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Hands-On Experience of New HomePod Reveals 'Exquisite' Audio Quality
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You're trying too hard to be a man. Let go and experience your feminine side. It's exquisite.
Fair call. I missed that.
as above. I thought I read it.
in that case, it kinda sucks then.
Is the period key on your keyboard broken? That was painful to read.
Yes, software can account for physics.
can we take the electronics out and put them in the old Homepod? Now that would be cool along with features like awareness of who is in the house, dogs barking, basic security features and maybe even a good morning when I get out of bed!
One of the first hands-on experiences with the new second-generation HomePod has offered new details on the latest smart speaker's quality and performance compared to the original HomePod launched in 2018.
TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff had the chance to listen to the new HomePod during a listening session by Apple for members of the media and shared his experience with the speaker.
According to Ulanoff, the new HomePod handles the separation of vocals, instruments, and tracks with "excellent" precision when listening to songs like "Everybody" by Ingrid Michaelson. "What I noticed immediately is, from a single HomePod 2, the excellent separation of acoustic instruments and her voice. I could clearly pick out a tambourine, guitar, and drum kit as distinct elements in the air," Ulanoff said.
One challenge often faced by typical speakers is that the louder the volume, the more distorted the audio can become. Ulanoff said that even with the volume at 90%, the new HomePod delivers "aural clarity" with no distortion. According to Ulanoff, the new HomePod has a sensor built into its design that can measure the internal temperature of the system and, if under ideal conditions, can "crank up the power even further."
Like the original HomePod, the new model has spatial awareness, but with better performance thanks to advanced computational audio and improved hardware, like the S7 chip. With spatial audio, the new HomePod, either alone or in a stereo pair, can offer an immersive 360-degree listening experience.
Ulanoff called a stereo pair of new HomePods "impressive," adding that certain songs felt as if they were "coming from behind and in front of me. The sound stage was so wide and deep that it didn't matter where I stood in the room." It's worth noting that first-generation HomePods can't be used in a stereo pair with the newer model, according to Apple.
Internals of the new second-generation HomePod
Visually, the new HomePod looks a lot like the original smart speaker, but with a larger backlit touch interface and a slightly shorter design. Internally, the new model has two fewer tweeters and microphones than the original HomePod, which was likely a cost-cutting decision. The tweeters and microphones are "tilted up to avoid any audio being distorted by reflections from whatever surface the speaker is sitting on," according to Ulanoff.
Like the original HomePod, the new speaker can quickly analyze its placement in a room to adjust the audio accordingly in just 20 seconds, thanks to a combination of the four microphones and the S7 chip. A built-in accelerometer also detects movement to allow the speaker to readjust its room analysis.
The new HomePod comes around two years after Apple discontinued its original smart speaker. The first-generation HomePod failed to be the market success Apple was hoping for, because of its high $349 price at launch and limited integration with third-party services. We'll get a closer look at the new HomePod when media reviews are published in the days leading up to its launch on Friday, February 3.
Article Link: Hands-On Experience of New HomePod Reveals 'Exquisite' Audio Quality
Thanks for answering my question. I don't know what OG stands for, but I have a Mac Studio (with M1 Max). If I get the new HomePod, would I be able to use it like a normal speaker? i.e. not only for smart-speaker use cases, or just to play Apple Music, but for all system sounds irrespective of their source? Thanks again
You can pick out all the instruments due to them mixing for Dolby Atmos. That's sort of it's purpose.
Two less microphones so Siri has two more excuses to reply hmmmmm I’m now sure who’s speaking
All this was said also about the original HomePod. I can’t help but thinking they simply took the original HomePod chopped off some components and advertised it as “all new” like they got used to do lately.
New processor ok. So when you ask Siri to turn off the kitchen light you get the music to start playing, just a bit faster.
No need to pump the hype on this!
All this was said also about the original HomePod. I can’t help but thinking they simply took the original HomePod chopped off some components and advertised it as “all new” like they got used to do lately.
New processor ok. So when you ask Siri to turn off the kitchen light you get the music to start playing, just a bit faster.
No need to pump the hype on this!
how ... just ask Darth Vader ...
HomePod OG = "Impressivvvveh"
HomePod 2G = "Most Impressive ... (ooooookaaaaaaaaa)"
"aural clarity" with no distortion = yeah that was there with the original HomePod.
You can turn off Hey Siri in HomePod options via the Home app. Just pointing it out as I didn’t know this until recently either.
If I played my HomePod at 90% my neighbours would be breaking down my door.
So happy Apple released this new HomePod. I will be picking up two the first week in February. They will join the 5 OG HomePods and the 5 minis I have now. By far my favorite Apple product and I own a 14 in MacBook Pro, M2 11in iPad Pro, AirPods 2nd Gen, and Apple Watch Ultra. The Watch is #2.
That’s exactly how it is.
I always have to laugh about this hyped and biased reviews.
I thought the first homepod already had the best-ever sound quality… now it’s even more exquisite?? Crazy stuff.
Maybe an objective review by a journalist that actually review audio products? It is so difficult to have a review that I can trust... For what I have witnessed for myself, you pay for the convenience of the ecosystem and that is something. But the first generation was a disappointing speaker for its price point. The minis are impressive for the price and the convenience, but they are not good speakers, not by a long shot. My unsolicited advice, listen to them to see if they suit your needs.
You need to find a review without buy me links splattered all over the page. Good luck.
This definitely isn’t intended in the snarky way it will come off, but I wonder if in these ‘hearing tests’ there’s ever a control for the quality of the hearers’ actual measurable hearing quality. I myself had two OG HomePods and was convinced they sounded like ass…until I found out I had literal serious, measurable hearing loss in one ear and got hearing aids in both. Thanks to the ‘aids, I’m now far happier with the ‘Pods as well as my AirPods Max. Before the ‘aids I ignorantly told everyone I knew that they weren’t impressive at all, and without my ‘aids in both sound average at best today.
"Spatial" requires stereo. We have two ears for a reason. The author claiming "spatial" from one speaker makes no sense.
HomePods are bookshelf size and made to self-balance, and it works surprisingly well. In a smallish bad-acoustic space they give better sound than real hi fi speakers.
Larger space with good acoustics one is better off with real hi fi speakers (+amp, preamp, subwoofer).
My trained ears do not observe over-exaggerated bass on the original. Perhaps you got a bad sample.
Computationally, though, it’s still a massive upgrade from the chip that used to be in it, not misleading at all. I guess they could have said “the probable reason why they went to an Apple Watch chip, which is a massive upgrade from the much older iPhone chip, was about reducing the production cost more than anything else” ?
Chill. Original HomePods are truly excellent in any smallish acoustically difficult space, not demonstration in a quality controlled area. There is no reason Apple should have made these worse, so all your dissing makes no sense.
No, there’s no wired connection, it’s all through AirPlay. You COULD connect it wirelessly, and music would play fine, videos would be in synch, but system sounds would be slightly delayed from when the UI would show they’re happening.
I’m somewhat excited about the new HomePod. And I’ll definitely be buying one to try it out.
I have the first generation HomePod and all these years I thought it sounded great until I bought a new Bose Home Speaker 500 at a steep discount just to give it a try since I’m moving to the world of Android.
With a little equalizer boost, my personal opinion is that the Bose Smart Speaker 500 sounds much better than the original HomePod. The design is much better IMHO, its bass is punchier, and the trebles and mid-frequencies are sharper and have just about enough “spatial separation”. HomePod, now, in comparison, just sounds muddy through and through.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t favor Bose products aside from their excellent NC 700 headset and their Companion 2 and 20 computer speakers which came in really handy for my minimalist computer setup for years. But I am in love with the Home Speaker 500 over HomePod at this point. I still have about 2 months to return them so I hope I get a chance to compare them with the new HomePod and decide which one I’ll keep.
I couldn’t care less about the “smartness” of these speakers. I care about the quality of sound I can get from a compact setup.
I have the first generation HomePod and all these years I thought it sounded great until I bought a new Bose Home Speaker 500 at a steep discount just to give it a try since I’m moving to the world of Android.
With a little equalizer boost, my personal opinion is that the Bose Smart Speaker 500 sounds much better than the original HomePod. The design is much better IMHO, its bass is punchier, and the trebles and mid-frequencies are sharper and have just about enough “spatial separation”. HomePod, now, in comparison, just sounds muddy through and through.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t favor Bose products aside from their excellent NC 700 headset and their Companion 2 and 20 computer speakers which came in really handy for my minimalist computer setup for years. But I am in love with the Home Speaker 500 over HomePod at this point. I still have about 2 months to return them so I hope I get a chance to compare them with the new HomePod and decide which one I’ll keep.
I couldn’t care less about the “smartness” of these speakers. I care about the quality of sound I can get from a compact setup.
The OG HomePod was $349 at launch. I have my original Apple invoice to prove it. It dropped to $299 in April of 2019.