Apple has released a new update for iPhone and HomePod mini that takes much better advantage of the possibilities offered by the new U1 chip of the latest Apple devices, allowing greater control of audio transfers and control of the same on these devices.
iOs 14.4 is here for the iPhone, iPad and for the HomePods, and among the novelties stands out a new way of handling audio transfers between the HomePod and the iPhone thanks to the U1 chip, a new element that incorporates the most modern iPhones and the HomePod mini with which it is possible to know much more precisely the position of the devices. Thanks to these updates and this chip we can pass the audio from our iPhone to the HomePod mini and vice versa, as well as control the playback in a much more direct way and with visual elements that make it much more intuitive.
In order to take advantage of this new feature, the first thing we need is to have a compatible device, whose essential requirement is that it has the new U1 chip. This element is present on the HomePod mini and on all iPhones since the iPhone 11: iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max and 12 Mini. The only model that is left out of this list despite being launched in 2020 is the iPhone SE. If we have these devices, we must update our software to the latest version available at this time: iO 14.4. The HomePod mini must also be updated to this version, to check it we must enter the Home application and within the settings check if there is an update available for our HomePod.
From this moment, and as you can see in the video, every time we bring our iPhone to the HomePod a banner will appear that will allow us to transfer the audio from the iPhone to the HomePod mini, or from the speaker to the iPhone, it controls the playback of the HomePod from the screen of our iPhone, or if there is nothing playing on any device, see playback suggestions based on our habits, both podcast and music. A new way that is much more visual, attractive and faster to control our reproduction and that unfortunately the original HomePod cannot perform.
I do not know if it happens to all of them but if I am near the HOMEPOD MINI, and using my iPhone, every time I get the eyelash to the degree of being intrusive and annoying.