Apple Homepod 2 is Official -- Price, Release Date, Design, and Features Revealed

The company that invented the modern smartphone released its second-generation Homepod on Feb 3. Apple Homekit, the smart home wi-fi, audio-video, and home automation software app, will soon undergo a relaunch to boot. To integrate existing smart home devices or systems into Homepod, there is Homebridge.

The second generation Homepod retail cost is $299.00.

Out of the gate, the Homepod 2 has dual powerhouse features. 1) The music-industry-changing commitment to sound quality and audio design that Apple is known for. 2) Updated and reinforced privacy features that are the modern hallmark of the company.

Apples to Apples, or Android, Evolve Can Swing It

From audio-video; UHD, 4k and 8k hi-fi; home security; lighting; home automation, and control; Evolve does much more than Home Theater systems.

Less than 25 smart home install and service firms in Texas are members of the Home Theater Association. And Evolve is one of them. Whether you run an Apple ecosystem, Google/Android (Nest), or other platforms, our Control4 standard install platform can play nicely with all of it.

Let's take a closer look at the newest Apple Homepod.

Amped-up Features

After a pre-pandemic release, the HomePod is back. Users have an ascendant level of privacy with end-to-end encrypted data. That's right, if you tell Siri to remind you to pick up your dry cleaning, you won't see a million pop-ups for Tide in your browser. Apple's servers don't harvest and retain every query.

We talked about music. The iPod changed the world of music forever. Apple continues to innovate the sonic experience with creative technology. Homepod intelligent speakers are 

numerous tweeters and one rich bass woofer hub. Five micro-tweeters encircle the recycled-mesh speaker.

Homepod is 360 degrees of fine-tuned sound. With a cylinder design, the device can also fine-tune the audio output. A SONAR-like sensor tells it about its surroundings: is the Homepod on the counter, or is it tucked into a corner? With the feedback, the sound self-adjusts to provide the best listening experience based on this "Spatial Audio."

Plus and Minus

The new Homepod has unparalleled sound quality and engineering. As such, its main selling point is audio video, media display, and consumption. Airplay, Apple TV integrations, daisy-chaining devices connected to Apple TV--go from a podcast on your phone to this smart device as you walk in the door. Ultra Wideband technology at work. If audio videos are part of the work or you're all about top-notch home theater for entertainment, Homepod can work.

A company with a bedrock commitment to customer privacy is increasingly valuable. Amazon Echo and other items on the market can be modified towards privacy, but no promises and it takes some effort. There are lots of opt-outs and fishing through the internet for instructions.

And, while we're on the subject, Evolve can ensure your family has the best possible secure access to all your smart home devices and systems.

Yet Homepod offers privacy-as-the-norm but with Siri and voice actions.

For a typical home that lands on the national average for connected smart devices and for the complexity of those smart devices--the Homepod can be a good home assistant. Customers can enable thermostats or window-treatment adjustments thanks to the device's temperature and humidity sensors.

At 32GB, it has twice the flash memory as an Echo 15: that's programmable and re-programmable storage that maintains even without power. The Apple S7 chip, with 1GB of RAM, is about half or one-third the RAM of most other comparable smart home assistants.

So if you have a multi-layered smart lawn-sprinkler system or are running a farm off of Control4 (see our last article here for that story!), that will be a challenge for this smart home device.

So, for Homepod 2, the apex of audio and the pinnacle of privacy for a home device--but for a low-demand connected house.

Stay Tuned to Evolve Tech--Or, Since It's 2023, Bookmark Us

For room-to-room smart home services, lights, home theater, video doorbells, and big screen innovations (way past 8k) contact Evolve Technologies for a consult.