Apple doesn’t have many smart home products. The original smart speaker HomePod has not been updated for a long time following it was discontinued. Until recently, the second-generation product finally debuted. The appearance remains the same but the internal design has changed a lot.
The new HomePod (2nd generation) is roughly the same in appearance design as the first generation. It is an elliptical cylindrical design, plus a mesh fabric and a backlit touch surface. The color is also available in black and white. But this time the backlight of the touch surface extends to the entire surface.
The internal configuration has more changes. The chip has been changed from the A8 of the same level as the iPhone 6 to the S7 of the same Apple Watch series 7. In terms of the speaker unit, a single 4-inch woofer and 5 tweeters are used, which is less than the first generation. 2, while there are 5 radio microphones, which is also 2 fewer than the first generation.
The second-generation HomePod, like the first generation, can also detect the space of the room to automatically adjust the sound to provide a loopback effect. It can also be combined with another HomePod to form a dual channel, while supporting Dolby Atmos spatial sound. The new generation of HomePod has also added new temperature and humidity sensors. In terms of cooperation with smart homes, it can automatically detect alarms such as smoke and carbon monoxide sensors, and automatically send notifications to the iPhone. In addition, support for the wireless Thread and Matter smart home standards has also been added.
In terms of price, the second-generation HomePod is priced at HK$2,299, which is $100 cheaper than the first-generation following the previous price reduction. It can be ordered from the Apple Store online store from now on, and it will go on sale on February 3.
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