After discontinuing the full-size HomePod a year or two ago, Apple has now announced the second gen version of the product to sit alongside the HomePod Mini.
The biggest changes from a design point of view is that the top is now entirely illuminated (like the Mini) from edge to edge rather than just buttons on the top like the previous generation.
The new colours are white and midnight, the latter being completely made from 100 percent recycled mesh fabric with a colour-matched woven power cable.
The original HomePod was praised for being the best sounding smart speaker, and Apple says that there won’t be a lot of change here, but it is worth noting that it does have five tweeters (down from seven) and a four microphone array (down from six).
Launching on this HomePod (and the HomePod Mini) are sound recognition which will listen for a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm signal and send you a notification on your phone and also the ability to monitor heat and moisture (which are also being added to the HomePod Mini via firmware update).
Obviously, the new HomePod can act as a smart home hub for the newly introduced Matter smart home standard which Apple alongside big companies such as Google, Amazon and Samsung are also introducing.
APPLE HOMEPOD GEN 2 AUSTRALIAN PRICE AND RELEASE DATE
The Apple HomePod Gen 2 is releasing in Australia on February 3rd and you’re able to pre-order the product now.
The unit comes in Midnight and White and it will set you back $479 AUD, which is a small drop from the original model.
We’ll keep you posted on HomePod Gen 2 as we learn more about the product and hopefully get one to test. We have high hopes given how good the original was and how fantastic the Mini is for the price point.
