Apple announces the 2nd Generation HomePod

Quicky on the heels of yesterday's Mac mini and MacBook Pro announcement, Apple has announced a 2nd generation HomePod.

The 2nd generation HomePod is powered by an S7 chip and will use beamforming to detect how sound bounces off of the various surfaces in your home to provide you with the best sound for your environment. Beyond this, the 2nd generation HomePod supports spatial audio and you can create a stereo pair out of two HomePods, just like the HomePod mini and the 1st generation HomePod. You will not be able to pair an original HomePod with a 2nd generation HomePod, nor will you be able to pair a 2nd generation HomePod with a HomePod mini.

The 2nd generation HomePod also adds support for the Smart Home standard called Matter. The 2nd generation HomePod also has an ambient temperature and humidity sensor.

Internals of the 2nd generation HomePod

If you need to find one of your devices, you can use Find My on your HomePod to locate devices. The 2nd generation HomePod will also be capable of Sound Recognition. First introduced in iOS 16, Sound Recognition will detect sounds like smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and send a notification to your phone. This feature will be coming in an update in the Spring.

The 2nd generation HomePod requires iOS 16.3 or later on a supported device, so look for iOS 16.3 to be released early next week. In the meantime, you can watch an overview video on the HomePod homepage.

The 2nd generatin HomePod is available to order today, in either Midnight or White for $299, and AppleCare is an additional $39. The second generation HomePod will begin arriving on February 3rd.

Source: Apple Newsroom