Apple thinks a So much for music. Steve Jobs loved it so much that he invented the iPod and iTunes so we could bring it all together, and he personally owned several thousand dollar speakers of Swedish in his sparsely decorated living room. To date, Apple Music is one of the best streaming services you can subscribe to for lossless audio support. The headphones it makes on its own and through Beats are mostly fantastic.
It’s a shame the company still hasn’t made a full-sized smart speaker. Not only is the recently refreshed HomePod a near-perfect visual reproduction of the discontinued model from 2018, but it also lacks any audio enhancements. The new HomePod has fewer audio drivers, isn’t compatible with Spotify and other popular services, and still can’t connect to Apple devices when your friends are over. The full-color screen on top is bigger, but it can’t convey more information than the Amazon Echo Blue Line.
In the year In 2018, such foibles are somewhat acceptable, as long as the voice assistant works and the speaker can fill your room with sound. But with excellent competitors now available in various shapes and sizes, it’s hard to let the HomePod slip away. The smaller HomePod Mini already does the same Siri voice control (if you prefer Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, they’re actually better) and offers more than enough sound quality for people who just want to put some music on.
Unless you shell out $600 for two HomePods to listen to in stereo, sound quality isn’t that great, with a heavy helping of bass and little meaning in the midrange. You can get the same “I’ve got music to play” feeling with less than the smaller model or any number of competitors. If you want loud noise, you won’t find it here.
New marshmallow, same shape
Photo: Apple
Physically, the new HomePod is slightly more squat than the old model, standing 7 inches tall with a fat little marshmallow sound. Otherwise, the main difference you’ll notice is the bigger screen on top, with integrated volume up and down buttons. Say “Hey Siri” and Apple’s voice assistant wakes up to let you know she’s there with a colorful plasma display on the top screen.
One difference that many who remember the old model will welcome is the removable power cord, which allows buyers to sometimes snake around small appliances. This last one is lacking and has frustrated many people with custom furniture.
Like the previous model, the new one comes in two colors: white and midnight, which is slightly darker than the previous one. According to some early reports, the white model, like the last one, will burn the wood with a ring when it is released on the wood. I didn’t have that issue, but I still had to get a black one; Apple’s white fabric tends to stain over the years with dust and wear and tear.
Made for iPhone
Photo: Apple
Like the last model, setup is a breeze. Hold a late-model iPhone (latest software) up to the object and HomePod will automatically detect and configure it. As long as your phone goes into Apple Music, you tell it what room it’s in and you’re off to the races. You won’t find Spotify, YouTube Music, Tidal or Amazon Music compatibility here, but the HomePod does support Pandora, Deezer, TuneIn Radio, iHeartRadio and more. You can use AirPlay to play unsupported services on the speaker, but it’s a very annoying solution and requires guests to have an iPhone.
