I find it surprising that so many people think it’s outrageous to assume that the sound quality of HomePod 2 will only be as good or worse than the original. The flip side of this is believing that (A) Removing tweeters and microphones (which improves the tuning) would IMPROVE sound quality (B) Apple knows that the sound quality of HomePod 2 is better than the original but wants to keep it a secret, and (C) Is offering improved sound quality while LOWERING the price. Does any of this seem consistent with how Apple operates?

Reducing sound quality to lower the price of a device that reviewers complained was too expensive and over-engineered is a very sound strategy that might sell more units. I’m just sad that this is a departure from what made the original HomePod a cult favorite.