Latest HomePod Firmware Discovery Shares First UI Sounds of Apple's Smart Speaker
In the continued release of Apple news originating from developers digging through HomePod firmware, we now have some of the first user interface sounds that HomePod users could be hearing once the smart home speaker launches this December.
Developer Avery Magnotti discovered the sounds within a file named "audioOS" of the HomePod firmware that Apple released this past weekend. In order of appearance in the file, the sounds are called:
alarm1.wav
Lighthouse.wav
SessionInactive-b238.wav
SetupFinal-b238.m4a
SetupStepSource-b238.m4a
SetupStepTarget-b238.m4a
timer1.wav
TwoShot-b238.wav
WOCAudioPasscodeTone.wav
To hear what the files sound like, Magnotti posted a video on his YouTube channel, sharing samples of each file listed. Alarm1 and Timer1 sound like simple tones that HomePod users might be able to choose from when setting up timers in their kitchens. The rest are a bit more unclear, although each Setup file is likely related to the initial pairing process of HomePod and a user's iPhone.
HomePod firmware-related reveals have been steadily rolling out since Saturday, revealing the
general design of the iPhone 8, referencing a
"split" status bar, including
potential new Apple Watch skiing workouts, and more. Magnotti himself
revealed yesterday that the HomePod's Siri display measures in at 272 x 340.
The reason that there are so many iPhone and Apple Watch bits of news coming out of the new HomePod firmware is because Apple's smart speaker will run on a modified version of iOS when it launches, and the firmware being investigated by developers relates to iOS 11.0.2. Apple announced the HomePod at WWDC this year, and it will launch this December for $349.
Popular Stories
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec).
The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps.
More features and changes will follow in future ...
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet.
The update will likely be released by the end of next week.
Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year.
The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings.
iOS 26.4 will...
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more.
With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump.
First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year.
Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...
The first alleged benchmark result for the M5 chip in the new 14-inch MacBook Pro has surfaced, allowing for some performance comparisons.
Based on a single unconfirmed result uploaded to the Geekbench 6 database today, the M5 chip has pulled off an impressive feat. Specifically, the chip achieved a score of 4,263 for single-core CPU performance, which is the highest single-core score that...
