Apple HomePod 2 (2023) Review: Apples to Apples

Value When Reviewed

$299

Finest Costs As we speak: Apple HomePod (2nd era, 2023)

$299

$299.99

Apple discontinued the unique HomePod in 2021 after launching it two years prior. We don’t actually know why however now there’s a brand new HomePod, and it appears nearly equivalent.

Bought it? OK. It’s bizarre that Apple did it, and all of the extra in order that little has modified, but it surely doesn’t change the very fact the HomePod is again in shops and Apple clearly thinks it has a purpose to be.

I examined two second-generation HomePods in my front room to see if these cloth coated blobs are price your money and time. One will set you again $299/£299/€349, putting it firmly towards established house audio manufacturers akin to Sonos.  

Design & construct

The HomePod 2 is available in both black or white cloth, a design that appears odd at first however makes loads of sense. It’s a 360 diploma design, so why not cowl it with the mesh you’d discover on the entrance of a conventional hi-fi speaker?

On the highest is a flat round sort-of display but it surely doesn’t show any textual content or data. As a substitute, it lights up with the Siri glowing orb whenever you discuss to the HomePod, and has plus and minus symbols printed on it that are everlasting quantity buttons.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

I just like the look of the HomePod, significantly within the white color. Each colors look clear and the design feels very thought-about regardless of its simplicity, which jogs my memory of outdated, traditional Apple design values.

The ability twine matches the color of the ‘Pod and is removable so you may feed the cable by means of small holes at the back of TV cupboard or the like, however there’s no line in port for connecting to audio sources by way of cable.

Construct high quality is superb with an actual premium weight to the speaker, a lot in order that one weighs a substantial 2.3kg, so that you’ll want to position on a sturdy floor. Not like the first-gen HomePod, I had no challenge with both color leaving a mark on a picket floor.

There are additionally recycled supplies within the development with 100% of the uncommon earth components within the speaker magnet, gold within the plating of a number of printed circuit boards and plastic within the Midnight mesh cloth. Sadly, it’s solely 30% of the white color mesh.

Good options

Apple’s advertising for the HomePod pushes it as a music-first speaker regardless of its Siri smarts, and I can perceive why. In comparison with Google Assistant, I’ve discovered Siri annoying to make use of, typically misunderstanding instructions.

It’s fast on the draw for easy queries like asking the climate forecast or your native information bulletin of selection, and issues run easily on Apple’s S7 chipset.

However attempt to get it to play particular tunes and it’s a way more irritating expertise at occasions.

The HomePod is designed for voice-first use with Apple audio apps. It’s an amorphous mesh blob with out a show! A number of occasions I requested Siri to play a selected monitor or album and it’d hear me unsuitable and play one thing fully completely different or play an obscure stay model of a track when it ought to clearly default to the well-known studio model.

You may management music utilizing your iPhone or iPad both by means of the Apple Music or Dwelling apps, but it surely’s a little bit delayed generally find the HomePod and it’s a must to manually choose it so it doesn’t simply play out of your cellphone. You’ll want an iPhone 8 or later – older iPhones gained’t work.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Handoff works rather well utilizing iPhones with a U1 chip (iPhone 11, 12, 13, and 14) the place you’re taking part in by means of Apple Music in your cellphone and easily hovering your cellphone over the HomePod will switch the music to it.

In comparison with the first-gen HomePod, this newer mannequin has built-in temperature and humidity sensors. I discovered this precisely gave me readings for each, which you’ll view within the Dwelling app or ask Siri about. When you’ve got sensible blinds, for instance, you may set Siri to shut them if the room will get too sizzling. It’s fairly sensible.

Good too is how the HomePods rapidly hyperlink to make a stereo pair, and the way a community by means of a bigger home of a number of HomePods, together with the first-gen or the HomePod mini, can be utilized for options like Apple’s Intercom that allows you to ship fast audio messages to particular rooms or play audio from all or particular HomePods.

There’s additionally new sound recognition for issues like hearth alarms, so if yours sounds when you’re not in, HomePod can warn you to it so you may examine additional.

Connectivity

There are solely two methods to play audio by means of the HomePod. Route one is utilizing Siri and Apple Music or Apple Podcasts in the best way described above, that means you need to have an Apple Music subscription and an iPhone or iPad to totally take pleasure in all of the product’s performance.

For audio from another app, together with Spotify, it’s a must to use Apple’s AirPlay 2 wi-fi audio tech. There’s no method to hook up with the HomePod utilizing simply the Bluetooth menu in your cellphone or pill, and neither is there an auxiliary enter, that means you may’t hook up with audio sources akin to vinyl turntables.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

You’ll solely be capable to use a HomePod if in case you have an iPhone or iPad, however if in case you have an Apple TV field you should use two HomePods as stereo audio system on your house leisure system. This might properly be my favorite use, because the audio improve from my TV’s horrible audio system to the encompass sound stereo bass increase afforded by the HomePods is evening and day.

It really works with any app utilizing an Apple TV, but when your TV is suitable with the ARC customary you may as well route the audio from different {hardware} akin to a video games console. Shopping for two prices quite a bit, so that you may wish to merely purchase a soundbar as a substitute. You can also’t create a stereo pair with the first-gen HomePod or the HomePod mini – it’s a must to get two second-gen models. Maddening.

Sound high quality

So, to the primary occasion. The HomePod isn’t the neatest (or platform-inclusive) of sensible audio system but it surely’s actually the most effective sounding with a 4in woofer accompanied by 5 tweeters.

Apple has carried out an exceptional job making a well-rounded soundstage and the HomePod 2 tends in direction of very bass-heavy character, although it’s much less bassy than the first-gen HomePod.

It means the second-gen HomePod is great for internet hosting a raucous home social gathering (as if I’d have a type of!) but in addition means at low volumes the good rumble of the low finish can audibly drown out some element in the remainder of the combo.

That is significantly evident on rap and hip-hop tracks the place the bass is distinguished. On the plus facet, I heard synth and bass sounds in songs I didn’t know had been there. You simply may get some complaints from the neighbours on the identical time.

Utilizing the HomePod with Apple Music means you may make the most of full Dolby Atmos help with hundreds of tracks obtainable within the standard digital encompass sound customary.

I’m a white British male so I predictably and uninterestingly love The Beatles – however taking part in Come Collectively by means of two HomePods sounds superb certainly, with the mic impact on John Lennon’s voice crystal clear and devices properly positioned.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The HomePods are round, however Apple has fitted proximity sensors to allow them to inform when they’re positioned towards a wall or close to to different objects. The audio system then modify for this so they’re directing sound into the room.

The bass wins out once more when taking part in Love Sick by Bob Dylan, however the replica was nearly too trebly. It’s not that the treble and mids are piercing however the bass is so good at occasions that it might probably overpower the opposite frequencies. I discovered shifting two HomePods in a stereo pair a little bit additional aside, at a distance of at the very least two metres from one another, helped to stability the sound within the room.

Taboo by Gabriels rumbles and creeps with the supposed taught menace of the artist because of the deep rumble of drums that lesser audio system merely can’t reproduce.

However whenever you play tracks that Apple Music has in Dolby Atmos with Spatial Audio, the HomePods kick up a gear. Thriller by Turnstile sounds completely monumental, the audio system producing echo and reverb merely not doable on any headphones.

The tightly compressed monitor has extra room to breathe with its Dolby Atmos therapy. Guitar jumps out of the audio system with the stereo set-up, but it surely even sounded well-rounded once I listened with only one.

It could be nice to manage the frequency response however Apple additionally limits your management over the EQ settings – there mainly aren’t any. The Dwelling app has a ‘Cut back bass’ toggle hidden in a settings menu, which does simply that. If you’re utilizing your voice to play songs, you’ll hear it how Apple supposed.

You may change the EQ of the Apple Music app’s output (within the settings menu in your iPhone or iPad, confusingly), so in the event you decide to play music utilizing AirPlay then it displays that selection, however by and enormous, you may’t management EQ right here.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The HomePod 2 additionally sounds very good with classical music, Glenn Gould’s recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations sounding significantly vigorous. Jazz can be properly represented because of the expansive soundstage and good dealing with of frequencies.

There’s little question the HomePod is a greater music speaker than any sensible speaker from Google or Amazon – bar the discontinued Google Dwelling Max – it’s extra one to think about as a substitute of one of the best Sonos audio system on the market.

The HomePod 2 can be one of many few Apple audio gadgets that may really playback Apple Music tracks in top quality lossless format. You see that ‘Lossless’ tag in your track in Apple Music? No AirPods in the marketplace can really play these again at true lossless high quality. That is off by default and the toggle to show it on is buried within the Dwelling app settings.

Value & availability

The HomePod 2 prices $299/£299/€349, placing it on the pricier finish of the sensible speaker scale.

You should buy it direct from Apple.

It’s comparable in sound and options to the $199/£219 Amazon Echo Studio, although that’s now lengthy within the tooth having launched in 2019 and is out of inventory within the US on the time of writing.

The HomePod 2’s essential competitor is the Sonos One, very good in sound and value at $219/£199/€229. It hyperlinks collectively to completely different Sonos audio system simply and performs a lot nicer with Spotify, plus you may select between Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

Keep in mind Sonos has additionally launched the brand new Sonos Period 100 at $249/£249. In the event you don’t want the oomph, you would go for a $99/£99 HomePod mini or two.

Verdict

The HomePod 2 is a wonderful speaker for music, with superb bass response and, when paired with Apple Music, can sound phenomenally good.

Spatial audio and Dolby Atmos help together with intelligent impediment detection assist create a satisfying, room-filling sound – although one HomePod will all the time sound higher as half of a stereo pair, that means it’s a must to spend $600/£600/€750 to really get one of the best HomePod expertise.

Achieve this paired with an Apple TV and a suitable TV and so they act as premium TV audio system too, at lower than the price of some soundbars.

Downsides are the reducing out of sensible capabilities if you wish to use Spotify, and Siri remains to be not intelligent sufficient to depend on as a voice assistant, although it has some helpful options.

In the event you stay in Apple’s walled backyard and don’t plan to go away, the HomePod 2 is an effective selection for a wise speaker. For everybody else, there’s the Sonos One at two-thirds the worth.

Specs

• Apple S7 chipset
• 4in woofer
• 5x tweeters
• Room sensing
• Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos
• 4 mic for Siri
• Multiroom audio
• AirPlay 2
• Contact management sensor
• Sound recognition
• Temperature and humidity sensors
• Accelerometer
• 802.11n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 5.0
• Apple U1 suitable
• 168 x 142mm
• 2.3kg
• Midnight or white color