HomePod - page 3

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The new Mac mini is a steal. The new MacBook Pros are a spec bump. And the new HomePod is … interesting. We’re such fans of the original, we can’t wait to wrap our ears around Apple’s (possibly) upgraded smart speaker.

Also on The CultCast:

• Should you buy a new MacBook Pro or wait till next year’s M3 chips arrive?
• HomePod mini’s secret sensor is about to go live.
• We know Apple cut some corners to make the new HomePod. The question is, will the new version bring the boom like the OG HomePod?
• And Cult of Mac writer D. Griffin Jones makes his CultCast debut.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Now that the full-size HomePod is finally back, just how different is it from Apple’s original smart speaker? At a glance, you might not think the $299 speaker Apple unveiled Wednesday is that different at all, because the exterior design looks so similar. But compare the new HomePod’s features to the old model, and you’ll find significant changes.

It seems potentially much-improved as a smart home device, but whether it’s a better speaker is questionable.

A temperature and humidity sensor that’s been inactive in HomePod mini since the smart speaker first lauched is about to activate.

The change will make the device more useful for home automation.

Don’t think you’re going to add a new HomePod 2 to your original HomePod to make a stereo pair. It’s not possible because pairs can only be made with two of the same model.

It’s not a new limitation – a first-generation HomePod can’t be in a stereo pair with a HomePod mini, either. But many people might be unaware of the restriction.

Apple unveiled HomePod 2 on Wednesday, bringing its full-size smart speaker back from the dead. The new model offers high-quality audio and new smart-home features, but comes in at the same price as its predecessor.

“With the popularity of HomePod mini, we’ve seen growing interest in even more powerful acoustics achievable in a larger HomePod. We’re thrilled to bring the next generation of HomePod to customers around the world,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s SVP of worldwide marketing, in a press release.

UPDATE: This prediction can true very quickly. HomePod 2 launched on January 18. Get all the details:

• Apple resurrects full-size HomePod with hot new features, same old price
• HomePod 2 can’t join in stereo pair with earlier models
• Secret sensor in your HomePod mini will activate soon

Apple’s new full-size HomePod with even better sound quality could launch “fairly soon,” according to the latest rumor. The updated smart speaker should pack improved touch controls and feature Matter with Thread support for more reliable use as a home-automation hub. And it should come at a lower price than the original model.

The HomePod debuted in 2018, but Apple discontinued it in 2021 following poor sales due to its steep $299 price.

Every year, Apple has some significant hardware upgrades planned for at least a few devices in its product lineup. 2023 could be an outlier, though.

This year, Apple’s major hardware launches will include its first AR/VR headset and the iPhone 15 series. While other products in the company’s lineup will receive a refresh, they will be relatively minor upgrades.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We’re talking about all the Apple gear we’re certain will arrive in 2023 — and some we just hope will materialize.

Also on The CultCast:

• An Apple Watch Ultra clone for less than $50?!?
• More on Apple’s penny-penching strategy of skimping on cloud storage by serving up lower-resolution files.
• Our picks for best of 2022 — part two!

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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Apple is working on changing the “Hey Siri” hotword to just plain “Siri,” and the change could roll out as early as next year.

Introduced in 2015 with the iPhone 6s, the “Hey Siri” hotword remains unchanged to this day. You also can use the phrase to invoke Apple’s voice assistant on the Mac, iPad, HomePod and Apple Watch.

Apple reportedly plans to release an iPad cradle with a built-in speaker. The device will function as a HomePod smart speaker, and when a tablet is placed in it will become a smart home hub with a touchscreen.

The company also allegedly continues work on a single device that will perform the same task.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: iOS 16 makes our year-old iPhones feel fresh again. And the various “hidden” features flying under the radar make the iOS 16 experience even more impressive.

Also on The CultCast:

• We can’t wait for our first trip to the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island.
• Is the iPhone 14/iPhone 14 Plus really a failure? (Even Steve Jobs’ daughter is dissing this year’s “upgrade” to Apple’s midrange iPhones.)
• What to expect at Apple’s October event.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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The long-anticipated Apple early fall event is just around the corner. On September 7, executives will take to the stage at Apple Park to unveil an array of new products.

Here’s everything we’re expecting at the “Far Out” event, plus the devices we’ll likely have to wait until later in the year to see.

Apple has said many times it won’t produce a touch-screen Mac because that’s what iPads are for. But Sidecar functionality can make an iPad a touch-screen extension of a Mac, where you can drag and drop elements and work with them using Apple Pencil or your fingertips.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup mounts a big 5K display and an iPad Pro right next to each other. In the photograph, you can see the desktop wallpaper running right onto the tablet’s display through Sidecar (more on that below).

And who doesn’t love an all-Apple audio arsenal? This setup rocks paired OG HomePods, AirPods Max on a cool charging stand and AirPods, too.

A replacement for the original, full-size HomePod is reportedly in development. The smart speaker is expected to provide better audio performance than the current HomePod mini.

And it might debut as early as fall 2022.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We’re taking a long look (and listen) at all the hottest new features coming in iOS 16, including the return of the battery percentage indicator. Some of the impending changes look (and sound) great. Others … not so much.

We want two big tweaks: a polished version of the battery percentage indicator, and an iPhone ping that doesn’t sound like garbage. (The existing one is great, and the proposed one is definitely not an upgrade.)

But, hey, there’s still time for Tim Cook’s team of tweakers to bring things up to snuff. In fact, somebody already did the heavy lifting for them on that battery icon (see below)!

With so many people working from home these days, a whole lot of them spend much of their life in one room — wherever the computer setup is, that is. And that’s all the more the case in apartments and small homes. So improving the setup can have a pretty big impact.

In today’s featured Mac Studio setup, swapping out two smaller displays for one bigger one, adding a desk shelf and making a few other changes made quite a difference in enhancing the workspace.

Some older iMacs are being shown the door, giving way to newer Macs paired with Studio Displays. That’s the case with today’s featured computer setup. In it, an iMac gave way recently to a plenty-powerful M1 MacBook Pro paired with a brilliant Studio Display.

And the attractively spare setup, well placed in a beautiful coastal setting, is nearly all Apple — down to the input devices and audio gear.

Apple is working on a new HomePod that could launch next year with a new S8 chip. The smart speaker reportedly will be similar in size to the original HomePod rather than the HomePod mini.

Apple is also working on a powerful new Apple TV with an A14 chip and more RAM.

We see plenty of paired HomePod minis in our travels online among computer setups, but not many stereo twosomes of the OG HomePods, the big ones Apple discontinued that may one day return in some form.

So today’s featured M1 MacBook Air setup is not only super-clean, it rocks that killer sound system and boasts a pricey 5K monitor that rivals Apple’s Studio Display.

And it’s the first setup we’ve come across where someone hates on the wildly popular Logitech MX Master 3 wireless mouse.

Folks noticed Monday that the new iOS 16 beta for developers contains a tantalizing clue about an unknown, unreleased HomePod.

Could it be a new version of the discontinued large HomePod Apple dropped in favor of the better-selling HomePod mini?

Apple’s share of the global smart speaker market grew considerably as HomePod shipments increased by almost 30% year over year.

HomePod, which once had only a tiny sliver of this market, has gained considerably on Amazon and Google.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After eyeballing the latest iPhone 14 Pro renders from John Prosser and Ian Zelbo, we’re left with two big impressions. One, that iPhone looks awfully familiar. Two … purple? Really?!?

Also on The CultCast:

• Please let the latest cryptic HomePod rumor be true.
• Can your eyes handle the even-fancier Studio Display that’s supposedly coming soon? And can your wallet?
• This week’s giveaway features a mophie 3-in-1 travel charger that makes us wish we could enter. (Don’t worry. You can, and we’ll try to hid our jealousy.)
• Erfon’s got a bit of a crush on Soundcore Frames, the Bluetooth sunglasses you can hear.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.

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Apple plans to produce an updated version of the HomePod as soon as the fourth quarter of 2022 or the first quarter of 2023, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Friday.

As reliable as Kuo can be, little other information exists beyond speculation. But that’s part of the fun.

A lot of folks are jonesing for an Apple smart speaker that goes beyond the HomePod mini. The original HomePod, while much more expensive, earned a great reputation for sound quality before Apple killed it in 2021. So naturally, Apple fans are interested in a successor, possibly with new features.

Smart home accessory specialist Ecobee unveiled two new smart thermostats Tuesday. Smart Thermostat Premium and Smart Thermostat Enhanced offer larger displays than before, a redesigned interface, HomeKit integration and more.

There are two types of people in the world. There’s the person who happily tosses a bunch of mismatched gear on a desk and calls it a setup. Then there’s the person with properly placed objects, minimal-to-no cable clutter and careful color choices — down to the charging-pad-and-braided-cable level.

Today’s featured setup clearly belongs to the second type of person.