When Apple discontinued its first-ever HomePod in 2021 after three years on the market, many observers actually didn’t think this design had a future. But the manufacturer acted differently and last week surprisingly presented the HomePod 2 with (almost) the same look and an improved interior. This pleases fans of the old speaker who were hoping for a successor and have since suffered from failures of the old hardware. They can now simply exchange their HomePod 1 for the HomePod 2 and receive a similarly voluminous sound. But what else has happened between the two generations, which are at least five years old? An overview.
There is also something new on the outside
From a distance, the HomePod 2 looks like the HomePod 1. But on closer inspection, even the external dimensions and colors have changed. The new HomePod weighs 200 grams less and is also 168 instead of 170 mm high. Instead of the color “space gray”, Apple now uses “midnight” for its black tone. The first tests have to show whether this look is more of a blue-sky or not really a big change. Apple has further optimized the “acoustically transparent mesh fabric”, the outer skin of the HomePod, in the second generation.
Useful on the HomePod 2: For the first time, the power cable can be unplugged without damage, which you should refrain from doing with the HomePod 1 before. That should be very helpful for repairs. The “screen” on the top of the HomePod has also been revised. This touch surface is now borderless in the style of the HomePod mini, which looks nice. However, a real screen that can display information instead of just colors would have been much nicer.
Revamped interior: HomePod 1 vs. HomePod 2
But the biggest changes are inside the HomePod 2. There are now five tweeters (horn-loaded tweeters) instead of seven on the HomePod 1. The number of microphones has been reduced from six to four (“Far-Field Beamforming” technology) . Initial tests will have to show whether this results in a deterioration in sound and/or voice recognition.
The SoC of the HomePod 2 is now the S7, known from the Apple Watch Series 7 from 2021. The HomePod 1 had the A8 from the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus from 2013, so it was much slower. Furthermore, the HomePod 2 finally brings support for Thread, has a U1 ultra-wideband chip (useful for transferring songs from the iPhone to the speaker, among other things) and a new room climate sensor for temperature and humidity. Ugly: While the HomePod 1 still supported 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5), the HomePod 2 can only do a maximum of 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4). The HomePod 2 will cost 350 euros. That is 20 euros more than the final price of its predecessor in 2021.
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