Apple’s second-generation HomePod will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores this Friday. Ahead of time, the first reviews of the smart speaker have been shared by select media publications and YouTube channels
Priced at $299, the new HomePod has a virtually identical design to the full-sized HomePod that Apple discontinued in March 2021, but with two fewer tweeters and microphones. The Siri-powered speaker is equipped with a four-inch high-excursion woofer, an S7 chip for computational audio, and a U1 chip for transferring music from an iPhone. The speaker supports smart home accessories with Dolby Atmos and Matter for spatial audio.
A new sensor on the HomePod can measure temperature and humidity in the indoor environment, and this feature was also enabled on the existing HomePod Mini with a recent software update. Sound recognition will also come to the new HomePod with a software update this spring, allowing the speaker to listen for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and send a notification to the user’s iPhone if a sound is detected.
The new HomePod can be pre-ordered on Apple’s online store, with white and midnight color options available. In-store availability and customer delivery will begin Friday, February 3 in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and 11 other countries and territories.
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the edgeIts Chris Welch says the sound quality is very similar to the original HomePod:
After several days of listening to the new HomePod (both solo and in a stereo pair), I still think its sound signature is true to the original HomePod. If you’re a fan of those speakers, you’ll be pleased with the second-generation version. Of course, when comparing both generations side-by-side with the same track you can hear subtle differences in how music is rendered. The new HomePod can bring out a guitar solo with a bit more emphasis than the original. But the central feature is the same.
The Wall Street JournalIts Nicole Nguyen also says that the new HomePod sounds just like the original:
The updated HomePod looks a lot like its discontinued predecessor—and sounds the same. I tested the new HomePods, as a single and grouped as a stereo pair, in a room that’s about 370 square feet. For most tracks, keeping the volume at 30% was enough to fill the space.
If you look at the spec sheets comparing the old and new HomePods, you might scratch your head. The new one has a faster processor but fewer built-in microphones and speakers and supports an older Wi-Fi standard. But in person, the new HomePod sounds and performs just like the original.
Pocket-lintBritta O’Boyle was also impressed with the new HomePod’s sound quality:
In terms of hardware, there are five tweeters, a “high-excursion woofer” capable of moving an impressive 20mm and a four-microphone array. It’s a slightly different setup to the original HomePod — it had seven tweeters, for starters — but the performance is equally great. Make no mistake, the HomePod (2nd generation) sounds fantastic.
In the midrange, you’ll find vocals that are detailed, crisp and crystal clear, while at the bottom end, the HomePod has plenty of bass. It’s nice and deep for its size, while still providing expression and punch. It’s not as bassy as the Sonos Five – which is a bigger and more expensive speaker – and the HomePod is arguably a bit noisier in the mid-range when playing tracks like Skrillex’s Rumble than the Five, but it’s still very impressive overall – and pretty nifty to carry around either way. track. You can lower the bass in the Home app, though we didn’t find it necessary.
EngadgetIts Billy Steele says that Siri had several flaws when the original HomePod was released in 2018, but the voice assistant has improved over the years. He also said that the new HomePod’s two fewer microphones compared to the original don’t affect Siri’s ability to recognize voice — even in a noisy room:
When we reviewed the original HomePod back in 2018, one of our biggest gripes was Siri’s limited capabilities. Sure the speaker sounds good, but the lack of polish with the voice assistant made it seem like a work in progress. Apple has done a lot to improve Siri over the past five years, so many of those problems with the original have been fixed.
First, HomePod, like Siri on your iPhone, can recognize multiple users. Private requests can allow it to peek into your calendar, notes, reminders, messages, find me, and more when you ask. Plus, HomePod can give each member of your family (up to six) their unique feedback from specific iPhone apps. What’s more, Siri can create repetitive home automation without you having to pick up your phone and swipe to the appropriate app.
Even with fewer microphones to pick up your voice, the new HomePod doesn’t suffer any performance bottlenecks. It’s as capable as ever of picking out your voice even in a noisy room.
Mobile syrupIts Dean Daly was impressed with the new HomePod’s spatial audio:
A great song to experiment with spatial audio is one of my favorite tracks for karaoke, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. It sounds decent at first, but after the “I see a little silhouette of a man” section of the song, the 2nd-gen HomePod takes it to a whole other level, making full use of spatial audio with Dolby Atmos surround sound and tone. Tune in to create an epic concert in the entertainment space. This was definitely my favorite song I tested and one I showed to several friends.
roadJacob Kroll touched on the new HomePod’s larger backlit touch surface:
The most notable design change is at the top and involves the screen. Although not really showing new information and the dream of a HomePod with a real display is just a dream, the upper surface is bigger. It gives one more control with tap to play or pause among other controls and it can be bright and big in different colors.
Instead of volume controls appearing after a touch like the original HomePod, “+” and “-” are now etched into this backlit touch surface making it easy to adjust volume at a moment’s notice. When background music is playing, the top of the HomePod will glow in colors that resemble the album artwork of what you’re listening to, and when interacting with Siri it will glow with all the colors you’d expect.
TechCrunchBrian Hiter of the new HomePod tests the audio handoff:
Start a song with Apple Music on your iPhone, hold it up to the HomePod, and it’ll start playing there, with a satisfying haptic fist bump. Move the phone back to the speaker and you can move it again. I really like this feature. This is a good example of how nicely hardware can play together if you build your own device, software and chips. It is also surprisingly acceptable. In fact, I’ve found myself disabling it when the HomePods are on my desk, otherwise it would accidentally trigger when I’m using the iPhone two feet from the speakers.
