Homepod Series -

HomePod 2023

HomePod

This HomePod was introduced to the world in January 2023 and is the second generation HomePod and is identical to the first generation HomePod. This is Apple’s largest and most expensive speaker and regarded as the alternative to the HomePod Mini, the difference between this and the first generation HomePod are:

An additional new temperature.
Humidity sensor.
Internal set up.
New smart home functionality.

There are chances that Apple will release another HomePod in 2024 with a display horizon although this is yet to be confirmed. If you are interested, you might want to put buying the current one on hold and see if you’ll prefer the one to be release in 2024.

This device is a powerhouse among speakers because of its engineered audio technology and an advanced software that delivers a high-fidelity sound throughout the room. It will intelligently adapt to the sound in the room and immersed you in a sound that makes everything you hear amazing.

Features:

Available in two colours – white and black.
A compact round designs.
Covered in a 3D mesh fabric.
2 inches shorter in comparison to the first generation.
Interactive touch screen.
Supports music playback gestures.
Alerts you when Siri is activated.
Serves as a home hub for HomeKit and matter.
Has a five-tweeter array.
Each tweeter is fitted with its own drive.
4-inch-high excursion woofer.
Produces crisp, clear distortion free sound.
Less tweeters compared to prior generation model.
Four microphones compared to six on the previous model.
S7 chip first used in Apple watch seven series.
It uses spatial awareness, room sensing and advanced computational audio.
The spatial audio is support with Dolby Atmos for music and videos.
Apple says it offers rich, deep bass and stunning high frequencies.
It’s integrated with Apple music.
Compatible with third party music services.
Two HomePod can be paired for stereo support.
Second generation model cannot be paired with the original model.
Compatible with Apple TV 4K.
It can be used as a substitute for Apple TV speakers.
Integrated with HomeKit and Airplay 2.
It can be access through the HomePod App.
It can be paired with other Airplay 2 speakers for multiroom audio.
It’s not compatible with a standard Bluetooth speaker.
It’s not compatible with non-Apple devices for playing content over Bluetooth.
The HomePod works with all prior speakers implemented by Apple.
It can differentiate users by their voices.
Plays ambient sound for background sound therefore giving you a rainfall effect.
It serves as an intercom which allows messages to be sent to different rooms in the house.
The included U1 chip enables the feature known as handoff.
Locate other Apple devices such as iPhone or AirPods with the Find My feature.
HomePod will detect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm with its sound recognition abilities.
It measures the indoor environment with its temperature and sensor abilities.
The HomePod will gather metrics for home automation with HomeKit devices.
It supports matter and serves as a hub for connecting matter devices which can be control away from home.

Design

It’s like the discontinued original model.
It’s a cylindrical body with a flat top.
A touchscreen display at the top.
Built in controls to play/pause music.
Siri waveform is displayed at the top when activated.
Voice assistant with a clear voice.
The integrated touch screen is larger compared to the previous HomePod.
It supports a wider array of colour options.
A reflection of different functions and statutes.
It measures at: 6.6 inches (168mm) tall.
6 inches (142mm) wide.
2 inches shorter in comparison to the previous model.
It weights 5.16 pounds (2.3kg) lighter as well.
No external markings on the speaker.
A removable power cable at the back.
It was designed with a vibration-damping silicone material.

Touch Gestures

It supports many gestures using the touch controls at the top.
Pause and play music with a tap, a double tap swaps to the next track.
A triple tap takes you back to the previous track.
A touch and hold activate Siri.
A visible waveform means Siri is active.
Tap or tap and hold the “+” button increases the volume.
Tap or tap and hold the “-” button decreases the volume.

Sound Quality

Your home will be filled with the best sound because of the solid hardware.
A customised five array beamforming tweeter is at the bottom.
Each tweeter has its own driver.
A powerful acoustic experience.
A high excursion engineered woofer which is customised.
A motor drives that diaphragm 20mm for the movement of more air.
A built-in bass EQ mic which prevents distortion with automatic bass correction.
It provides rich deep bass and amazing high frequencies.
Siri connects with the HomePod via its four-microphone array.
HomePod hears Siri even when the music is loud.
The S7 system on a chip improves the sound quality via a computational audio.
S7 replaces the A8 chip that was in the prior version.
It automatically adjusts and balance the audio thereby taking full advantage of the environment to fill the room with quality sound.
Spatial awareness detects the rooms around.
It uses advanced algorithm to keep analysing what on and tune low frequencies for a smooth sound.
Stereo paired can be a default sound option for Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV.

Whole Sound Music

Create a soothing atmosphere by bringing multiple HomePod and HomePod mini speakers under one roof and enjoy music throughout your entire home. You can select different songs for different rooms, like Jazz in the kitchen and kid’s music in their room.

HomePod delivers a new level of spaciousness and layering, enjoy a direct sound through its beamforming tweeters such as, primary vocals into the middle of the room, a reflective ambient sound like the back up band, off the wall for a fully immersive listening.

HomePod elevates Apple music to a higher level because the owner can listen to all the favourite artists and songs – spanning every imaginable genre from the highest quality in the comfort of your home.

A combination of multiple HomePod or AirPlay enabled speakers puts in different rooms in a house, the AirPlay 2 protocol controls the audio in every room. HomePod supports the following audio sources:

Apple Music.
iTunes Music.
Third Party Music Services.
Apple Music Radio or episodes on demands.
Radio stations from TuneIn.
iHeart Radio.
Apple Podcast.
News Briefings.
Remastered ambient sounds.

AirPlay session can be imitated directly on an iPhone and iPad from a HomePod with the Siri’s voice commands starting with IOS 17. This makes it so easy to play music from services like Spotify that is not compatible with HomePod.

Cinematic Experience

Enjoy a home cinema experience with the combination of HomePod and Apple TV 4K to enjoy the Dolby Atmos audio for a complete home cinema experience. You will enjoy a mind-blowing visual and a world class content.

Spatial Audio

You can listen to specially designed spatial audio tracks because HomePod is compatible with spatial audio with Doby Atmos which are available through Apple music and other services. You will experience an immersive, multidimensional audio experience via spatial audio with Dolby Atmos which allow artists to mix music in a way that produces a sound like notes coming all around you.

Directional audio re filtered and the frequencies are subtly adjusted by the spatial audio that each ear receives to place sound virtually everywhere in a space for an immersive listening experience.

Siri Integration

HomePod and Siri works together, Siri uses its voice assistant to control the speaker, “Hey Siri” commands will activate Siri and will perform various functions found on other devices such as the iPhone.

Siri will perform wonders such as:

Recommend music based on preferences.
Helps to discover music.
Notices user’s likes.

You can also give command to Siri such as:

Play something new
Who’s singing?
Play more like that.

This image above contains a sample of music-related Siri commands which was shown on stage at the WWDC keynote, Siri will also play content from your:

iCloud Music Library.
Apple Music.
iTunes Purchases.

Siri serves as a home assistant therefore not limited to music and will provide answers to questions around series of topics such as:

Sending messages.
Making phone calls.
Setting multiple timers.
Offers weather updates.
Make calendar appointments.
And more.

Sir will answer questions from anyone in the house and recognises different voices serves as a speaker and microphone for a voice-based call. Start a phone conversation on your phone and switch over to the HomePod using the handoff.

The top of the HomePod lights up and display waveform when Siri is activated and provides audio feedback. Siri plays a confirmed tone to affirm that a request will be honoured.

Smart Home Functionality

The second generation HomePod main purpose is being the home hub just like the original HomePod and HomePod mini. It enables a remote access for HomeKit devices so that you can access them when you are home and away.

It also built as a matter hub therefore it works matter-enabled accessories, matter is a smart home standard designed to work on various platforms and serves as an alternative to HomeKit that performs in the same way.

More Features

Intercom – Siri commands makes it possible for the HomePod to be used for household communication, send a message from one Apple device to a HomePod in another room of the house refer to as room-to-room communication.

Enhanced Dialogue – Dialogue is clearer with the enhanced dialogue that boost the volume of spoken voices which makes dialogue to hear over effects, action, and music in am over or TV show when paired with Apple TV 4K. Whispers are clear and heard among music and background sounds, TV shows and movies never looked nor sound so vivid.

EARC – This permits the HomePod to be used as speakers for all connected peripherals.

Handoff – Hand off apple music playing on HomePod to an iPhone and vice versa, the UI chip in the HomePod makes it possible by placing the iPhone closer to the speaker and the song will be transferred.

Find My – HomePod will play a sound on nearby Apple devices because of the Find My integration, locate family and friends with Siri and location will be shared on the owner’s HomePod.

Doorbell Announcements – The connection between the HomeKit and doorbells enables Siri on HomePod to announce if someone is at the door.

Ambient Sounds – Ambient sounds like rain, ocean and forest were remastered by Apple to make this sounds better therefore can be added to scene, automation, and alarms.

Accelerometer

A new feature in this HomePod is called accelerometer and it adjusts the sound of the HomePod in real time if it’s move to a new area in the room.

Temperature and Humidity

HomePod has a built-in temperature and a humidity sensor in order word can detect the condition of the room, these metrics are used to activate automations in HomeKit or matter devices.

Optimises Acoustics in Real Time.

Advanced computational audio innovations are unlocked by Apple silicon in the HomePod, it runs a complex tuning model in real-time from a new system sensor to preserve dynamic range and maximise the acoustics performance.

In Conclusion

All you need to know about the Homepod

Homepod

The world developer conference was held in 2017 where Apple revealed it’s Siri based speaker. Apple claimed it took quite a while to develop this device because it ought to reinvent the way people enjoy music in their respective homes. It was launched on the 9th of February 2018, the uniqueness of this device as proclaimed by Apple is the combination of a smart speaker with a quality sound.

The sound quality has been Apple’s major focus so that this system stands out amidst its rivalry such as the google assistance and Amazon echo. This device is under 7 inches, but loaded with lots of technology. It was built with a 7-tweeter array, each tweeter outfitted with its own driver. A 4 inch upward facing woofer was built in for crisp, clear and distortion free sounds.

FEATURES:

● Stylish woofer.

● Seven tweeters.

● 7 – inch mesh body.

● Spatial recognition.

● Good quality stereo sound.

● Good microphone.

A8 chip controls the internal component which makes it extremely powerful, equipped with spatial awareness. Spatial awareness allows it to intelligently study a room and adjust accordingly to produce the best possible sound. A simple navigation is provided by touch controls at the top of the device and 1GB of RAM. This system is a round compact, covered in a 3D mesh fabric for acoustic properties.

Despite the small size it was built to offer room filling sound integrated with Apple music and built in Siri support. Siri command is detected from anywhere in the room with 6 microphone array even while blasting the music. There’s an improvement in Siri’s understanding of music and help users to discover new content, serving as a home musicologist.

A visible LED waveform located at the top of the speaker was designed so that the user knows when the personal assistance is active. Siri does not intrude in privacy and will only respond after a command. Conversation between Siri and Apple’s servers is anonymous and encrypted. Some of the things Siri will do are:

● News updates.

● Podcast.

● Weather reports.

● Traffic news.

● Sports updates.

● Reminders.

● Read and send text messages.

● Phone calls.

● More.

It supports airplay 2 with the IOS 11.4 update, it pairs with airplay 2 speakers and works with stereo sound in other words you can connect two for a better-quality sound. The good news is, it works with third party services from an IOS device or a Mac per to peer airplay. You’re not limited to Apple’s music subscription, although music support is limited and does not work as a standard Bluetooth speaker with non-Apple devices using a Bluetooth connection.

It can also be used as a home kit hub just like Apple TV or the IPAD. When the it’s connected you can access the devices remotely, Siri can be used to control home kit connected smart devices with this machine as a centralised home control unit.

DESIGN

● Cylindrical body with a flat top.

● Siri wave form is activated with 272 x 340 display.

● Looks like a Mac pro small mesh cover.

● Built in controls for necessary adjustments.

● 6.8 inches tall and 5.6 inches wide.

● Grey and white colour.

● Waveform LED is located at the top.

● No external markings on the speakers.

● Lovely simple design.

● Interior decors.

The power cable is removable, covered in a fabric which looks like the speaker’s fabric. Pulling it with force from the pod disconnects the cable, it’s advisable not to disconnect the cable.

TOUCH GESTURES SUPPORT

At the top is the controls, which supports several gestures. Tap to play and pause the music, double tap to select the next track. A triple tap takes you to the previous track, touch and hold activates Siri plus a visible waveform that shows Siri is ready for a command.

HARDWARE AND SOUND QUALITY

It produces the best quality sound due to the sophisticated hardware. A custom seven beam forming tweeter array is located at the bottom with each individual drive. Audio travels from inside the speaker via a precision horn through to the bottom, something labelled as “tremendous directional control”.

It reacts to Siri’s commands through a six-microphone array located above the tweeters even when the music is loud. The woofer is an Apple designed 4 inches upward facing equipment with a powerful motor to move lots of air that produces a rich deep bass. An automatic bass correction was built into the speakers powered by a low frequency, microphone and dynamic sound modelling which keep sound distortion free even when the volume is loud.

The same A8 chip that came with the introduction of the iPhone 6 can also be found in this device. A good processing power for the speaker termed by Apple as the biggest brain ever built into the speaker. A8 chip power:

● Multi-channel echo cancellation.

● Direct and audio ambient mixture.

● Buffering.

● Real time acoustic modelling.

It has a 1GB RAM and 16GB flash storage, although the storage is not meant for music. The room is detected by the machine through a spatial awareness which automatically adjust and balance the audio to suit the environment. An advanced algorithm is used to detect what’s playing and producing low frequencies for smooth sound.

You get a richer sound if two home pods are paired especially with multiple pods all around the house. You’re able to control the audio everywhere in the house with the new Airplay 2 protocol, which is also available in third speakers.

2 will work together not like having one for right channel while the other for a left channel as with normal speakers. The two units work together to detect and balance sound quality. Home pod supports the following:

● FLAC.

● WAV.

● AIFF.

● Apple Lossless.

● MP3 VBR.

● HE – AAC (V1).

● AAC (16 TO 320 KBPS).

MUSIC PLAYBACK

It’s connects directly to Apple music streaming service in the cloud over WIFI. It will access:

● Music library.

● Playlists.

● Music mixes.

● Preferences.

Different people can contribute to the music playlist because it supports a shared up next music list. A link to the Apple music account authorises anyone in the home to command the device. It works with iTunes match and iTunes music purchase in case you don’t have an Apple music account. Airplay can be used from other music products to play music from streaming services like Spotify.

It works with the following music sources:

● Podcasts.

● Beats 1 live radio.

● Apple music.

● iTunes music purchases.

● iCloud music.

● Airplay from iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV and Mac.

In the past you were able to stream from the Apple music iPhone and Mac all at the same time. In January 2019 the feature was changed and no longer possible to stream music on two devices at the same time with a single person Apple music subscription. Music recommendation is affected by songs streams on your Home Pod from the for you tab on Apple music.

If you want to listen to music not curated in for you section you just need to turn off the recommended settings to make changes, this will also stop this unit from adding music to your listening section of the Apple music profile that catalogue content you’ve played on Apple music. Bluetooth 5.0 is supported By Homepod but unable to play music from non-IOS devices using a Bluetooth connection.

SIRI INTERGRATION

Siri plays a major role in this device, Siri was updated to have a better understanding of music related data which allows the personal assistance to answer lots of questions related to music. Siri will offer recommendations based on your musical taste by taking notes on your likes.

Questions and commands that work with Siri on Home pod are:

● Who’s singing?

● Play more like that.

● Play something new.

● Play more songs like this.

Siri is also able to play content from:

● iCloud music library.

● Apple music.

● iTunes purchases.

Siri’s major role is to be your home assistance and not just limited to making music recommendations. Siri will:

Provide information on a wide range of topics:

● Send messages.

● Make a phone call.

● Set multiple timer.

● Weather updates.

● Calendar appointments.

Its functionality is not limited to a single user, will answer queries from anyone in the house. Siri is limited to, Apple music if you’re not home. You’re unable to send text messages, create reminders and other things. Home pod is connected to the user’s iCloud account and other access is disconnected if the user’s IOS device is on a different network.

Home pod can be used for speaker purposes and a microphone as well for a voice-based call. You can make a phone call on your iPhone and then switch to this device with the aid of handoff. It doesn’t eavesdrop therefore you don’t have to worry about your privacy. Communications that transpired between Siri and Apple’s server are encrypted.

Good news Siri was only available in English when launched, but after the 11.4 update now available in French and German.

HOMEKIT

Home pod can be used as a home kit hub just like Apple TV and iPads, you can access home kit devices through Siri’s integration.

OPERATING SYSTEM

It runs on the full version of IOS with the assistance of a shell app called sound board which integrates with the device hardware. Apps are prefixed with air in the firmware and there is no provision for third party apps or extensions yet.

Regular updates are provided for the Home pod by Apple, just like other IOS devices. It currently runs on IOS 12.1.13 released in January and not free from bug fixes and performance improvements. The updates addressed the issue with restarts and Siri.

REVIEWS

As regards to everything in life there will always be positive and negative reviews and the Home pod was not spare of both. There were lots of positive reviews because the depth of the speaker was tested, and reviewers pleased with the amazing high quality of the device which stands out among other speakers.

On the other hand, some reviewers were not impressed with Siri compare to other personal devices like Amazon’s Alexa, Siri cannot be compared. There were also rumours that it wasn’t selling as expected due to the price tag, ecosystem limitations and issue with Siri. Rumour continues that the next Home pod devices will be cheaper, but might be branded as a different device.

CONCLUSION

Your interaction with music in your environment is delivered through a breakthrough speaker that adjusts to its location and delivers high fidelity audio. The combination of Apple Music and Siri offers a new way for you to enjoy music at home.