· 1 minute read
HomePods for home theater
Four-HomePod surround sound has been rumored for a while, but the restrictions on what hardware is compatible is tighter than we wanted to see.
Apple is pretty clear about what's needed for that surround sound.
"Users can enjoy room-filling audio with a single speaker, in a stereo pair, or using multiroom audio. When paired with the new Apple TV 4K, HomePod mini 2 supports four-speaker surround sound — Apple's most immersive home theater setup yet."
And in the footnotes of the PR for the new HomePod, it's even clearer.
"Home theater surround sound requires four HomePod mini 2 or HomePod (2nd generation) speakers in matching pairs (front and rear), paired with Apple TV 4K (4th generation) running the latest operating system software."
At least the full-sized second-generation HomePods can be included in the set. Although, including those as front speakers jacks a HomePod surround sound setup to $1000, not including the eye-watering $300 for the Apple TV hardware.
Going with four full-size HomePods jacks that up to $1400 for just the speakers. If you go this route, I hope ARC works well for you.
HomePod mini 2 preorders are open now, for $149. Colors available are pink, green, blue, white, and midnight. Units arrive for preordered and in store on October 30
An Apple Bite is a small piece of news or content we think our readers may enjoy, but isn't quite large enough for a full write up