On January 18, 2023, Apple announced the second iteration of its brand-new HomePod. It has a similar appearance to the original HomePod from 2017, but it has a few useful new functions and a more reasonable $299 price tag. Included in this are support for spatial audio, smart home capabilities like a temperature and humidity sensor for the house, as well as automation that can detect a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm and notify your iPhone. Additionally, it has an S7 chip.
Design for HomePod 2 (2023)
The old and new HomePod both share the same aesthetic. It has a circular base and measures 6.8 inches high by 5.6 inches wide. Although it weighs 5.16 pounds, considering that this is not a portable device, it shouldn’t be a big deal.
2023’s HomePod 2: Audio
A 4-inch high-excursion woofer and five horn-loaded tweeters, each with a separate neodymium magnet, are featured in the new HomePod. Similar to the older model, this one incorporates a microphone for real-time tuning and bass correction, as well as room sensing to adjust the sound to its surroundings.
The new HomePod has four microphones to pick up Siri requests from a distance and Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos for music and movies.
Like the previous one, it also allows stereo pairing and AirPlay across many rooms. Interestingly, the new HomePod is lighter and has fewer speakers and microphones than the previous model.
Sources for content and audio on HomePod 2 (2023)
Through AirPlay, the HomePod of 2023 may play music from Apple Music and other services like Spotify. Siri will only function with Apple Music, though. Along with Apple Music Radio, it can also play music from your iTunes and iCloud Music Library. It has the ability to tune in to radio stations like iHeartRadio and TuneIn.
Additionally, it supports AirPlay from any other Apple device as well as Apple Podcasts and news briefings.
HomePod 2 (2023): Support for connectivity and matter
The updated homebody has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, and Thread compatibility. One significant improvement in connectivity is Ultra Wideband, which enables you to transfer music from your phone to other devices just like the HomePod mini.
Additionally, Thread, a more recent low-energy smart home connectivity technology for use with items like smart lights, is supported. As a result, Matter, the newest name in smart home connectivity standards, is also supported.
Features of the smart home in HomePod 2 (2023)
A few awesome new smart home capabilities are included in the new HomePod. If a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm is heard, it can listen for them and transmit a warning straight to your iPhone.
Brain Disease Recognition via the Eye
It also has a brand-new integrated temperature and humidity sensor that can gauge the conditions in your house and work with automated systems that close shades or switch on fans. Naturally, you can control all of your Apple Home and Matter-enabled products with your HomePod and Siri.
HomePod 2’s cost and availability in 2023
The new HomePod 2 costs $299 from Apple, is currently up for pre-order, and will go on sale on February 3. After that date, deliveries will begin to arrive.
HomePod 2 (2023): Unknowns about the device
Thus, the press release for the new HomePod 2 contained a wealth of information. However, there are still a few aspects that we’d love to learn about, with the sound profile being the most important. The original HomePod featured ear-shattering bass in addition to being extremely loud. This was great for some types of music, but it was a bit much for others. There was a toggle that could be used to reduce some of the basses, but doing so nullified the lower midrange response.
In essence, it was all or nothing. Given that there are fewer drivers in the new model, it will be interesting to observe if there is any variation in the sound profile.
use of Twitter Joe Rossignol notes that while the current model only has five tweeters, the previous model had seven. What does this signify in terms of sound? Will the sound quality be better, or the same, or will we pay $50 less for subpar sound?
Another significant design update is coming to the iPhone 15 Pro with USB-C.
The number of microphones inside the HomePod has also been decreased, in addition to the number of drivers. The new HomePod only has four microphones, compared to the old HomePod’s six. Will the new HomePod be any better than the last one, which was fantastic at picking up your voice in a noisy or crowded environment despite having two fewer microphones? Watching will be intriguing.
