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Feature Request: Apple TV and HomePod need better integration

Apple TV and HomePod not only share the title of Apple’s smart hub as well as the same operating system: tvOS. So why are they not better integrated? There are several ways Apple can improve this integration …

The original HomePod has been gone now, but Apple stated that the HomePod mini is the future. As for the Apple digital box, it has just been updated with a second generation Apple TV 4K with an A12 Bionic chip and a redesigned Siri Remote.

Soon, with tvOS 15, Apple will let users put a pair of HomePod mini speakers as the main speakers on Apple TV, but I think Apple should do more. For example, I can ask the HomePod to turn on / off (Apple) TV, even though I can not ask the smart speaker to turn the volume up / down from the Apple TV. Why can I do one thing but not the other?

And even when I connect my HomePod to Apple̵

7;s digital box, I can not ask it to open an app on Apple TV. Instead, I have to use Siri Remote.

To me, it feels like it should not be a big deal for Apple to better integrate these two products, mainly because they share the same operating system, and they are both a smart hub for Apple’s Home app.

If the company can create something like the Universal Control feature, and bring iPadOS and macOS together in a seemingly seamless experience, why is it so difficult to develop a universal Siri or at least a Siri that better understands tvOS?

Another feature I would love Apple to introduce is a Sleep Timer for Apple TV. If the digital box is already turned off if I spend some time without communicating with it, why can I not set a 30-minute timer?

These are just minor tweaks that do not even require a brand new cycle update to be made available, but Apple is still mixing up TVOS and its related products.

For example, Apple barely mentioned tvOS 15 during WWDC21, did not provide a preview page on the site, and stopped selling the original HomePod. But at the same time, the company launched a new Apple TV 4K and said it was committed to the smart speaker business.

Should customers believe what Apple says or what Apple does? A few months ago, my post was about requesting that the HomePod could play better songs that were played on it with Apple Music. As the months went by, I learned that the smart speaker plays random versions of a song instead of looking for what’s already in my library, and that’s probably why it’s struggling to count my songs that were listened to properly.

This time I wonder if Apple will ever address this issue or will continue to ignore tvOS for a few more years.

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