Apple HomePod 2 is here: this is what's new
A cheaper price, slight design update and new sensors, but still no inputs
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Big Siri energy
🔊 You can order the HomePod now, or get it in stores on Feb 3, for $299
🌡️ Features – and uses – a temperature and humidity sensor
🏡 Will support Matter and serve as a Thread border router
🔈 Offers stereo pair support, but not with the old model
📶 WiFi has been downgraded to an older standard
As rumored yesterday, an Apple HomePod 2 is a reality for 2023. Starting today, in fact. Apple just announced that the HomePod (2nd Generation) is available for pre-order, at long last, with a February 3 release date and cheaper $299 price tag. The updated speaker gets a slight visual refresh featuring a recessed, backlit touch surface resembling that found on the smaller HomePod Mini. Otherwise, the exterior design remains unchanged.
As before, Apple promises a powerful listening experience with spatial audio, which the previous speaker also had. But that’s not new. Here’s what is.
Sound and fury
While it’s likely the new speaker will sound fantastic, it looks like Apple has decided it can get the job done with less equipment on the inside. The new HomePod gets two fewer tweeters – five to the original’s seven – but it will still have a 4-inch subwoofer, as before. It also uses a four far-field microphone array versus the six microphones found on the 2018 model.
It will create stereo pairs with another 2023 HomePod, but – and here’s the “fury” part – if you have the old 2018 HomePod, you won’t be able to combine them. I’m not surprised, but that will disappoint folks who may have hoped to replace a dead or dying speaker from a previous stereo pair.
Environmental sensors (that it actually uses)
The Siri-equipped speaker comes equipped with a temperature and humidity sensor, which Apple says you’ll be able to use to create automations to operate certain smart home devices, like smart blinds or a fan, based on data from the sensor.
It was reported in 2021 that the HomePod Mini also had temperature and humidity sensors, which, it was speculated, Apple would be using for automations and the like, but that never came to pass. Apple Insider spotted the sensor listed at the bottom of the overview page of the new HomePod (likewise it’s in a new comparison section added to the HomePod Mini overview). The publication has since confirmed the functionality of the HomePod Mini implementation in the iOS 16.3 beta.
Smart home connectivity
The company also adds Matter support, which was not available on the original 2018 model. This means the HomePod can connect to any Matter-compliant smart home device. Like the HomePod Mini, it comes equipped with Thread, a primary wireless mesh protocol used by Matter for fast, local control of Thread-enabled devices.
Interestingly, according to the tech specs for the HomePod (2nd Generation), Apple appears to have skimped on the WiFi chip inside the device, using the old 802.11n protocol, which predates WiFi 6, and even WiFi 5 (AKA 802.11ac) which first came to market in 2012. The HomePod Mini likewise only uses 802.11n, which you could argue is a cost-saving measure, though the Mini is pricier than comparable speakers like the 5th Generation Amazon Echo Dot, which uses WiFi 5.
The speaker will also support up to Bluetooth 5.0, but as with past HomePods, it’s doubtful this will be used as an additional music input option – you’ll be stuck with AirPlay 2 or asking Siri for music. Most likely it will continue to use Bluetooth for smart home control.
Recycled gold
Apple says the HomePod uses 100 percent recycled gold, in its circuit boards and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements. So you can feel good about how you’re treating the environment while you ask Siri to play the latest song from, I don’t know, what do you kids listen to these days – is it Green Day?
More to come?
On Tuesday, we learned about the MacBook Pro 14- and- 16-inch 2023 and got new Mac Minis with M2 chips and a sneaky iOS 16.3 announcement buried in the footnote of the Apple Watch Black Unity Sport Loop release, it’s easy to wonder if there’s more in store from Cupertino as this week continues.
Apple is likely to unveil its VR headset at WWDC in March, and it’s very possible it wants to keep the spotlight on that. Then again, this week’s news was prefaced by predictions that these products were coming, and we haven’t seen any signs for more, so Apple could be holding its cards for the next big event.
Published: January 18, 2023
Updated: January 19,2023