HomePod (2nd Generation)

The second generation HomePod brought the full-size HomePod back after Apple discontinued the original two years earlier, launching February 3, 2023 at $299, $50 cheaper than the original's launch price. It came in White and a new Midnight finish that replaced the old Space Gray. At a glance the design is nearly identical to the original, still a fabric-wrapped cylinder with a backlit touch display on top, just slightly shorter and lighter.

Inside, the speaker array actually shrank a little, five tweeters instead of seven, and four microphones instead of six, though Apple says its computational audio, now handled by an S7 chip rather than the original's A8, still automatically adapts the sound to whatever room it's placed in. It also gained Spatial Audio support with Dolby Atmos for music and video, and a U1 chip enabling the same proximity handoff trick as HomePod mini, bringing a compatible iPhone close transfers what's playing straight over.

Two features were genuinely new to any HomePod. Built-in temperature and humidity sensors let you ask Siri for a room's conditions, or set up automations like turning on a fan once it gets too warm. And Sound Recognition, added via a software update a few months after launch rather than on day one, lets the speaker listen for a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm and send an alert straight to your phone if it hears one.