It had to happen and it has — the return of the full-size Apple HomePod, which the company discontinued in 2021. When it first launched, the product was praised for its outstanding audio quality but critics wanted more from Siri. The company, of course, went on to sell a cheaper (and successful) model called the HomePod Mini.
The new HomePod has a similar form factor to the original model released in 2018 but in way of features, there are some important updates. New features on the second-generation model includes support for the wireless protocol Thread and the smart home standard Matter, allowing the speaker to control compatible accessories, and an upgraded S7 chip.
There are some changes in the acoustic set-up. The new model is coming with a single four-inch woofer paired with five tweeters (earlier it was seven) and a total of five microphones (earlier it was seven) but Apple says the speaker sounds far better than before. There’s a customengineered high-excursion woofer, powerful motor that drives the diaphragm a remarkable 20mm, built-in bass-EQ mic, and beam-forming array of five tweeters around the base, working together.
Earlier there was a motion sensor but that has been replaced with new technology. The new HomePod can tune itself inside the room to know its place. We guess Apple is probably just using its more powerful processor to automatically tune your audio on the fly all the time, similar to how Apple is tuning the audio for your ears when you have your AirPods in.
To easily control what’s playing or receive personalised song and podcast recommendations, anyone in the home can bring an iPhone close to HomePod and suggestions will surface automatically
Like the original HomePod, two speakers can be arranged into a stereo pair or used as speakers for the Apple TV 4K. There’s also support for Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos.
One of the highlights of the device is its support for wireless Thread protocol and the Matter smart home standard. The HomePod has humidity and temperature sensors that can be used in our smart home automation flows. Soon (with a future software update) it will also be able to detect carbon monoxide and smoke alarms.
HomePod is designed to minimise its environmental impact, and includes 100 per cent recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards and 100 per cent recycled rare earth elements in the speaker magnet.