HomePod mini can now recognize the sound of smoke alarms, and automatically send a notification alert to a user’s iPhone.

William Gallagher for AppleInsider:

Apple announced what it calls Sound Recognition in January, alongside the release of the revised HomePod. However, it required the use of the revamped HomeKit architecture, which it released in November 2022, then pulled in December.

Now the new HomeKit architecture has been released again with macOS Ventura 13.3 and iOS 16.4. It’s not clear why Sound Recognition was not enabled when those OSes were released — or in fact whether it was — but the feature is now available…

Neither the HomePod nor HomePod mini contain a smoke detector, so this is entirely based on sound — which means users have to have a smoke alarm for this to work. However, both models do have a built-in temperature sensor.

So in a fully-equipped smart home setting, a HomePod could hear the sound of an alarm and also register a rising temperature.

MacDailyNews Take: Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm sound recognition processing is run on-device locally on the HomePod to protect user privacy.

Of the feature, Apple says, “Sound Recognition may detect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm sounds and send you notifications when recognized. Sound Recognition should not be relied upon in circumstances where you may be harmed or injured, or in high-risk or emergency situations. Sound Recognition requires the updated Home architecture… It requires all Apple devices that access the home to be using the latest software.”

Your iPhone and iPad can also listen for alarms, pet sounds, breaking glass, and more. Enable these alerts in Settings > Accessibility > Sound Recognition.

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