One of the world's biggest audio brands just added Siri to its smart speakers, but you'll still need a HomePod in the house

Denon Wireless Speaker 150 on a wooden sideboard, a top down view of the mesh on the outside

(Image credit: Tammy Rogers/ iMore)

Denon, one of the world’s biggest audio brands, has quietly added Siri support to some of its smart speakers, but there’s a catch.

It has been three years since ecobee added Siri support to its smart thermostat, the last time a company brought Apple’s virtual assistant to a third-party smart home product. But now, Denon’s wireless speakers and sound bar will be able to respond to “Hey, Siri”.

Adding Siri to some of the best Bluetooth speakers on the market like the Denon Home Series 150, 250, 350, and Soundbar 550 seems like a great first step before the expected Apple AI overhaul at WWDC in June.

Want to use Siri on one of your Denon smart speakers? You’ll need a HomePod too. Just like ecobee’s SmartThermostat, the third-party device works as an extension of your HomePod or HomePod mini rather than a standalone Siri-powered device.

While the addition is nice for Denon owners who also happen to have a HomePod in their homes (we don’t expect the majority to own both), for Denon speaker owners who don't have a homepod to hand, the update won't serve any purpose.

It’s also a puzzling time to add compatibility but maybe Denon knows something we don’t and the upcoming Siri updates we expect to see at WWDC are that good that third-party products want to get on board with it.

Siri's future?

With iOS 18 on the horizon, rumors of a new HomePod with a screen, and Apple AI an inevitable arrival, there’s a lot to be excited about in the world of Apple Home — but we’re not quite sure yet if Denon’s software update is a sign of things to come or just a box-ticking exercise for the few who happen to own Apple’s smart home speaker alongside the company’s offerings.

More from iMore

John-Anthony Disotto is the How To Editor of iMore, ensuring you can get the most from your Apple products and helping fix things when your technology isn’t behaving itself. Living in Scotland, where he worked for Apple as a technician focused on iOS and iPhone repairs at the Genius Bar, John-Anthony has used the Apple ecosystem for over a decade and prides himself in his ability to complete his Apple Watch activity rings. John-Anthony has previously worked in editorial for collectable TCG websites and graduated from The University of Strathclyde where he won the Scottish Student Journalism Award for Website of the Year as Editor-in-Chief of his university paper. He is also an avid film geek, having previously written film reviews and received the Edinburgh International Film Festival Student Critics award in 2019. John-Anthony also loves to tinker with other non-Apple technology and enjoys playing around with game emulation and Linux on his Steam Deck.

In his spare time, John-Anthony can be found watching any sport under the sun from football to darts, taking the term “Lego house” far too literally as he runs out of space to display any more plastic bricks, or chilling on the couch with his French Bulldog, Kermit.