Apple’s full-size HomePod returns, with the second-generation Siri smart speaker gaining Matter support among other improvements.
Apple has revealed a new HomePod smart speaker, with the HomePod 2nd generation the unexpected follow-up to the Cupertino firm’s first, controversial competitor to Amazon’s Echo. The new 2023 HomePod will be priced at $299, and at first glance you’d be forgiven for wondering if Apple had simply wheeled out old stock of the first-generation speaker.
That’s because the aesthetic sticks closely to that original design. There’ll be two colors — white and midnight gray — for the fabric-wrapped design, with the acoustically-transparent mesh gently curving around the speaker underneath. Apple says the fabric itself is 100-percent recycled, and the power cable is sports a matching, woven finish.
At the top, there’s a backlit touch panel. Unlike with the original HomePod, on the HomePod 2nd generation the whole surface is illuminated rather than just a circle in its center. Different animations show when Siri is listening and responding, while taps and touches do things like play and pause music.
Inside, there’s a custom-engineered high-excursion woofer, which Apple says can drive the speaker diaphragm a full 20mm.
