HomePod version of Siri comes with big limitations

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HomePod
The HomePod version of Siri is a lot dumber than the iPhone version.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new HomePod speaker might be the dumbest smart-speaker on the market.

Based on early reviews and leaked info, it appears that Apple has seriously crippled Siri on the new HomePod speaker and removed some features, making it vastly different than the version of Siri that lives on your iPhone.

Pre-orders for HomePod opened to the public last week after Apple had to push the launch back in late 2017. Software issues were reportedly the cause of the delay so the company decided to make a few compromises with Siri.

One of the biggest changes to the HomePod version of Siri is that you can’t ask it obscure questions. Apple says it can answer “general knowledge” questions. So stuff like “how many feet are in a meter?” should be answerable, but other questions like “How tall is Kevin Durrant?” probably won’t be answered.

HomePod also can’t access your calendar to check if you have any appointments coming up. To make a call with HomePod you’ll have to dial the number on your iPhone first.

We’ll still need to get some time in with the HomePod ourselves to get a better picture of how limited Siri is. If you’re hoping to use HomePod like an Amazon Echo though, you might be severely disappointed.

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