Before the media released their full reviews, Apple invited several tech media, journalists and self-publishers to give the HomePod 2 a short test drive, but unfortunately, Apple offered a very limited program that included only two songs on a single HomePod 2; two more songs in paired stereo, and each song only played for Play for 30 seconds each.
CNET’s Ty Pendlebury said
It's very difficult to judge the sound quality of the HomePod 2 at a press event like this, and I'm reserving my opinion until I receive the real thing for review. Apple played popular music such as 'The Weeknd' in the Tribeca loft and my first impression was that it wasn't very loud. Despite offering 360-degree surround sound, I found that the audio didn't feel too three-dimensional. With Yebba's next track, Boomerang, Apple wanted to emphasise the HomePod's spatial audio compatibility."
Chris Welch of The Verge stated that
"Apple loved using the live recording of 'Hotel California' to demonstrate the HomePods, and the beautifully crafted recording using a variety of microphones really provides a wonderful soundstage. Like the first generation, HomePod 2 exhibits rich, room-filling, multi-directional sound with an emphasis on high-end clarity and detail. When used on its own, its sound quality is probably at the top of the range with the likes of Amazon's Echo Studio and Sonos speakers. In the Eagles' live version of 'Hotel California', the two HomePods sounded great together."
Jacob Kroll of The Street said he needed more time to review it before concluding.
"Like the first HomePod, the latest version offers clear, rich audio, with a vibrant sound that provides more detail. I got that from this brief taster, but what's most impressive is that it's still very loud, with a wide soundstage that lets you hear different elements of the tracks. Overall, I need more time to review Apple's latest smart speaker. But it's fair to say that it can hold its own against other high-end smart speakers such as the original HomePod, as well as competing products from Bose, Sonos and even Amazon. I still maintain that pairing two of them together could outperform the bar."
