iOS 13.2 with Handoff :: AirPlay done the right way
by Volker Weber
Three weeks ago I explained how to do AirPlay the right and the wrong way. Most people get it wrong, because doing it wrong is much easier.
Good news: with iOS 13.2 Apple has nailed it for the HomePod. When you are playing with Apple Music or Apple Podcasts, just hold the iPhone next to a HomePod and it will transfer playback to the HomePod and remove itself from the loop. This is pretty big, since the music stream is no longer flowing through the iPhone, but is played directly by HomePod from the source. Sonos internally calls it the "beer test". Can you leave the party to buy more beer and the music keeps on playing? Now it does.
You need iOS 13.2 on both iPhone and HomePod for this to work.
Update: before I get a few dozen questions about the line above - this only works with HomePod, not with Sonos. And it also does not work with Spotify or other apps in the proper fashion. iPhone will handoff to HomePod, but iPhone will stay in the loop. You can see this in the AirPlay shade. The reason is simple: HomePod does not know how to play from Spotify. Should this ever change, Handoff may change as well.
Comments
Does that beer test work with Apple Podcasts and Sonos speakers, too?
Or is it limited to Apple HomePod?
@Stefan: Best question ever. :) or: read the article.
Well, I guess it's *possible* that Apple might update the HomePod to work with an Apple Music competitor.
Not holding my breath. Spotify Connect is actually pretty archaic.
Do you know if there is a Siri voice command to initiate handoff?
Btw. Apple has pulled the 13.2 update for the Homepod. Obviously some users already bricked there Homepods. And it is recommended for those who already updated avoid resetting it.
No plan to reset them. :-)
That's going to hurt. I do not know how one could recover from this state. I see RMAs for those HomePods.
audioOS 13.2.1 wurde heute Nacht auf zwei von drei HomePods installiert...
