Of all the products the company makes, the HomePod perhaps represents most completely what Apple is all about.
It’s easy to use - there are no buttons and very simple controls - it looks very cool indeed, and, although it doesn’t do very much, it does it very well indeed.
Apple certainly surprised many when it revealed it was bringing back the full-sized HomePod this month, having discontinued it almost two years ago. Having had a couple to test for the last week I’m very glad it did, and I’m sure I won’t be the only one.
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Why it has brought it back is simple - Apple says its HomePod Mini has been a great success, and for its size it sounds amazing.
But feedback suggests people are in the market for something that sounds even better, even more powerful. That something is the HomePod.
It sounds incredible - there’s wonderful separation, and it's almost magical how the deep powerful bass retains its presence at even low volume levels.
When you have two you can connect them to form a stereo pair and the magic goes up another level - the devices can sense their surroundings to maximise the audio, and come into their own when connected to an Apple TV to create a great high quality home cinema system.
Unlike the Mini, it will also do spatial audio, even with just one unit.
Of course, audio isn’t the only thing the HomePod is about - it’s also a smart speaker that allows full access to Siri for smart home controls and interaction with your iCloud services like Notes, Reminders, and Calendar.
Apple has added a temperature and humidity sensor to the HomePod (and activated those it's already been shipping in the HomePod Mini) - this allows you to use the info generated to create smart home automations based on the climate conditions in your home.
The Siri integration works wonderfully well with HomeKit accessories, but the HomePod can also be a hub for a Matter-based smart home system… that means there should be many more accessories available that work with Siri and the HomePod in the future.
There are a couple of niggles I have, not least of which is, while you can access content from Apple Music and Apple Podcasts, as well as hundreds of radio stations via internet radio service TuneIn, you can’t directly access BBC stations - you have to stream them via AirPlay from your phone, which is an extra level of hassle most people could do without.
The other is, I would very much like a way to connect other sound sources in my home to it - I have a Bluetooth turntable and would very much like to hear how my vinyl collection sounds on these beauties.
The new HomePod costs £299 at the Apple Store and is available to order now. It will ship from February 3.
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