HomePod (1st generation)

HomePod put sound quality first. A high-excursion woofer is surrounded by an array of seven tweeters, each with its own amplifier, and the A8 processor uses six microphones to measure how sound reflects in the room. The result is a speaker that changes its beam and balance automatically, and can fill a space from a shelf or table.

Siri could play music from Apple Music, set timers, read news and control HomeKit accessories, but its list of skills was shorter than rivals. AirPlay 2 arrived later, allowing multiroom playback and stereo pairing of two speakers.

The fabric-covered body in white or space gray left marks on wood furniture, which Apple acknowledged. The product earned praise for audio but struggled with price and Siri's limits, and Apple ended sales in 2021 to focus on the HomePod mini. A second-generation model followed two years later.