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With a little over a week to go before shipping, Apple has finally cleared up what audio the HomePod can play, as noted by MacRumors:

• Apple Music: HomePod users can ask Siri to play any of over 45 million songs available on Apple Music. A subscription is required.
• iTunes Music: HomePod users can ask Siri to play any songs, albums, or audiobooks they have previously purchased from the iTunes Store.
• iCloud Music Library: HomePod users can ask Siri to play any songs uploaded to a user’s iCloud Music Library, including songs imported from other sources such as CDs, with an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription.
• Beats 1: HomePod users can ask Siri to play Apple’s official radio station that is apparently still a thing.
• Podcasts: HomePod users can ask Siri to play podcasts from the Apple Podcasts directory.
• AirPlay: HomePod users can use AirPlay to play other audio from an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, and Mac. AirPlay 2, coming later this year, is only required to stream audio from these sources to multiple HomePods.

It’s silly that there was so much confusion over this, but I’m glad Apple has documented this for customers. This whole product launch has been unusual.

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This week on Connected:

It’s January, so it’s time to spin up the iPhone rumor machine, but first Stephen and Federico consider what a “Snow Leopard” iOS release could look like. Lastly, one of them has switched to DuckDuckGo.

My thanks to our sponsors:

• Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code WORLD at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
• Anchor: Radio, reinvented.
• PDFpen, from Smile: Everything you need for more powerful PDF editing.

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This week on Ungeniused:

The Pacific Ocean may be home to a giant soupy mass of plastic and chemicals, but far more adorable litter has ridden its waves in the past, too.

My thanks to our sponsor:

• Casper: Start sleeping ahead of the curve. Get $50 off select mattresses with the code ‘UNGENIUSED’.

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These things come in cycles.

There’s revolution, followed by evolution. The Apple II, then the IIe. The Macintosh, then the Macintosh SE. The Titanium PowerBook G4, then the aluminum models.

Both sides of the revolution/evolution coin have their winners. The IIe became Apple’s bread and butter for years, introducing an entire generation to personal computing. The SE and SE/30 are among the most-loved early Macs, and it is still hard to talk about the 12-inch PowerBook G4 without smiling.

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This week on Liftoff, Jason and I catch up on some weird satellite and exoplanet news before walking through Apollo 4 and 5.

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Ina Fried at Axios:

Apple has shaken up its iOS software plans for 2018, delaying some features to next year in an effort to put more focus on addressing performance and quality issues, Axios has learned.

Software head Craig Federighi announced the revised plan to employees at a meeting earlier this month, shortly before he and some top lieutenants headed to a company offsite.

Fried goes on to report that larger iOS projects, like a revamped home screen and CarPlay UI are now slated for 2019, being pushed back to make room for a year of bug fixing and polish.

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Apple Support:

This article describes the new system configurations of the Apple Workgroup Server (AWS) 95 with the January 1994 release.

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Jim Dalrymple:

With the release of the latest macOS developer beta, Apple will begin to alert users that they are using older, 32-bit apps, instead of the more modern 64-bit apps, the company told me today. The macOS beta will be released to developers on Wednesday.

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Even though I had a 5K iMac on my desk for a year before replacing it with my iMac Pro, I’ve never gotten good at plugging things into the back of the machine without looking. As someone who imports photos and video from an SD card on a regular basis, you’d think I’d be better at finding the port on the back.

I recently picked up Satechi’s $49 awkwardly named “Aluminum Type-C Clamp Hub Pro” to help with this problem. It puts a SD card slot, Micro SD card slot, three USB 3 and one USB-C port around the front of the iMac, all enclosed in a small body that fits perfectly flush with the front of the computer. It plugs into one of the USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports on the machine, which worked well for me, as I had one free.

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On this very special episode of Query, I chat with Serenity about her hands-on time with Apple’s new smart speaker.

I honestly came away from this recording much more excited about the HomePod than I was when I ordered one this morning. I think you’ll really enjoy our conversation and Serenity’s impressions of the device.

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HomePod orders are now open.

I picked up a white model, set for in-store pickup two weeks from today. We have a couple of Amazon Echos around the house, despite being subscribers to Apple Music. We pay for Amazon’s Echo-only music streaming and use the speaker to control a bunch of smart lights, listen to news, set timers while cooking and more.

On paper, the HomePod should do everything we ask of our Echo, but I’m a little worried that Siri won’t be able to keep up as well as Alexa does. I guess I’ll find out in two weeks.

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Mark Gurman is reporting that Apple is working to overhaul its iBooks (soon to just be named “Books”) app and store, with the help of at least one ex-Amazon employee:

The new app, due to be released in coming months, will include a simpler interface that better highlights books currently being read and a redesigned digital book store that looks more like the new App Store launched last year, according to people familiar with its development. The revamped app in testing includes a new section called Reading Now and a dedicated tab for audio books, the people said.

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