The revived smart speaker still boasts a powerful sound and a recognizable appearance. If some internal changes impact more than just the pricing, we’ll need additional time to listen.
This morning, I spent a small period of time listening to Apple’s HomePod II speaker. There were many demonstrations of its powers, but I’m only allowed to tell you about what I heard in one particular room. While there, I got to listen to a new HomePod playing by itself and experience the stereo pair sound of two units, which creates a significantly broader soundstage.
It’s been a while since I’ve heard a HomePod since the first model was discontinued over two years ago. I retrieved our outdated review gadget from the cupboard once I arrived back at the workplace. Apple’s marketing shots from today (I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of the new model) show that not much has changed in terms of style.
The second-generation HomePod’s illuminating Siri animations now cover the entire top surface; the power cord is also readily detachable, and the glossy section is also indented like on the HomePod Mini, making it tougher to clean off fingerprints. However, other than these tiny adjustments and the new “midnight” hue, which will blend in with black in 98 percent of viewing situations, the speaker’s exterior design is mostly unchanged. There have only been minimal adjustments made to the speaker’s height and weight.
The two full-size HomePods have some discernible internal differences: the first model had seven tweeters, whereas the updated version only has five. On the 2023 speaker, the microphone array has been reduced from six mics to four. These are likely cost-cutting measures that resulted in the lower $299.99 pricing, along with degraded Wi-Fi. Both have a “high-excursion woofer,” with Apple stating that the new HomePod’s is four inches in size. For automatic room adjusting, the first-generation gadget used “computational audio,” whereas the second-generation device used more sophisticated computational audio.
Even said, the new HomePod still… very much sounded like a HomePod throughout Apple’s music demonstrations, despite some changes to the inside. The second-generation speaker, like its predecessor, featured a pleasant richness, multidirectional room-filling sound, and a focus on high-end clarity and detail. It will probably be in the top tier of smart speakers when used alone, with items like Sonos speakers and Amazon’s Echo Studio. It sounded fantastic when the two of them performed The Eagles’ “Hotel California” live. (Apple really likes including “Hotel California” in HomePod demos; we did the same in 2018 when we received the initial HomePod sample.) However, this was done in a controlled demo setting where pleasing-to-the-ear outcomes were assured.
Apple did not provide any side-by-side comparisons of the two HomePod models, although this is not surprising given how long the original speaker has been out of production. When comparing them more closely, I’m quite interested to see if the driver reconfiguration is more apparent. Oddly, Apple makes no mention of the new HomePod’s superior audio quality in its press announcement. Apple explicitly referred to enhancements over the last model in relation to other goods, such as the second-generation AirPods Pro released last year.
My initial opinion is that the firm has returned to the drawing board with the “all-new” HomePod and has resolved one major issue with the prior model: it was way too pricey. Even while Apple has now reduced the price by $50, some individuals may still find the $300 price tag on this speaker difficult to justify. The product you’re left with adds a few new software tricks as well as smart home capabilities like monitoring the room temperature and humidity and recognizing alarms, but the second-generation HomePod still has a distinctly same feel to it. Other wishlist items like Bluetooth compatibility and line-in audio have not been addressed. It still functions as an apparent fabric-covered container for Apple Music, Siri voice commands, and other components of the Apple ecosystem.
The new HomePod is completely ready for the Matter universe, and Siri and HomeKit are in a better place than they were in 2018. Like before, I’m confident that a stereo pair will sound fantastic when used as Apple TV speakers. Only the larger sound quality (and automatic sound tuning) make the full-size HomePod worthwhile; compared to the somewhat less priced HomePod Mini, it offers no additional software capabilities or smart home functionality.
I’m eager to put the new HomePod to a more rigorous test. But for now, I have the impression that Apple is repeating a concept just as Sonos is getting ready to innovate its speakers. Although I don’t see the same level of ambition here, it has been said that Apple is considering much more audacious concepts for future speakers. I wish the business will take some chances.
For the time being, it appears that the HomePod’s reappearance is primarily designed to close a huge gap in the product selection and provide customers with something that is everything but small in sound – at a reduced cost. On February 3rd, you’ll be able to hear it for yourself.
