Photo by James Bareham / The Verge
Apple’s HomePod smart speaker is getting some new capabilities thanks to a software update that’s available today as part of iOS 14.1. These were announced during the company’s event earlier this month, and some of the features — especially the intercom function — go a long way in helping the HomePod catch up with Amazon Echo and Google / Nest speakers.
Intercom lets you record a message on one HomePod and send it to another (or several others) in your house. This is something you can already do with an Echo, but later this year, Apple is going beyond what those other smart speakers can do by expanding intercom to include your iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch, and CarPlay. So you’ll be able to record a message from pretty much…