IOS 11.4 finally delivers on last year’s promises

HomePod speaker given the ability to link with another for stereo sound

Apple is finally delivering on some promises it made last year about its HomePod speaker, including giving the device the ability to link with another for stereo sound.

The company released a software release called iOS 11.4 Tuesday that unlocks more features for the smart speaker.

The announcement comes just ahead of Apple’s developer conference, which starts Monday — the same conference where Apple first announced the speaker a year ago.

Apple hasn’t released sales figures for its speaker, but estimates say the HomePod holds about 3 percent of the overall market in the U.S., according to a February survey from investment firm Loup Ventures. This week’s developers conference may bring more updates to Siri and HomePod as both have been major points of focus for Apple in the past year.

Other features coming with the update include Apple’sSiri voice assistant’s new ability to control some other nonApple speakers including those made by Sonos, Bang & Olufson, Bose and others.

Music lovers also will be able to set up the HomePod and other speakers through Apple’s Home app. The app will group those speakers by room, so you can now ask Siri to play a song “in the kitchen and the bedroom,” for example.

And the new software adds another feature missing from the HomePod: the ability to check your calendar. That was a major missing feature for the HomePod at launch, especially for a device that’s supposed to act as the center of your smart home.

Apple’s is also streamlining its iMessage service, which can now be backed up through its iCloud data service to sync all messages across your devices.