Apple has unveiled the HomePod 2 – the successor to the initial HomePod, which was introduced in 2018. The new wi-fi speaker is incredibly comparable to the 1st HomePod in most ways, but appears to have been developed even a lot more to be geared in direction of Dolby Atmos videos and Spatial Audio for Apple Audio.
The first Apple HomePod was 1 of the finest wireless speakers on the market, prior to it was unceremoniously discontinued in March 2021 and the firm elected to focus on the lesser and less costly Apple HomePod mini.
HomePod 2 essential functions
– $299 / £299 / AU$479
– Introduced February 3, 2022
– Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos assistance
– Substantial-excusion woofer, 5 tweeters
– Smart house hub with Thread & Issue
But with Apple’s spatial audio-improved audio now firmly a section of its featuring and the latest release of Apple New music Periods, obtainable in Spatial Audio, a new HomePod boasting aid for Spatial Audio constantly seemed inevitable… (and, to be honest, it was even been spotted in the wild prior to Apple declared it.)
The Apple HomePod mini is a excellent speaker in its individual suitable and its smaller stature and lower price set it squarely up in opposition to some of the very best wise speakers on the sector, together with the Amazon Echo Studio and the Sonos 1 – but the HomePod is Apple’s inaugural flagship wireless speaker – and the only 1 that supports Apple Music’s substantially-lauded Lossless and Spatial Audio written content.
Rumors that it would have a display or be more cost-effective did not actually come to pass, but we are even now thrilled for the re-engineered HomePod 2.
Apple HomePod 2: Price tag & release date
The HomePod 2 is readily available to order from Apple’s on line retailers from Wednesday 18 January, 2022 – and will essentially be launched on Friday February 3, 2022.
It charges $299 / £299 / AU$479, which is really significantly what the prior product price tag by the time it was discontinued. It really is the same rate in the US the new a person is somewhat more high-priced in the Uk, but that is no shock offered new forex trade fees and it can be AU$ more costly in Australia.
The price is large compared to most of the finest good speakers – even the Amazon Echo Studio, the most expensive Alexa speaker, is nearly 50 percent the price tag. The Sonos 1 is comparable considerably less expensive.
Even so, there are a great deal of a lot far more highly-priced wi-fi speakers, which include the likes of the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin (2021) or the mighty Naim Mu-So Qb 2nd Gen.
So the HomePod is in the middle of the marketplace overall – it can be just certainly past the significant-conclude of what most persons will spend for one thing like this. But then, that’s what the HomePod mini is for, ideal?
Apple HomePod 2: structure & speakers
The new HomePod 2 appears practically the exact as the original HomePod, with its round form and cloth-lined exterior. We like this structure a lot – it appears nice when you target on it, but it is really also great at just blending into the history when you’re not, due to the fact it can be a very simple black or white complete.
On leading, you will find a swirling coloured ‘screen’ (it doesn’t present information, it just reveals when Siri or audio is active). On the unique HomePod, this was just a compact dot in the heart, but now it is really the complete major, just like the HomePod mini.
The new design is the exact diameter as the original 5.6 inches / 142mm, and is just about the very same peak – it can be a small shorter at 6.6 inches / 168mm instead than 6.8 inches / 173mm.
The inside of is distinct, even even though a ton of the principles are the similar, although. For instance, there is still a massive 4-inch large-excursion woofer at the top to deal with mid-array and bass. Getting ‘high-excursion’ means the driver moves especially much forward and again, so it can displace far more air and make a larger, deeper sound.
And you can find still a ring of increased-frequency tweeters beneath the woofer, but now there are 5 tweeters rather of the seven in the original HomePod, and they are placed at the base of the device and angle upwards. This probable can help with introducing height and Spatial Audio results when made use of with Dolby Atmos audio.
Apple HomePod 2: capabilities
There had been all kinds of rumors about what would be in the new HomePod, but the second verse has turned out pretty related to the initially the attributes of the new HomePod are close to the original.
That implies it really is geared towards songs in the Apple ecosystem largely. You can use Siri to request music from Apple New music, though Siri now performs with some other audio solutions as well. You can send audio (or other audio) to it more than AirPlay 2 from Apple products, nevertheless there is no Bluetooth or other way to get audio to it – that suggests Android devices are left in the cold with the HomePod.
It operates as component of AirPlay multi-room devices, and you can use 1 HomePod on its individual, or two in a pair.
The new HomePod is geared up for Dolby Atmos new music help from Apple Songs, which includes Spatial Audio – it will bounce seems off your walls to consider to produce the sensation of the songs surrounding you.
And these Dolby Atmos abilities will come in valuable if you very own an Apple Tv set, because you can use two new HomePods as an different to just one of the ideal soundbars – the Apple Tv can mail all of its sound to the HomePod, such as Dolby Atmos 3D audio.
The HomePod 2 also supports lossless audio from Apple New music, for greater-top quality audio over-all.
It has an extremely-wideband chip in, which means it can detect when an Apple iphone 11 or later is near to it, generating it easy to beam music from your cell phone to the HomePod (or vice versa) by just bringing it close.
For sensible household lovers, the HomePod 2 is even much better now. It supports Thread and Make any difference, which are the upcoming-gen protocols that do the job with more equipment than ever – as nicely as Apple HomeKit – and it can trigger automations in your good house when you are not in which. And it has designed-in temperature and humidity sensors, which are helpful for weather-control wise residence gear.