Apple HomePod 2
Apple's HomePod 2 is the ideal smart speaker for Mac-oriented households, with some of the best audio quality you can find and the time-tested reliability of Siri. This is the first discount we've found on the vastly improved second-generation model.
When Apple released their first HomePod in 2018, we weren't that impressed. It seemed like a rare misfire from the company, not stacking up to the already-released Amazon Echo and Google Home in terms of interoperability with our smart devices and other key metrics. It was perfectly fine, but we wanted something amazing, because that's just what Apple does. Fast forward to 2022 and the second-generation HomePod fixed everything wrong with the original and more, making it a top choice for your smart speaker. This is the first price drop we've seen since it was released, so act fast.
Why you should get an Apple HomePod 2
Life without a smart speaker seems almost impossible in the 21st century. These nondescript devices not only provide solid sound for our music and podcasts but also remind us of important events, bring us the weather, control our interconnected devices like thermostats and lights and zillions of other tasks. They're the hub of nearly every smart home, so you need them to be reliable and responsive. Apple's HomePod 2 does both, with the added advantage of using Siri as its digital assistant, with all the years of development behind it.
As you'd expect from an Apple product, the visual design of the HomePod is flawless. It's a compact cylinder wrapped in a lovely mesh fabric that's easy to clean. An edge-to-edge touch button on the top lights up when Siri is active in a variety of hues.
Read more: There is definitely a case for a HomePod with a display, let me tell you why
Setup is a breeze if you have basically any other Apple device at hand, and one of the coolest parts is Find My integration, which lets you ask the device where any iPhones, AirPods or other Apple devices it knows about are. It also easily handles alarms, home automation and more.
For more information, check out our extensive review of the HomePod 2, where we break down its chipset and test its performance on all the important smart speaker metrics. This is an attractive and great-sounding unit that is only held back by its comparatively high price, but if you're an Apple diehard it's the way to go. At $20 off, things get a little easier on the wallet.