As TechRadar first reported, Apple’s HomePod lineup can now listen for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms via a new feature called Sound Recognition. And when your HomePod detects that the smoke alarm in your house went off, it will immediately send a notification to your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.
From there, you can tap on the notification on your iPhone or iPad to check if your house is indeed on fire. Tapping the notification will also notify those at home that someone is checking in. If you also have a HomeKit camera in the same room as your HomePod, its feed will appear on your screen upon checking.
However, we must warn you not to have complete faith in your HomePod’s new ability to detect smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. As Apple stated, the new Sound Recognition feature “may detect” smoke and carbon monoxide alarm sounds. The company also said that you should not rely on the new function in circumstances where you may be harmed or injured. Nevertheless, having such a feature will definitely give HomePod users some peace of mind when they are not at home.
Of course, in order for the new Sound Recognition feature to work, it must be turned on. To do that, just open the Home app on your iPhone or iPad and tap the More button. Then choose Home Settings and tap Safety & Security.
It is also necessary to have the latest HomePod software version 16.4 or later and the latest Apple Home architecture installed. To update your Home architecture, just open the Home app, tap the More button, tap Home Settings, choose Software Update, tap Learn More, and follow the prompts.