First Impressions: Apple HomePod 2 Sounds Fantastic?
Apple introduced the second-generation Home Pod smart speaker unexpectedly. No one expected the Home Pod 2 to come so soon.
Apple launched the first Home Pod in 2017 during the smart speaker arms race. While Microsoft Cortana & Samsung Bixby struggled, Amazon Alexa & Google Assistant competed for your house. The Home Pod was a little behind the times but made up for it with great sound and a Cupertino-style aesthetic. However, it was quirky and missed several high-end smart speaker functions, particularly for $350. For the 2023 edition, Apple has cut the price $50, reorganized the internal speakers, increased its smart home capabilities, and added a few innovative functionalities that make it worth buying, particularly if you’re already involved in the Apple ecosystem.
The Home Pod was alive this morning. Resting. Waiting. This is evidently a “back by popular demand” scenario as it took almost one year for that triumphant comeback and Apple fully emptied out stock of the previous speaker. However, a good smart home hub is still necessary.
Matter also matters. The new smart home standard opens the floodgates like Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung, and others. Companies fought to have their “Works With” branding on boxes before its stage-one deployment late last year. Matter reigns supreme. It works for everybody.
India Pricing And Availability?
Apple stores in India are taking pre-orders for the second-generation Home Pod, which costs Rs. 32,900. On sale February 3.
Home Pod Setup (Gen. 2):
Before Starting:
The newest iOS or iPad OS is required.
Install Home & Apple Music on your iPhone or iPad. To reinstall one of these applications, go to the App Store, search for it, and hit Re download.
Two-factor authentication. Check Settings > Your Name > Password & Security for two-factor authentication.
Enable i Cloud Key chain. Settings > Your Name > i Cloud will show whether i Cloud Key chain is enabled.
Sign in to i Cloud on your iPhone or iPad using your home owner ID if you added accessories to the Home app (Home app > More button > Home Settings > Resident (Owner)).
If you added accessories to the Home app, connect your iPhone or iPad to the same Wi-Fi network.
Plug in Home Pod mini or Home Pod on a sturdy surface with at least 6 inches around it. Wait for a whistle and pulsating white light on top.
Hold your unlocked iPhone or iPad close to Home-pod mini or Home Pod. Tap Set Up on your device’s screen. If the setup screen doesn’t show, lock and unlock your smartphone.
When requested, center Home Pod mini or Home Pod in the iPhone or iPad viewfinder. If your camera doesn’t work, hit Enter Pass code Manually & Siri will give you a 4 digit pass code to enter.
Wait for Home Pod mini or Home Pod to finish setup, then tap Done. This could take up to 5 minutes.
2nd-Gen Apple Home Pod: Design
The first Home Pod as well as the Home Pod 2 appear very similar in photographs. The top touchscreen is recessed in the latest version. Both have distinct interiors. The first-gen Home Pod features seven bottom speakers, whereas the second-gen has five.
Home Pod (2nd gen): Audio
Apple’s obsession with music shows in the Home Pod 2’s audio quality. I heard many song excerpts that showed the speaker’s ability. The second-generation Home Pod boasts adaptive audio and a 360-degree sound profile, using its built-in microphone array (4 vs six on the original) to musically map the space and optimize speaker output.
In a high-ceiling room with a brick wall behind the Home Pod, I listened. The wall didn’t echo throughout my quick visit. Ingrid Michelson’s vocal and guitar plucking were clear and bright in Everybody, demonstrating the Home Pod’s capacity to appropriately recreate higher tones.
Apple used Cool Sounds’ 6 or 7 More, which includes a funky bass riff, to demonstrate the Home Pod’s low-end capabilities. Two Home Pods, like the original as well as the small, may be paired for stereo sound, which was astounding. That’s $600.
We closed the listening part with a recording session in California. The long introduction was incredibly immersive, with the guitars, bass, and other sounds filling the room while having their own place.
Smart Home Matter:
The new Home Pod’s Matter smart home compatibility is significant. Matter-certified gadgets offer straightforward setup independent of smart assistant ecosystem. I set up the Home Pod and an Apple-provided, Matter-compatible smart plug for my smart home, but I mostly use Google Assistant.
Home Pod smart home control has evolved from its odd beginnings. It installs swiftly and reliably. My main smart home concern was that my Apple TV as well as the Sonos Beam 2 soundbar linked to it both had the moniker “Living Room,” which sometimes confused things. I played Chick Corea’s “Spain” on my Apple TV as well as the Home Pod and Sonos delayed. Better naming may have prevented that.
Apple’s new Home Pod contains a humidity and temperature sensor that feeds a linked thermostat. Thus, the Home Pod can regulate the temperature in hot or chilly rooms.
Even with music or TV on, the new Home Pod reacts quickly to voice commands. Gen-2. It has less microphones than the previous generation but improved speech recognition. Siri now recognize unique voices on the Home Pod, so family members may access app and activity-specific capabilities.
Who Should Purchase The Home-pod?
This smart home speaker is for Apple fans. It looks, sounds, and sets up easily. It’s difficult to convince non-Apple users. The $300 price tag put it in luxury territory relative to its competitors, but Matter compatibility improves compatibility.
It’s also important to remember that you may buy these in combinations to enable multi-room sound, true audio system playback, or even Dolby Atmos sound system with an Apple TV 4K. Any Home Pod, including the first-generation. and the Mini, will work with multi-room audio, but you can’t make a stereo combination out of 2 models.
It’s also important to remember that you may buy these in combinations to enable multi-room sound, true audio system playback, or even Dolby Atmos sound system with an Apple TV 4K. Any Home Pod, including the first-generation. and the Mini, will work with multi-room audio, but you can’t make a stereo combination out of 2 models.
The new Home Pod is great. It works as promised and fixes many of the original model’s issues. Just keep my dog’s nose off the touch controls.
https://youtu.be/oMf_i1YBuMk
2nd-gen Apple Home-pod:
I knew the second-generation Home Pod’s audio quality was good before I heard a note from it. The first Home-pod had great sound, yet it still failed.
The Home-pod (2nd generation) has to excel in audio as well as everything that made a smart speaker smart, such as connectivity with additional smart home devices and better ways to utilize them. The new Home-pod supports the Matter intelligent home standard and incorporates a humidity and temperature sensor like the Amazon Echo.
The Home-pod’s $299 pricing is another issue, particularly because rival gadgets cost much less. Is Home Pod 2 audio better? Wait and see.