Although Apple’s HomePod sounds amazing, it is ill-conceived. It’s a top-notch smart speaker for your iTunes library and Apple Music account that includes certain Siri voice assistant functions that are especially useful for use with smart homes. Although the hardware is top-notch, Apple does not currently have the same expansive vision for voice-assisted life that the platforms for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant do.
When considering speech platforms as the future of computing, the HomePod appears rather isolated. Systems like Alexa and Google Assistant gain power as they extend across your home. Your kitchen Home Mini, which you use to broadcast “It’s dinnertime,” to the kids’ rooms, complements your living room Home Max. You are awakened by music from your bedroom Echo Spot, and you instruct the Echo Dot in the foyer to turn out the lights before you leave for work.
The HomePod is designed, built, and priced to be an Apple device’s living room music speaker. When viewed in that light, the HomePod is more akin to the Apple Watch or the Apple TV: not a brand-new, essential product category, but rather an add-on to make the most of your iPhone ownership and ensure that you continue to pay the monthly Apple Music subscription cost. The HomePod is the obvious pick if you possess an iPhone, subscribe to Apple Music, and don’t want to fork over extra money to Amazon, Google, or Spotify as other voice-assisted speakers can’t play Apple Music.
Apple HomePod 2 review: Design
The new HomePod appears nearly comparable to its predecessor, despite its delayed appearance. The new HomePod is once again a little bigger than it appears in photographs because the squat dimensions are essentially unchanged (it is just somewhat shorter than the original). The HomePod Mini, which is barely half as tall as its bigger sibling, is dwarfed by it as well. The new model is 200g less dense than the previous model, yet it still feels very sturdy.
At first sight, the mesh coating of the new HomePod appears to be identical to that of the outgoing generation. However, the pattern’s diamonds run vertically rather than horizontally, which makes the speaker look a little less bulky. Unfortunately, the pattern is just a little bit transparent, so depending on the angle and the light, the white model appears to have some ugly darker parts.
The glossy touch display on top of the HomePod has always been its best feature, so Apple’s sad to see that it has decreased a few millimetres for the new edition. Another minor regret is that the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ icons, which on the previous model only lit up when music was playing, have been replaced with basic markers on the panel. Maybe this is a cost-cutting move, or maybe Apple discovered that several users were perplexed by the inconsistent volume controls. We believe it might be a mix of the two.
The good news about the top panel is that, although being a little bit smaller than previously, more of it illuminates when you use Siri or play a music, making it a far more appealingly colourful surface. The updated model also features a detachable cable, allowing owners to convert to a longer wire if necessary. This is a last, cute little upgrade.
Apple HomePod 2 review: Features
The new HomePod’s features are remarkably similar to those of the first model. It is an Apple-based Siri-based Wi-Fi smart speaker with the capacity to receive music via Apple’s AirPlay 2. This indicates that it heavily caters to music in the Apple environment. Although Siri now functions with certain other music services as well, you may use it to request tracks from Apple Music.
There is no Bluetooth, aux-in, or other way to get audio into the HomePod, so Android devices as well as your turntable are left out in the cold. However, you may broadcast music (or any other audio) to it via AirPlay 2 from Apple devices. It’s acceptable if you live in an all-Apple home and don’t intend to change this in the near future. However, the HomePod 2 is a bad investment if one of your two children uses an Android phone and everyone else uses an iPhone.
There are numerous additional speakers that offer Android compatibility and support AirPlay, including models from Sonos, Audio Pro, Bowers & Wilkins, and Naim (see our guide to the best AirPlay speakers). Consider carefully whether HomePods are the best choice for you if you live in a home with a variety of devices, especially given their current price. Naturally, the HomePod 2 is compatible with AirPlay multi-room systems and may be used singly or in pairs.
The new HomePod is prepared for Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos music compatibility, which includes Spatial Audio, which will reflect sounds off your walls in an effort to simulate the sensation that the music is divided into several angles, elements, and layers. And if you have an Apple TV, you can utilise two new HomePods instead of one of the best soundbars thanks to the Apple TV’s ability to broadcast all of its sound, including Dolby Atmos 3D audio, to the HomePod.
Apple HomePod 2 review: Sound quality
For the record, I wouldn’t describe a set of HomePods as a “audiophile-grade” powered speaker system. For them to ever be accused of sounding neutral or transparent, they provide far too much of their own aural personality. The SVS Prime Wireless Pro avoid that overprocessed, DSP-muscled sound that so many powered speakers have and are instead neutral, more revealing, and more honest with how they play back music.
The HomePods do have a little DSP power in them. But damned if Apple hasn’t come up with a means to win my approval. This HomePod pair produces a wide soundstage with precise image. It delivers clear articulation and outstanding high-frequency resonance while handling intricate transients with finesse. More than I can say for many powerful speakers I’ve auditioned, they never even hint at the idea of harshness or sibilance.
Especially with vocals, the midrange is lush, full-bodied, and clear, if not a little front in the mix. This is very much by design, according to Apple. That’s really the one thing about which I’m not entirely certain. On the one hand, I’m astounded by how rich, clear, and powerful the HomePods’ audio is. It’s definitely more astounding than anything else I’ve heard from speakers of a similar size with all of that sound coming from just two tiny speakers.
However, there’s also a sense that they are striving for it, to put it mildly. They accomplish their tasks, although I wouldn’t describe the bass as effortless. There is undoubtedly DSP muscle at play.
Apple HomePod 2 review: Software and setup
The second-generation HomePod is a better speaker even if there haven’t been any external improvements since Apple has been enhancing it and the HomePod small over time. A few months after the first generation model was released, the business introduced AirPlay 2 along with stereo pairing and multi-room audio. The intercom capability debuted in 2020 before the HomePod mini, while multi-user support and audio handoffs were added in 2019.
And starting in 2021, HomePod will be able to play any TV audio through an Apple TV 4K over eARC, spatial audio, and lossless Apple Music streaming. Apple has been gradually introducing several of the key features it is touting for the new HomePod since 2018. And many of them, in my opinion, ought to have been present from the beginning.
Apple’s Home app has all the information you need to configure and operate the HomePod. With this programme, you must first add a new speaker by giving it a room or location in your house, just like you would with any other smart home device. The app enables you to configure your Siri interactions as well as Automations and Scenes. You can choose not to use speech cues or the long-press method to activate the assistant on the HomePod’s touch panel.
When utilising Siri, you can choose to have the speaker play a sound, light up, or do neither. If your iPhone is nearby, you can use the Home app to use Siri for Personal Requests, where the speaker can recognise your voice for things like texts, calls, and reminders. If you don’t want to use the intercom feature of the HomePod, you can disable it using the software.
Apple HomePod 2 review: Price and release date
Release day for the HomePod 2 is Friday, February 3, 2022. It costs $299, £299, or $479, which is essentially what the price of the old model was when it was discontinued. It costs the same in the US and somewhat more in the UK, although considering current currency exchange rates, this is not surprising. It costs AU$10 more in Australia. you can buy this product from amazon.
The cost is excessive when compared to the majority of the top smart speakers; even the most costly Alexa speaker, the Amazon Echo Studio, costs less than half as much. The Sonos One is also a lot less expensive. However, there are many wireless speakers that are far more expensive, such as the powerful Naim Mu-So Qb 2nd Gen or the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin (2021).
The HomePod is therefore in the middle of the market generally; it is, however, unquestionably above what most people would be willing to pay for something of this nature. The HomePod mini, however, covers the lower end.
Final Words
The HomePod is the best-sounding smart speaker, and there are two that sound even better, if I were to rate this only on audio quality. Since they produce a clever, auto-tuned sound that flawlessly responds to surrounds, they are actually so good that they are my go-to speaker in the office.
Nevertheless, despite the high level of audio quality, the HomePod can be annoying. It only functions effectively in Apple households, relies on Apple Music to its fullest potential, and only accepts input over AirPlay 2.
These problems might not be a big deal if your household is predominately Apple-based, but they do slightly reduce the speaker’s appeal. Even used, the HomePod is a gorgeous-sounding smart speaker if you can deal with the limitations. The HomePod Mini isn’t that far behind, but is much cheaper and has some added technology that makes it the better pick for most people. However, it is still costly even on eBay.
