Sonos Era 300

The high-end Era 300 will indeed feature the unique dual-horn design shown in the renders revealed earlier this year, and will be a competitor to the HomePod 2 when it hits the market. The speaker is sized between the current Sonos One and Sonos Five, and includes a total of six drivers that can fire sound forward, left, right and up. Other features include WiFi 6, Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, a built-in microphone, an automatic equalizer, and USB-C audio line input.

While the Era 300 supports Dolby Atmos spatial audio, it is unlikely that Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos library will be supported.

Thanks to HomeKit / AirPlay 2 compatibility, the speaker should be able to support Siri like other Sonos speakers. however, in the legal battle with Google, the speaker may not support Google Assistant.

The Era 300 speaker can also act as a surround for Sonos Arc and Beam soundbars for an immersive Dolby Atmos setup. While there is no built-in Ethernet, Sonos will sell a USB-C to Audio + Ethernet dongle to provide support for hardwiring.

According to sources close to Sonos, the Era 300 will cost about $450 (currently about RMB 3,996) and will be available in March.

Sonos Era 100
While the Era 100 was initially thought to also support spatial audio, it turns out it does not. Compared to the Sonos One, the Era 100 has a larger mid-woofer for improved bass, and two tweeters for “true stereo” support.

It will come with the same connectivity features as the Era 300, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB-C input. The Sonos Era 100 is said to cost around $250 (currently about RMB 1,720) and is expected to launch in March alongside the higher-end 300 models.

Trueplay update
Another upgrade to the Era speaker is the built-in auto-tune feature, which uses its built-in microphone to perform room analysis and then auto-tune. This is still available as “Advanced Tuning” and is still exclusive to the iPhone and iPad.

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some key comments from Forbes editor David Phelan.

"Apple's second-generation HomePod has a broader, more resonant sound than the first HomePod. Apple's second-generation HomePod sounds more natural, and playing certain tracks provides some sonic detail that I've never heard before. A couple of Billy Joel tracks, for example, are the best versions I've ever heard.

The HomePod's sound is incredibly detailed, with every part of the music subtly handled, rich and subtle, and providing more bass detail.

Unlike the first generation HomePod, the new model is Spatial Audio compatible. this provides a very superior audio experience, giving users an all-encompassing sound that works very well and provides a seamless, immersive effect.

What's more, the stereo pairing of the two HomePods elevates the audio from fantastic to amazing, and the sound that fills the room is just fantastic."

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Apple recently introduced a new HomePod speaker for $2,299. The design is slightly updated with an S7 chip for faster performance, “more advanced” computing audio, a larger backlit touch surface, and other new features. Pre-orders for the new HomePod 2nd generation have been open for less than a week since it was announced.

“HomePod (2nd generation) is a powerful smart speaker with a beautiful signature design that brings a next-generation acoustic experience to users. HomePod brings together a number of Apple innovations and Siri intelligence to deliver advanced computational audio technology and support for immersive spatial audio tracks for an unprecedented listening experience. HomePod brings a convenient new way to manage everyday tasks and control your smart home, so users can use Siri to create smart home automation features, get notifications when smoke or carbon monoxide alarms are triggered in your home, or check the temperature and humidity in a room – all without having to do anything. “

In the U.S., the midnight-colored HomePod is now estimated to ship in three to four weeks, much later than the HomePod’s launch date of Friday, Feb. 3. However, there is no delay for the white HomePod. In the U.K., the midnight-colored HomePod faces a five- to six-week shipping delay. In other markets, such as Germany, both colors of the new HomePod are facing delays of more than a month. In China, the Midnight color is expected to ship between February 22 and March 1, with a delay of nearly four weeks at the latest.

The updated HomePod second generation was launched about two years after Apple discontinued the initial HomePod smart speaker. The original HomePod didn’t have the market success Apple had hoped for several reasons, including the speaker’s high price of $349 at launch and limited functionality. Apple’s new HomePod second generation is its latest attempt to grow in the smart home market, which Google and Amazon have dominated for several years.

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According to Apple’s release notes, version 16.3 of the HomePod software adds several new features. It activates temperature and humidity sensing for the HomePod 2 and HomePod mini, allowing these readings to be used for home automation.

HomePod mini previously had a dormant temperature and humidity sensor, but Apple has finally activated it, allowing temperature and humidity sensing to be activated in home automation and devices.

With sound recognition, HomePod can hear smoke or carbon monoxide alarms and send notifications directly to the user’s iPhone after recognizing such sounds. New built-in temperature and humidity sensors measure the indoor environment and let users set up automated actions, such as closing the curtains or turning on a fan when the room reaches a certain temperature.

With Siri, customers can control a single device hands-free, or create scenarios such as having multiple smart home devices start working at the same time in the morning, or set up recurring automation such as “Hey Siri, open the curtains at sunrise every morning. When users use Siri to control accessories such as the heater that can’t be distinguished by the naked eye, or to control accessories located in different rooms, HomePod will emit a new confirmation sound. Remastered ambient sounds such as the ocean, forest, and rain will be further integrated into the experience, allowing customers to add new sounds to scenes, automation, and alerts.

Users can also intuitively control, view and manage accessories in the redesigned Home App. The Home App offers new categories such as “Environment,” “Lights” and “Security” and provides a new multi-camera view that allows users to easily set up and control their smart homes.

HomePod’s Find My integration also allows users to ask Siri for the location of friends and family.

Tuning optimizations improve the clarity of voice content such as podcasts and audiobooks, and on the first-generation HomePod, volume controls have been updated to allow for finer adjustments at lower volumes.

The full release notes for Apple’s update are below.

HomePod Software v16.3 includes support for new HomePod features. This update also includes bug fixes and stability enhancements.

• Temperature and humidity sensing to measure indoor environments with HomePod (2nd generation) and HomePod mini
• Re-recorded ambient sounds are more immersive and can now be added to scenes, automation and alarms in the Home app
• Find on HomePod now lets you ask Siri for your friends and family’s location if they share it with you
• Set up recurring home automation using just your voice
• For accessories where changes may not be visible or located in other rooms, Siri confirmation tones now play to indicate that the smart home request has been completed
• Tuned to optimize read-aloud content, such as podcasts, so that content sounds clearer on HomePod (2nd generation) and HomePod (1st generation)
• Updated volume controls on HomePod (Gen 1) allow you to fine-tune lower volumes

The HomePod software is automatically installed on HomePod unless the feature is disabled, but users can also update HomePod manually in the Home app.

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