Apple today announced a second-generation full-size HomePod, available to order starting today for $299 in white and midnight color options. In-store availability and deliveries to customers will begin Friday, February 3 in select countries.
The second-generation HomePod features a virtually identical design as the full-size HomePod that was discontinued in March 2021, with a backlit touch surface and mesh fabric exterior. It features a four-inch high-excursion woofer, five tweeters, four microphones, an S7 chip for computational audio, a U1 chip for Ultra Wideband features like handing off music from an iPhone, and support for Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos. The speaker also has Siri integration and Matter support for HomeKit and other smart home accessories.
The new HomePod is 6.6-inches tall and weighs 5.1 pounds, compared to 6.8-inches and 5.5 pounds for the first-generation model, while both models are 5.6 inches wide. The new HomePod also has two fewer tweeters and microphones compared to the original model. The original HomePod was equipped with the A8 chip from the iPhone 6, while the new model has the S7 chip from the Apple Watch Series 7.
A new sensor in the HomePod can measure temperature and humidity in indoor environments, and this feature is also being enabled on the existing HomePod mini.
Apple will be expanding its Sound Recognition feature to the new HomePod with a software update this spring, allowing the speaker to listen for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and send a notification directly to a user's iPhone if a sound is identified.
Two second-generation HomePods can be paired for stereo sound, but one second-generation HomePod and one first-generation HomePod cannot.
At launch, the new HomePod will be available in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and 11 other countries, according to Apple. It is compatible with the iPhone 8 and later, any iPad Pro, the fifth-generation iPad and later, the third-generation iPad Air and later, and the fifth-generation iPad mini and later running iOS 16.3 or iPadOS 16.3 or later.
"Leveraging our audio expertise and innovations, the new HomePod delivers rich, deep bass, natural mid-range, and clear, detailed highs," said Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak. "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 continues to sell the HomePod mini for $99.
