Apple's new smart speaker can check room temperature and humidity
What's the story
Apple has launched the second generation HomePod smart speaker. Alongside playing music and performing other Siri-enabled functions, it can now check your room's temperature and humidity. You can also create a stereo pair by pairing two HomePods.
The HomePod (2nd generation) is priced at Rs. 32,900 and is open for pre-booking. It will be available from February 3.
Design
The second-generation Homepod comes in two shades
The new HomePod is designed with a transparent mesh fabric and a backlit touch surface. It is available in two shades: White and Midnight.
Talking about dimensions, the new speaker is almost like its predecessor, measuring 6.62 inches tall and 5.59 inches wide. It weighs approximately 2.3kg.
You can tap to play/pause, double-tap to skip, and touch and hold to activate Siri.
Feature
The new HomePod can recognize up to six voices
The HomePod (2nd generation) is powered by an S7 chip and comes with a custom-engineered 4-inch high-excursion woofer
The smart speaker is equipped with room-sensing technology that recognizes sound reflections from nearby surfaces to determine if it is against a wall or freestanding and correspondingly alters the sound output.
According to the company, the speaker can recognize up to six voices.
Sound recognition
The HomePod can detect smoke and carbon dioxide alarms
The new HomePod can detect smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and will subsequently notify the paired iPhone
The smart speaker also gets temperature and humidity sensors. Users can create automation to draw blinds and so on if a particular temperature is reached.
The HomePod can also connect to and control Matter-enabled accessories, serving as a home hub for all your compatible smart home products.
Connectivity
HomePod (2nd generation) works with a range of Apple products
The new HomePod is compatible with iPhone SE (2nd generation) and later; iPhone 8 and later running iOS 16.3 or later; or iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation) and later, iPad Air (3rd generation) and later, or iPad mini (5th generation) and later running iPadOS 16.3.
To create a stereo pair, users will have to use HomePods of the same model.
Information
HomePod will be available from February 3
The new HomePod carries a price tag of Rs. 32,900 and can be pre-ordered via the official Apple e-store in India. It will be available starting February 3.