In which Adam Engst finally hops on the HomeKit bandwagon for real and gets totally sucked in, installing smart outlets, controlling motorized shades, and adding some Flic buttons. 

It’s another of Apple’s “update five operating systems all at once” days, with this set of updates bringing the Intercom feature to more devices, better integrating the HomePod with Apple TV, and adding notifications when headphone volume could damage your hearing, along with some important security and bug fixes.

Apple has released iOS 14.1, iPadOS 14.1, and HomePod Software 14.1, with the first two adding support for playing and editing HDR video and the HomePod update adding the new Intercom feature.

Apple announced the HomePod mini, a smaller, less expensive, and more rounded version of its two-year-old HomePod. The expanded speaker line has little in the way of groundbreaking features as it competes with speakers from Amazon and Google, but at least it’s now more affordable.

Although Apple focused most of its operating system update work on iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4, the integration of the company’s platforms means that everything else received updates as well. Here’s the rundown.

Don’t want your HomePod’s Siri responses being too loud at night? Matthew Cassinelli has come up with a tip on how to automatically quiet the HomePod at bedtime.

Apple has updated all of its operating systems to address privacy and parental controls in iOS and performance in newer Mac hardware.

Apple’s getting ready to hunker down for the holidays, so the company has updated all of its shipping operating systems with bug fixes and a few features.

When Apple released iOS 13.2 for HomePod last week, there were immediate reports that it—or resetting the HomePod after installing it—was causing the HomePods to become entirely unresponsive. The company is now pushing iOS 13.2.1 for HomePod to resolve that problem.

Apple’s HomePod smart speaker is headed to Japan, indicating that Apple is far from giving up on it, despite its small market share.

Apple has permanently lowered the price of its HomePod smart speaker by $50, from $349 to $299. Was it just overpriced or is Apple clearing the decks for a new model?

Siri takes a lot of flak, but it’s a lot more powerful than many people realize. If you haven’t been using Siri for much, these tips from “Take Control of Siri” author Scholle McFarland will expand your conversations with Apple’s digital assistant—and hopefully get Siri to do more for you.

iOS 12 on the HomePod adds a bevy of welcome features, including support for making and receiving calls, setting and naming multiple timers, and pinging misplaced Apple devices in your home

Three of Apple’s four major operating system upgrades—iOS 12, watchOS 5, and tvOS 12—are now out, and the fourth, macOS 10.14 Mojave, is due on September 24th. Read on for our advice on when and how to install.