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Siri seems to be targeted as the primary method to interact with HomePod other than some rudimentary touch controls that it has. Are there any other ways to interact with it? I'm specifically hoping for some sort of remote control app for iOS. I don't have a particularly good track record with Siri playing the correct song when I ask her to on my iPhone, partly because my music collection contains stuff in many languages; so I prefer to choose the right track manually from a list. I'm aware of the option to AirPlay to it, but I'd prefer the functionality the iTunes Remote iOS app offers: remote-controlling the device through a graphical UI. Any chance for that on HomePod?

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  • I'm curious, once you have the AirPlay output of your iPhone set to a HomePod, how is controlling it through iTunes or Spotify that much different from using the iTunes Remote app? What features do you imagine you'd be missing?
    – Alistair McMillan
    Feb 1, 2018 at 17:44
  • It drains my iPhone’s battery, it sort of occupies my iPhone and prevents it from playing other sounds (maybe? I only have experience with Bluetooth speakers…), it stops the music when the iPhone is otherwise occupied and/or when I leave the house (but my family might want to continue listening)… it’s all sorts of inconvenient vs. letting it play autonomously.
    – deceze
    Feb 1, 2018 at 17:48

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I'm specifically hoping for some sort of remote control app for iOS.

The standard Music app can be put into a mode where it acts as a HomePod remote control: the user can queue individual tracks and playlists, and the HomePod will play them using its own connection to Apple Music and the iTunes Music Library.

It is a little tricky getting the Music app into that mode.

One way is to open the Control Center, then long-press or force-touch on the music control. This reveals separate control panels for your iOS device and any other controllable devices, including AppleTV and HomePod. Tapping the HomePod will open the Music app in HomePod-control mode.

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The HomePod User Manual tells you everything you need to know.

Control HomePod

You and anyone in your home can control HomePod using Siri, or by tapping the top of HomePod.

To control the HomePod, you have three options only:

  • the top of the device
  • Siri
  • Apple Music (limited to playback control)

You can use the HomePod as:

  • speaker phone (make/receive calls through Siri - Siri, call Mom)
  • stream music from iTunes via AirPlay
  • Listen to Podcasts, News
  • Use Siri's personal assistant feature (Siri, set an appointment for dentist)
  • Control your home (HomeKit)

The HomePod App is used to change the settings, not to control it.

HomePod settings

The person who set up HomePod can use the Home app on their iOS device to change HomePod settings. There are settings you specify for each individual HomePod you have, and settings that apply to all of the HomePod devices in your home.

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  • Thanks for pointing to that, the relevant section is actually under Apple Music: "You can use the Apple Music app on your iOS device to control the sound volume, play what you want to hear, and add or remove songs from the Up Next queue. [..] After choosing HomePod in the Apple Music app, tap Library, For You, Browse, Radio, or Search to find music to play. You can choose to play an item next or add it to the end of the Up Next queue." – Sounds like a remote control, not AirPlay. 👍
    – deceze
    Feb 12, 2018 at 13:01
  • I meant to put in parenthetical notation (limited to playback control). You can't control HomePod through music app other than to play, pause, vol up/down, etc. In other words, you can't tell the HomePod to "dim lights" or "call Mom" through the music app.
    – Allan
    Feb 12, 2018 at 13:32
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According to Apple's HomePod site, it can be controlled using Siri and the Home app.

For example, here's one of the sections on that page:

Just say “Hey Siri, turn on the lights” or “Hey Siri, make the room cooler.” You can even ask Siri to set scenes, like “Good morning,” that put multiple accessories to work — all at once. A wide range of accessories work with Apple’s HomeKit platform. Just add an accessory to the Home app, then control it with your voice on HomePod.

Apple doesn't mention any other type of control other than the buttons on top of the unit, Siri, and the Home app.

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  • That Home app reference is pretty vague. I kind of doubt it contains an entire UI for controlling music selection and playback. But who knows…
    – deceze
    Feb 1, 2018 at 17:07
  • Correct, we won't know until it's released and the app is updated.
    – fsb
    Feb 1, 2018 at 17:10
  • Doesn't look like the Home app will do it: daringfireball.net/2018/02/homepod (under Miscellaneous).
    – deceze
    Feb 7, 2018 at 9:47
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The latest iTunes update says:

iTunes is now designed to work with HomePod. Use the improved AirPlay menu to easily choose HomePod and control what plays next with your Apple Music subscription.

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1814?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

I did not have a chance to try this yet and haven’t heard anybody talk about it, but this could be the answer.

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