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Quite odd and feature bare for a product that went off the market a few years back. It's not even clear if it has a new chip, which would be expected after all this time—so even if it did that's just a given. Seems like it just got a temperature sensor added/activated. Very odd release.

The press release should have just said: 'We heard some of you still want this thing: here"
It has a newer S7 chip. And humidity sensor, and Thread and Matter support. Not sure if spatial audio was there before. Small update, probably not worth upgrading for most OG owners, but probably worth it for others looking to buy.
 
Can I play music from my local Music library on my iPad or iPhone or does this still require a subscription to Apple Music? Also, no interest in Music Match. If it requires any of this, then it remains a pass.
You can play from your devices by using AirPlay that treats it as a Wifi speaker so you can play local files.
 
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There has been no reduction in price whatsoever. The first gen was being sold at the same price for a while and it sold so little they gave up and discontinued it.
Technically $299 USD accommodates for inflation at approximately 6.5% depending on country so once removed the HomePod 2023 is $279 with discounts from Amazon and other seasonal ones it would bring it to 249 if not 199 at some deep discount days.
 
I was hoping they would do something between the HomePod Mini and the full sized HomePod. There is no way I'm dropping $600 bucks for a "stereo" setup. I'll stick with the mini's for now. The price is just too high! I'm sure they sound awesome but that's just a deal breaker for me.
 
Aaaand just like that, the value of all the HomePods on eBay just tanked.
Doubt it. Apple have doubled down on the features and form factor while downgrading the audio quality. Even if they sound the same, people will pay for those extra tweeters
 
If it’s still Airplay only then I don’t care. Airplay sucks and has such high latency you cannot use these for real time applications like MacBook speakers.
Huh? It’s not advertised as MacBook speakers (though it can serve as them to a limited capacity). If you want MacBook speakers, shouldn’t you be looking at products advertised to be MacBook speakers?
 
How do you connect Live TV to the HomePods

Use an Apple TV 4K and a TV with ARC support and you can pass all audio to the HomePods. I do it with my PS5 and Xbox Series S to great results.
Another option that I use is an HD HomeRun device which puts antenna channels on your ATV via your router. So you get video/audio through ATV/HomePods and iDevices as well.
 
I'm honestly surprised they're announcing it in mid-January instead of having made it available in advance of the holiday shopping season a few months ago. Macs I can see since computers aren't as linked to holiday spending but a consumer electronics device definitely would be. Still, good for Apple for listening to consumers and bringing it back, even if it's still overpriced for what it is.
I'm guessing they couldn't get enough stock both for these and the new MBPs, so they decided to skip the holiday shopping season and this will give a nice boost to their Q1 earnings.
 
It has a newer S7 chip. And humidity sensor, and Thread and Matter support. Not sure if spatial audio was there before. Small update, probably not worth upgrading for most OG owners, but probably worth it for others looking to buy.
Special audio was there before. That chip is from the Apple Watch and the prior gen HomePod was released four years ago and had an iPhone chip. Pretty weak update in that sense. Prior gen had six mics, new one has four. Prior gen has seven tweeters, new one has five. Prior gen had the ambient room temperature/humidity sensor (it was just set to inactive; they are going to make active the one in the mini). The new one is also lighter weight which typically results is a lesser sound quality. Matter support is a given.

All in all I would argue a weak four-year 2nd gen update. Not even so much as a single additional physical input or output, which some people had wanted of the product and was a commonly mentioned area for improvement in tech reviews for subsequent generations.
 
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Got two Homepods connected to a new appletv. Until one breaks there's no need to update. Do all my entertainment/audiobooks/etc through echo studios that have native Audible support and other services ALONG WITH that aux in plug for computer sound.

I've never had the network problems with the studios I have with the Homepods. Had to install three individual on/off receptacles on the surge protector to let me reset the appletv and two Homepods, and did numerous resets just this Holiday Season.

If Apple had mentioned they'd have a new Homepod out, I might have waited, but too bad for them. Maybe Homepod 3s where they have an aux in and support things other than the Apple prison.
 
Special audio was there before. That chip is from the Apple Watch and the prior gen HomePod was released four years ago and had an iPhone chip. Pretty weak update in that sense. Prior gen had six mics, new one has four. Prior gen has seven tweeters, new one has five. Prior gen had the ambient room temperature/humidity sensor (it was just set to inactive; they are going to make active the one in the mini). The new one is also lighter weight which typically results is a lesser sound quality. Matter support is a given.

All in all I would argue a weak four-year 2nd gen update. Not even so much as a single additional physical input or output, which some people had wanted of the product and was a commonly mentioned area for improvement in tech reviews for subsequent generations.

As far as those hardware changes, I think we'll need to see what the real world differences are, for better or worse or same overall. I’m sure reviewers will do comparisons.
It’s not an update to get all hyped about, that’s for sure. I think the excitement is just in the fact that it’s back.
I do think a line-in would have been good for longevity’s sake. I’m hoping someone will figure out a hack to make HomePods into “dumb” speakers once they lose their smart functions.
Where did you see that OG has temperature/humidity sensors?
 
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Prediction: 2024 will reintroduce iPod Classic. Same classic click-wheel design and 320x240 screen, now featuring leftover M1 chip and no headphone jack. Requires AirPods 4th gen, AirPods Pro 3rd gen, or AirPods Max 2nd gen or newer. Apple Music subscription required for music playback. Available in 8GB for $249 or 64GB for $399.
 
That’s true, the smart functionality will be obsolete long before the speaker hardware. Speakers can last forever. There needs to be a way to make use of them at the end of their “smart” life, rather than tossing them and wasting resources. Hopefully someone will figure out a good hack to keep using existing hardware indefinitely. If a line-in can’t be added to the HomePod directly, maybe somehow using an old idevice as a dedicated intermediary. But then that setup will end when the idevice’s life ends.. We need some sort of line-in.
I would say ... it is possible that Apple would make it a Bluetooth speaker, but then you see... i don't think they did that the last time with the OG one ... so it would be doubtfiul they would here, sadly.
 
No design change in 5 years!?!?

I'm a fanboy and even i can tell this a cash grab.

"Dust off the OG HomePod design files and lets add a temperature sensor and a speed bumped chip".

don't get me wrong, its great to see the OG back, but $199 would have been a better price point, given that basically zero R&D went into this.
 
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Still no support for streamed music on your own LAN, from the Music app. Thank you, but no thank you.
Explain? I can stream from the Music app to my OG HomePods and also to my HomePod Minis. I do this from a Mac, an iPad or an iPhone. No issues whatsoever. Perhaps I am misunderstanding you, but I can definitely stream to any HPs in my network, no matter which gen. Given they support AirPlay 2, I can stream to multiple HPs simultaneously. So your issue is... ? Moot?
 
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Are the upgrades/new features compelling enough to get people who passed on the first one to buy this one?

I'm guessing no, but I hope I'm wrong.
 
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