Two years after its discontinuation, the original HomePod is now back in a second generation avatar. The new model features changes to the speaker array and the inclusion of temperature and humidity sensors.
The second generation HomePod features the same 4-inch high-excursion woofer as before. The new five horn-loaded tweeters replace the seven of the original model. The six microphones of the original model have been replaced by four new far-field microphones. There’s also an internal low-frequency calibration microphone for automatic bass correction.
Like the original model, the new HomePod can perform automatic room correction by listening to feedback from the microphones and calibrating itself. It has the Apple S7 SoC which helps with computational audio and real-time tuning.
The new HomePod also supports stereo pairing as with other HomePod models; simply place two of these in a room and you’ll be asked if you want to match them. In addition to functioning as stereo speakers, the HomePod can also play Dolby Atmos audio from a 4K Apple TV. As before, you need the same HomePod model to create a stereo pair as first and second generation cannot be paired together.
The new HomePod also includes temperature and humidity sensors. These can report real-time information about the surroundings and can also be used to automatically activate certain functions, such as turning on the air conditioning or closing the blinds when a pre-set temperature target is reached.
Some of you may recall that these same sensors were also discovered on the HomePod mini a while back, but never enabled. It looks like Apple will now enable them on the HomePod mini in a future update.
The Sound Recognition feature can also discreetly listen for beeps from a smoke or carbon monoxide detector and send you alerts on your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. This feature will also be enabled on HomePod mini.
The design is largely unchanged, but the new model is slightly shorter than before and a bit lighter. It is available in two colours, white and a new lighter gray variant Midnight, both of which come with matching power cables, which are now detachable.
The second-generation HomePod is priced at $299, the same as the price of the original model when it was discontinued. It’s available to order today and will be available on February 3rd.
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