“Apple’s Second Attempt at the HomePod is Not a Redemption.”

I’ve already made my Android-leaning ways known here at Gizmodo. When Apple announced it was updating the HomePod smart speaker, I didn’t understand why it was a big deal—or why my Apple pals had such high hopes for and worries about it. Then I realized it was because Apple flubbed the first HomePod, which very quickly got a price drop after its release and was then discontinued. There was hope that this model would fix what didn’t work in the last one and would redeem it, especially since the HomePod Mini had offered some respite. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Apple’s HomePod has too much competition to be as average as it is. Let me be clear: it is a good smart speaker. It’s pretty to look at, easy to set up, and works great if you’re inside the Apple Music ecosystem. But the sound it produces isn’t mind-blowing, especially not since the Apple-friendly Sonos Era series of smart speakers launched. Buying two HomePods will not improve the sound much, either, at least not enough to justify the cost. At $300/piece, there are cheaper options that can produce as much or more presence than two HomePods strung together. And if it’s Siri and smart home controls you’re after, the HomePod Mini is much more affordable at $100.

While one HomePod looked fine inside my office on a shelf, my two respective black and white review units looked out of place when I took them to the living room and tried to use them as a left-and-right audio array. The problem is that I’ve already built my TV setup around a soundbar, so I had to place the HomePods on different pieces of furniture to frame it. One HomePod sat on the fireplace mantle, while the other was on the TV cabinet. At one point, I put both HomePods on the floor so I wouldn’t have to look at their long cable tails. Sometimes, minimalism only works well if the rest of the house is outfitted for it, and the design makes the HomePod feel more like a singular device rather than something intended to be part of a full-blown surround sound setup.

The HomePod is packed with five horn-loaded tweeters and a four-inch woofer. That is two fewer tweeters than the last HomePod, though the one woofer stays the same. The tweeters are all face outward in a circular array, meaning you’ll hear your audio no matter where you stand around the device. There’s also an Apple S7 chip helping facilitate the spatial room audio capabilities, which help make up for the reduced tweeter count. It is technically a weaker chip than the iPhone 6’s A8 processor, which was powering the last-gen HomePod, but Apple switched to the Apple Watch’s processor for its smart speakers when it introduced the HomePod Mini in 2020.

Zooming closer, you’ll notice a slightly perforated surface inside the HomePod’s mesh net. When gently gripping the HomePod, you can feel some padding on the outside squish. This relative softness could be an issue if the HomePod drops from a high-up place like a mantle or bookshelf. I don’t own this hardware, so I didn’t push it on durability while testing. But it’s something to look out for if you’re putting one up high.

Like the revamped Sonos Era speakers and its predecessor, Apple’s on-device HomePod controls are at the top of the speaker. You can tap to control the volume or bring up Siri, and the speaker’s top will light up as the digital assistant listens. The base is also flat now, compared to the first-gen HomePod, which looked like someone had scooped it out. The bottom has a rubbery finish, so the speaker isn’t bouncing around on smooth surfaces. It did fine atop the same flimsy bookshelf where I tested the Sonos Era 300.

Setting up the HomePod is easy. Walk into the room with the HomePod while holding the iPhone you’re setting it up with, and the Apple Home app will immediately pop up with a window asking you to pair the two. Doing this with a sole unit or a left-and-right array is easy. It’s even easy to move the HomePods from room to room and reconfigure them all. This convenience is a big part of the Apple experience, and I’ll admit—sometimes I wish Google’s stuff felt this way.

I’ve already made my Android-leaning ways known here at Gizmodo. When Apple announced it was updating the HomePod smart speaker, I didn’t understand why it was a big deal—or why my Apple pals had such high hopes for and worries about it. Then I realized it was because Apple flubbed the first HomePod, which very quickly got a price drop after its release and was then discontinued. There was hope that this model would fix what didn’t work in the last one and would redeem it, especially since the HomePod Mini had offered some respite. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Apple’s HomePod has too much competition to be as average as it is. Let me be clear: it is a good smart speaker. It’s pretty to look at, easy to set up, and works great if you’re inside the Apple Music ecosystem. But the sound it produces isn’t mind-blowing, especially not since the Apple-friendly Sonos Era series of smart speakers launched. Buying two HomePods will not improve the sound much, either, at least not enough to justify the cost. At $300/piece, there are cheaper options that can produce as much or more presence than two HomePods strung together. And if it’s Siri and smart home controls you’re after, the HomePod Mini is much more affordable at $100.

While one HomePod looked fine inside my office on a shelf, my two respective black and white review units looked out of place when I took them to the living room and tried to use them as a left-and-right audio array. The problem is that I’ve already built my TV setup around a soundbar, so I had to place the HomePods on different pieces of furniture to frame it. One HomePod sat on the fireplace mantle, while the other was on the TV cabinet. At one point, I put both HomePods on the floor so I wouldn’t have to look at their long cable tails. Sometimes, minimalism only works well if the rest of the house is outfitted for it, and the design makes the HomePod feel more like a singular device rather than something intended to be part of a full-blown surround sound setup.

The HomePod is packed with five horn-loaded tweeters and a four-inch woofer. That is two fewer tweeters than the last HomePod, though the one woofer stays the same. The tweeters are all face outward in a circular array, meaning you’ll hear your audio no matter where you stand around the device. There’s also an Apple S7 chip helping facilitate the spatial room audio capabilities, which help make up for the reduced tweeter count. It is technically a weaker chip than the iPhone 6’s A8 processor, which was powering the last-gen HomePod, but Apple switched to the Apple Watch’s processor for its smart speakers when it introduced the HomePod Mini in 2020.

Zooming closer, you’ll notice a slightly perforated surface inside the HomePod’s mesh net. When gently gripping the HomePod, you can feel some padding on the outside squish. This relative softness could be an issue if the HomePod drops from a high-up place like a mantle or bookshelf. I don’t own this hardware, so I didn’t push it on durability while testing. But it’s something to look out for if you’re putting one up high.

Like the revamped Sonos Era speakers and its predecessor, Apple’s on-device HomePod controls are at the top of the speaker. You can tap to control the volume or bring up Siri, and the speaker’s top will light up as the digital assistant listens. The base is also flat now, compared to the first-gen HomePod, which looked like someone had scooped it out. The bottom has a rubbery finish, so the speaker isn’t bouncing around on smooth surfaces. It did fine atop the same flimsy bookshelf where I tested the Sonos Era 300.

Setting up the HomePod is easy. Walk into the room with the HomePod while holding the iPhone you’re setting it up with, and the Apple Home app will immediately pop up with a window asking you to pair the two. Doing this with a sole unit or a left-and-right array is easy. It’s even easy to move the HomePods from room to room and reconfigure them all. This convenience is a big part of the Apple experience, and I’ll admit—sometimes I wish Google’s stuff felt this way.