The promised Sound Recognition feature is launching today on HomePod and HomePod mini. When enabled, your HomePod will listen out for your home’s existing smoke and carbon monoxide detector. When it hears the alarm, the HomePod will send a notification to your iPhone via the Home app.
The feature was first announced as coming soon back in January, alongside the launch of the second-gen HomePod.
By taking advantage of the always-on microphone inside the HomePod, it means you don’t need to necessarily invest in buying new internet-connected smoke alarm systems — HomePod can simply enhance the utility of the existing “dumb” offline smoke alarms already installed in your home.
Obviously, Sound Recognition notifications are most useful for times when the alarm goes off and you are away from home.
How to enable HomePod Sound Recognition
To enable Sound Recognition, open the Home app and go to Home Settings -> Safety & Security screen. Then, enable Sound Recognition. You can also manage critical notification alerts from supported safety and security devices in your home, and allow home members to ‘check in’ and listen to the sounds in the home.
(If the Safety & Security section is grayed out, ensure your HomePod is up-to-date with the latest software. Sound Recognition also requires the home be upgraded to the new Home architecture.)
As you might expect from Apple, this feature protects your personal privacy. Just like how the HomePod listens out for “Hey Siri,” smoke and carbon monoxide alarm sound recognition processing is run on-device locally on the HomePod.
Alarm notifications may include video from a HomeKit camera in your home if available. Like all HomeKit video features, this is sent to your iPhone using end-to-end encryption.
Perhaps you have forgotten that Sound Recognition safety features are already available on iPhone and iPad, targeted at deaf or hard-of-hearing users. Your iOS device can listen out for alarms, pet noises, the sound of breaking glass, and more. Enable these alerts in Settings -> Accessibility -> Sound Recognition.
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