Apple’s full-size HomePod is back with new features

• The 2023, second-generation HomePod. [credit: Apple ]

As previously rumored, Apple today announced the release of a new second-generation, $299 HomePod smart speaker in a similar design to the first-generation HomePod from 2018.

This new model is a comeback for the HomePod, which was discontinued in 2021 after it struggled in the marketplace despite a price cut.

Critics and consumers felt that while the HomePod delivered outstanding audio quality and great ease of use within the Apple ecosystem, its inability to elegantly play back non-Apple content, the limitations of Siri compared to Alexa or Google Assistant, and the speaker's steep price made it unappealing compared to more affordable smart speakers from Sonos, Amazon, or Google.