January 18, 2023
press release
Apple introduces the new HomePod with unparalleled sound and intelligence
Delivering incredible sound quality, enhanced Siri capabilities, and a safe and secure smart home experience
Cupertino, California Apple announced today HomePod (2nd Gen), a powerful smart speaker that delivers next-level acoustics in an iconic design. Packed with Apple innovations and the intelligence of Siri, HomePod delivers advanced algorithmic audio for a groundbreaking listening experience, including support for immersive spatial soundtracks. With convenient new ways to manage daily tasks and control a smart home, users can now create smart home automations with Siri, get a notification when a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm is detected in their home, and check the temperature and humidity in a room—all hands-free.
The new HomePod is available to order online and in the Apple Store app starting today, and availability will begin Friday, February 3.
“Leveraging our audio expertise and innovation, the new HomePod delivers rich, deep bass, natural midrange and clear, detailed highs,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With the popularity of the HomePod mini, we’ve seen a growing interest in the more powerful audio that can be achieved in a larger HomePod. We’re excited to introduce the next generation HomePod to customers around the world.”
Refined design
With a seamless, acoustically transparent mesh texture and a backlit touch surface that glows from edge to edge, the new HomePod has a beautiful design that complements any space. The HomePod is available in White and Midnight, a new color made from 100% recycled mesh fabric, with a color-matched woven power cable.
Acoustic Power House
HomePod delivers incredible sound quality, with rich, deep bass and stunning high frequencies. A custom-designed high-speed tweeter, a powerful driver that pushes the diaphragm to 20mm, a built-in bass-EQ microphone, and an array of five tweeters around the base all work together to deliver a powerful audio experience. The S7 chip is combined with software and system sensor technology to deliver a more advanced computational sound that maximizes the full potential of its audio system for a class-leading listening experience.
With room sensing technology, the HomePod learns sound reflections from nearby surfaces to determine if it’s against a wall or freestanding, then adapts the sound in real time. Precise directional control on the five-speaker array separates and transmits direct and surround sound, immersing listeners in crystal-clear sound and rich instrumentation.
Users can listen to a catalog of more than 100 million songs with Apple Music,1 Enjoy spatial audio with a single HomePod or as a stereo pair, or create a captivating home theater experience with Apple TV 4K. With Siri, users can access a range of musical knowledge and search by artist, song, lyrics, decade, genre, mood, or activity.
Elevated experience with multiple HomePod speakers
Two or more HomePod or HomePod Mini speakers unlock a variety of powerful features. using multiroom audio with AirPlay,2 Users can simply say “Hey Siri,” touch and hold the top of the HomePod to play the same song on multiple HomePod speakers, play different songs on different HomePod speakers, or even use it as an intercom to broadcast messages to other rooms.
Users can also create a stereo pair with two HomePod speakers in the same space.3 In addition to separating the left and right channels, the stereo pair plays each channel in perfect harmony, creating a wider and more immersive sound range than traditional stereo speakers for a truly premium listening experience.
Seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem
Leveraging ultra-wideband technology, users can hand whatever they’re playing on their iPhone — like a favorite song, podcast, or even a phone call — straight to their HomePod.4 To easily control what’s playing or receive personalized recommendations for songs and podcasts, anyone in the house can bring their iPhone near the HomePod and suggestions will appear automatically. The HomePod can also recognize up to six voices, so everyone in the house can listen to personal playlists, call reminders, and set calendar events.
HomePod easily pairs with Apple TV 4K for a powerful home theater experience, eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel)5 Support on Apple TV 4K allows customers to make HomePod the sound system for all devices connected to the TV. Plus, with Siri on HomePod, users can control what’s playing on Apple TV hands-free.
Find My on HomePod allows users to locate their Apple devices, such as an iPhone, by playing a sound on a misplaced device. With Siri, users can also request the location of friends or loved ones who share their location through the app.
Smart home basics
with voice recognition,6 The HomePod can listen for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and send a notification directly to the user’s iPhone if a sound is recognized. A new integrated temperature and humidity sensor can measure indoor environments, so users can create automations that automatically close curtains or turn on a fan when a certain room temperature is reached.
By activating Siri, customers can control a single device, create scenes like “Good Morning” that trigger multiple smart home accessories at the same time, or set up hands-free, recurring automations like “Hey Siri, open the curtains every day at sunrise.”7 A new confirmation tone indicates when you’ve asked Siri to control an accessory that might not be showing an obvious change, like a heater or accessories in a different room. Ambient sounds—such as the ocean, forest, and rain—have also been re-mastered and further integrated into the experience, allowing customers to add new sounds to scenes, automations, and alarms.
Users can also easily navigate, view, and organize accessories with the redesigned Home app, which provides new categories for climate, lights, and security, simplifies smart home setup and control, and includes a new view for multiple cameras.
Support issue
Matter launched last fall, enabling smart home products to work across ecosystems while maintaining the highest levels of security. Apple is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, which maintains the Matter standard, along with other industry leaders. HomePod connects to and controls Matter-enabled accessories, and acts as a primary home hub, giving users access when they’re away from home.
Customer data is proprietary
Protecting customer privacy is one of Apple’s core values. All smart home communications are always end-to-end encrypted so Apple can’t read them, including camera recordings with HomeKit Secure Video. When using Siri, the voice of the request is not stored by default. These features give users peace of mind that their privacy is protected at home.
HomePod and the environment
Designed to reduce its impact on the environment, HomePod includes 100 percent recycled gold—a first for a HomePod—in the coating of its multiple printed circuit boards and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in the speaker magnet. HomePod meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardant (BFR), PVC, and beryllium. The redesigned packaging eliminates the outer plastic wrap and 96 percent of the packaging is fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal of completely eliminating plastic from all packaging by 2025.
Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, it plans to be 100% carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and all product lifecycles. This means that every Apple device sold, from component manufacturing, assembly, transportation, customer use, and shipping, all the way to recycling and material recovery, will have zero climate impact.
Pricing and availability
- HomePod (2nd generation) is available to order $299 (United States) from apple.com/store And in the Apple Store app in AustraliaAnd CanadaAnd ChinaAnd FranceAnd GermanyAnd ItalyAnd JapanAnd Spainthe United kingdomthe weand 11 more countries and regions starting today, and availability will start on Friday, February 3.
- HomePod (2nd generation) is compatible with iPhone SE (2nd generation) and later, or iPhone 8 and later with iOS 16.3 or later; or iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation) and later, iPad Air (3rd generation) and later, or iPad mini (5th generation) and later with iPadOS 16.3.
- Customers in the United States get 3 percent back in cash every day when they buy directly from Apple with their Apple Card.
About Apple
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms—iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS—deliver seamless experiences across all of their Apple devices and empower people to offer advanced services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on Earth, and to leaving the world in a better state than we found it.
- Apple Music requires a subscription.
- Multiroom audio requires multiple HomePod speakers or AirPlay-compatible speakers with the latest AirPlay software.
- Creating a HomePod stereo pair requires two of the same model of HomePod speakers, such as two HomePod mini, two HomePods (2nd generation), or two HomePods (1st generation).
- iOS 16.3 is required on iPhone for Handoff.
- Home theater with eARC support requires an Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) or later, running the latest tvOS software.
- Voice recognition will be available in a software update later this spring. The voice recognition feature may detect sounds of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and send notifications to users when they are recognized. Voice recognition should not be relied upon in circumstances where users may be harmed or injured, or in extremely dangerous or emergency situations. Voice recognition requires the updated Home architecture, which will be available as a separate update in the Home app. Requires all Apple devices that arrive at the home to use the latest software.
- Smart home accessories sold separately.
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