Apple announces an updated HomePod with a similar design to the original from 2018, Matter support, and more, available now for $299, shipping February 3
It will be sold alongside the HomePod Mini, the smaller version of the speaker introduced in 2020, and features support …
The new full-size model restores a two-tier HomePod lineup while adding Matter support. Related coverage also points to a possible display-equipped HomePod as Apple explores further hardware integration around the category.
First-order effects
Apple again offers buyers a full-size HomePod at $299 alongside the $99 HomePod Mini, creating a clearer price and size choice within its speaker range.
Matter support changes the feature set of Apple’s returning full-size speaker at launch, while the original HomePod design remains the product’s visual reference point.
Second-order effects
The HomePod Mini now has to serve as Apple’s entry-priced option rather than the company’s only smart-speaker model, sharpening the trade-off between compactness and the full-size device.
A future display-equipped model, if introduced as reported in related coverage, would give Apple a third HomePod form factor and make the current two-product lineup an intermediate step rather than an endpoint.
Third-order effects
Apple’s HomePod strategy is moving from a single premium speaker to a family of home devices differentiated by size, price, and potentially interface, with interoperability support becoming part of the baseline feature set.
The trend: Apple is rebuilding HomePod as a tiered home-device range, beginning with Mini and full-size speakers and potentially extending to display-based hardware.
Apple's got a new HomePod, just like the old HomePod (but hopefully faster, it's got a new chip and Thread/Matter support) — i did not expect Apple to do nothing with the design after five or six years though... …
New 2nd gen #Homepod launches. The large model switches to the watch series SoC (S7) similar to the mini Homepod, from the phone-level A series of the 1st gen. …
The re-launch of this larger model is really strange because Apple uncharacteristically discontinued the 1st gen Homepod without a successor being available. Normally when Apple does that it means that the product design is dead, not in hibernation
so the new homepod: - is virtually identical to old homepod design - cheaper at $299 vs $349 - has temperature + humidity sensor + matter https://twitter.com/...
The new Apple HomePod has a new temperature and humidity sensor so it can close the blinds if a certain temperature is reached, for instance. https://www.apple.com/...
In addition to computational audio, new HomePod includes support for Spatial Audio, Sound Recognition with detects and notifies of smoke or carbon monoxide alarms and has built-in sensors for temperature and humidity. https://www.apple.com/...
New HomePod (2nd generation) and it comes in a new color: midnight: “HomePod is available in white and midnight, a new color made with 100 percent recycled mesh fabric, with a color-matched woven power cable.” https://www.apple.com/...