That is kind of what I was hoping for. I think a high end $200 speaker would sell well, especially if they made it a sound bar.
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Apple Announces New HomePod for $299 With Full-Size Design, S7 Chip, and More
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I’m a happy user of the OG HomePod in stereo since 2018 and I don’t understand this new model and why they retired the old model from sales if the replacement is almost identical with higher price (299 € vs 349 €). It’s the laziest new product ever.
I don’t think the new one has (usable) Bluetooth either. But I don’t care much for Bluetooth anyway, because it’s lossy and support will also probably end for older versions. Line-in will be around forever and it has lossless quality. But I don’t necessarily think either line-in or Bluetooth is likely in future HomePods.
This has mostly new internals with the same outside case. The chip is now the S7 which is what is used in the HomePod Mini. Most reports I have heard say that the HP Mini is much more responsive and stable for Siri requests than the OG HomePod, so that would be a big improvement. They also added the W1 chip for find-my functions and the H1 for low latency high bandwidth audio. There are also new humidity and temperature sensors just for fun. 😊
Yes, if you just look at the outside there isn’t much change but under the skin, this is a new device.
That 299 € was probably a discounted price when they were trying to get rid of stock of the old model. I wish the new one was cheaper, but it is cheaper than the official price of the old model. I would expect other retailers to discount further just like before.
I think we’ll need to wait for reviews. They did change the speakers inside and removed a couple of tweeters though there are still 5. That might suggest a lesser sound quality or they may have figured out how to optimize the speakers and get a better sound out of fewer components.
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I don't think you understand that development costs a lot of money, so does maintaining a global infrastructure, so does paying Apple employees, and a lot of money is an essential cost to making things work in this world. I don't understand why many people never get bored of talking about Tim. These people can't run such a powerful and therefore delicate company, you can tell by the speech content. I find envy repulsive. And so do unreflective comments, even if they often get the predictable applause here.
DSP without limit.
The algorithms for a new level of intelligent acoustic processing are in the drawers and could not yet be put into practice due to insufficient computing power. I used to have one of the first DSP stuff on my electric guitar, which was great back then and sounds awful today. There is much more going on than most people realize. In room sound reinforcement, it is the consideration of spatial boundary conditions and the position of the listeners or the individual listener that makes quite specific optimizations possible. Acoustics is still in its infancy, and admittedly: only educated listeners will be able to perceive these differences and get excited about them. But that is the case with all things. For the others, there are inexpensive devices.
Admittedly, it is unclear to me where the limitations of the OG concept have been in detail. Only a few Apple developers will know exactly, and they will hardly tell the rest of the world, let alone MacRumors.
Sometimes it is simply a wrong board layout that can no longer accommodate new concepts.
Some MacRumors readers, of course, know in their intuitive practiced reflex that it's just Apple's greed for money.
The music plays here
Audio and Acoustic Signal Processing
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Strange, I just looked at the OG and Mini teardowns and there was no mention of those sensors in the OG, only the Mini.
Fewer tweeters but perhaps higher quality. And perhaps better woofer and other higher quality processing hardware. Just gonna have to wait for teardowns and more importantly sound comparisons. My bet is it will not be a big difference, which is fine for me because OG sounds amazing.
Needs proper multi-speaker support, e.g. 5 speaker support for surround, use minis for rears and 3 larger for fronts. Although, if you have a decent sound bar with a sub and rear speakers you have no need for the HomePods.
The person I was replying to (not you) said that they wanted to use Music to play streamed content to HomePods. That is possible now, from any platform in the Apple eco-system (Macs, iOS, iPadOS). I was asking that person (again... not you) to explain what they meant.
Concerning what you mentioned, it is also possible with support of server apps (e.g., Plex).
Agreed, it would be nice! I've been waiting for something like that for quite a while. It's not this product though.
I do use our OG HomePods to play audio from our ATV, using eARC and it works well. Sound syncs up perfectly with the video also. But even with how well that sounds (and it really does great) it's not what you (or I) am asking for.
I've considered investing in Sonos to get what I'd like, but apparently they don't play with anything other than other Sonos speakers in order to get a true home theatre audio experience. And I don't want to surrender use of my OG HomePods. I will probably never change from my OG HPs (for ATV speakers) until they die or a truly compelling alternative emerges.
That's right, I waited in vain for the limit of two speakers (synthesized Dolby Atmos) to be lifted on the OG's.
Either that was technically impossible (acoustic room measurement and setup will then become very complex and currently not yet automatable without user intervention) or Apple quickly had to admit to no significant market for it that was willing to spend a lot of money.
In addition, the sound system for dance floors obeys different conditions than those in cinemas, private music halls or public concert halls. Apple has certainly not found a marketable convincing concept. I have 4 OG's in a room and with some pieces of music the room seems to be woven through by a music carpet, I am then completely delighted, with most other tracks nothing works there, except that 4 boxes send their stereo or pseudo-atmos on themselves.
I hope that there is more potential in the new ones and I am curious when it will be revealed and how.
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