Here’s What iOS 26 Will Bring to the HomePod
Credit: James Yarema
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Apple’s developer betas for iOS 26 and the rest of the gang are in full swing, but there’s one device that has yet to be invited to the party: Apple’s HomePod.
That’s not entirely surprising for several reasons. For one, the HomePod doesn’t run an official Apple-branded operating system — at least not yet. Under the hood, it’s called “audioOS” and is based on tvOS; however, on the surface, it’s presented as “HomePod” software, akin to embedded firmware.
Another reason why the HomePod may not be a priority for developer betas is that it’s simply not relevant to developers. As much as early adopters like to experiment with earlier iOS, iPadOS, and macOS betas, these initial releases are officially intended solely for developers to test their apps. The HomePod doesn’t run apps.
Then again, neither do the AirPods, and they’ve already received two sets of beta firmware updates that roughly coincide with the release of each developer beta. Are developers likely to care much about any of these new AirPods features? Maybe. Apple at least mentioned the AirPods during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote, even if it didn’t dedicate a whole section to them. We can’t say the same for the HomePod.
Nevertheless, Apple has released at least one early beta of its HomePod Software 26 update — it’s just that it’s not being sent out to members of the developer program. Instead, like Apple has often done with the HomePod in prior years, it’s limited to members of Apple’s invite-only AppleSeed program.
While Apple has yet to officially announce the HomePod update, those with access to the HomePod 26 betas have shared a few tidbits about what to expect.
Firstly, while the iPhone, iPad, and Mac will gain a cool new AutoMix feature in Apple Music that essentially uses AI-powered crossfades, it seems the HomePod will be playing catch-up. Apple’s smart speakers will gain crossfade support, but it appears to be the same feature that iOS 17 introduced to Apple’s other devices two years ago. The addition may have finally come as a result of feedback left by tests like Hidde Collee, who shared the information in a post on X.
It also appears that HomePod 26 will also let you manually select your preferred Wi-Fi network, according to information shared by Nils Streedain on BlueSky. While the HomePod is supposed to automatically connect to the same Wi-Fi network as your iPhone or iPad, it’s not always that simple, especially in more complex home Wi-Fi networks with multiple SSIDs. That said, this could also be something that Apple has enabled in the betas solely for testing purposes.
It’s not entirely clear what one needs to do to get invited to AppleSeed, as the process is somewhat opaque. It predates the era of public beta testing and was popular when Apple wanted to involve non-developers in receiving betas under more controlled circumstances. However, it has also continued to serve as a means for Apple to distribute special betas, and over the past few years, it has been most commonly used for major HomePod beta releases.
That may be partly because it’s effectively impossible for end users to revert a HomePod to an earlier version of the software if something goes wrong. Granted, the same is also true for the Apple Watch and Apple TV 4K, but Apple presumably has a higher degree of confidence in these releases. By contrast, an AppleSeed version of HomePod 15 wreaked havoc when it leaked out four years ago and was being installed by individuals who weren’t part of the program and may not have been privy to the guidelines necessary for the proper care and feeding of these betas.
