Apple has announced a new 2nd-generation full-sized HomePod, priced at $299 featuring enhanced Siri capabilities, support for Spatial Audio, the S7 chip, and more, available to pre-order today ahead of availability beginning Friday, February 3.
Unlike the previous-generation, the new 2nd-generation HomePod features an edge to edge backlit touch surface, retaining the mesh fabric found on the original model in two colours: white and midnight, a new colour made with 100 percent recycled mesh fabric, with a colour-matched woven power cable.
“Leveraging our audio expertise and innovations, the new HomePod delivers rich, deep bass, natural mid-range, and clear, detailed highs,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With the popularity of HomePod mini, we’ve seen growing interest in even more powerful acoustics achievable in a larger HomePod. We’re thrilled to bring the next generation of HomePod to customers around the world.”
Apple’s new HomePod features a four-inch high-excursion woofer, five tweeters, four microphones, an S7 chip for computational audio, and support for Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos.
Image: Apple
Apple touts that with Sound Recognition on the new HomePod, the speaker can listen for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and send a notification directly to the user’s iPhone if a sound is identified. A new built-in temperature and humidity sensor can measure indoor environments, so users can create automations that close the blinds or turn on the fan automatically when a certain temperature is reached in a room.
HomePod (2nd generation) is available to order for $299 (US) from apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK, the US, and 11 other countries and regions starting today, with availability beginning Friday, February 3.
HomePod (2nd generation) is compatible with iPhone SE (2nd generation) and later, or iPhone 8 and later running iOS 16.3 or later; or iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation) and later, iPad Air (3rd generation) and later, or iPad mini (5th generation) and later running iPadOS 16.3.