Apple’s surprise in January resurrection of the original HomePod it came with a handful of new software features. One of the most intriguing of the bunch was the sound recognition for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. When the smart speaker hears the alarm, it will send a notification to your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.
It’s a nice addition for those who don’t have a detector attached, giving them peace of mind when they’re not home. The feature is finally available starting today for HomePod and HomePod mini owners, accessible through the Home app. Once set up, it will display the notification on the iPhone lock screen and in the Home app.
If your system is connected to a smart camera, it will also present video of your location, so you can see what’s happening in real time. Apple notes that the feature is end-to-end encrypted and that all sound recognition is done locally on the speaker, rather than in the cloud.
The feature is similar to alexa guardthat Amazon announced for Echo devices, back in 2019. That feature also includes alerts for the sound of breaking glass, which seems like a pretty easy addition to implement in the future, if Apple sees fit.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been a huge fan of the Nest Protect for years. It’s the absolute must-have smart home device for someone like me who is, shall we say, prone to worrying about such things when not at home. It’s the only thing I recommend for most people, but alarm detection built into a smart speaker is a useful solution for everyone else.