What you need to know
- Apple has released HomePod software beta 3.
- The update brings support for Lossless Audio in Apple Music.
- It may also fix some issues users were reporting with the earlier beta.
Apple has released the third beta of software 15 for the HomePod and HomePod mini, bringing with it support for Lossless Audio in Apple Music.
As reported by 9to5Mac, the latest beta for the HomePod has added support for one of the key new features in Apple Music: Lossless Audio. Released for the music service alongside Spatial Audio, Lossless Audio allows you to stream music in much higher bitrates and frequencies that are unavailable in lower qualities of streaming like AAC.
The new update to the beta will now allow the HomePod and HomePod mini to stream music in Lossless Audio for the first time, enabling a new level of audio quality for HomePod owners who subscribe and stream with Apple Music. Lossless Audio is available on some competing music services as well but it is currently unclear if and when they will also be supported on Apple's smart speaker.
The latest beta update for the HomePod will hopefully fix some issues that users had reported with the previous beta. Last week, one user had reported that almost half of their HomePods broke after updating to the latest software releases.
Some users are reporting that their HomePods are failing after being connected to an Apple TV. In fact, one user who owns 19 of the things had multiple HomePods fail.
Other users reported overheating issues in the previous beta release for the HomePod software 15 update.
Some people testing the HomePod Software 15 beta are reporting that their HomePods are getting unusually warm, sometimes even powering down due to the heat.
Hopefully, those issues have been resolved in the beta 3 release, but we'll have to see once users get the update into their hands and start testing.
If you're wondering about how to bring even more functionality to your new HomePod mini, check out our list of the Best accessories for HomePod mini 2021.
Bottom line: Apple is preaching to the choir with this one, a tremendous speaker for its price and size, but only for those who are already invested in Apple's ecosystem of products and services.
