Apple Vice President of Hardware Engineering Matthew Costello and Product Marketing Officer Alice Chan recently spoke men’s magazine And Techcrunch about new HomePod second generation In extensive interviews about the smart speaker.
an Apple I discontinued the original full size HomePod In March 2021, after several reports that headphone sales were lackluster, Chan said men’s magazine Apple has since “heard more interest than ever in bigger, richer speaker sound,” prompting the company to release an even bigger HomePod.
The new HomePod looks almost identical to the original, though it’s 0.2 inches shorter and has a larger edge-to-edge LED touchscreen on top. Costello said Techcrunch that Apple teams “really love” this look and feel of the full-size HomePod and “have been able to create a great system inside that chassis.”
Costello explained why the new HomePod is limited to the older Wi-Fi 4 standard, compared to Wi-Fi 6 on other recent Apple devices:
“HomePod features Wi-Fi 4 connectivity that allows us to target what works best across the entire system,” Costello tells TechCrunch, making sure Siri requests respond, ensuring a consistent experience for whatever you’re listening to, and controlling your intelligence. home accessories and more – all while saving energy. “
He also explains the inability to pair a new HomePod with the original HomePod:
“When creating a stereo pair, it’s important that the sound characteristics match for an optimal, balanced experience,” Costello says of the lack of compatibility. “The new HomePod delivers immersive, room-filling sound—with more detail, clarity, and layers than the original HomePod—so we wanted the sonic portrayal to be as pure and consistent as possible from generation to generation. The principle of having the sound characteristics match in a stereo pair on the HomePod mini and original HomePod and The new HomePod.”
Apple told media publications that the HomePod mini is “popular,” but didn’t provide any additional details or comment on the future of the smaller speaker.
In his interview with men’s magazineCostello provides additional details about the new HomePod hardware and technology, including a 4-inch high-speed woofer, tweeters, beam-forming microphones, room-sensing capabilities, and more.
The new HomePod is available for pre-order for $299 and will launch Friday in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan, Australia and other select countries. Verify HomePod review report For a practical look on the speaker, which many reviewers found had pretty much the same sound quality as the original.
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