Designed to work with the Apple Music subscription service, the HomePod incorporates beamforming and eight speakers and is sold in two colors: white and midnight.

It has seven tweeters in its base and a four-inch woofer (Apple does not specify Hz frequency range) towards the top, as well as six microphones used for voice control and acoustic optimization.

[13][12] AirPlay 2 and multi-room, multi-speaker support were announced in February 2018, and released in September 2018 in iOS 12 along with additional features such as multiple named timers, Find my iPhone, Siri shortcuts, the ability to make, receive and screen phone calls directly on the HomePod, and the ability to search for songs using the lyrics.

[4] The review from Ars Technica stated that the sound quality of the HomePod was "pretty good, rich and full for its size, better than the Sonos One but probably not $150 better, [and] a galaxy ahead of the Echo.

"[15] Its lack of support for third-party services and platforms was criticized,[12][15][4] with Ars Technica arguing that it gave the device "intense inflexibility".

[15] Siri on the HomePod was also criticized for its limited functionality in comparison to assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant; The Verge cited the inability to actually place phone calls from the speaker (they must be made on an iPhone and transferred to the HomePod), set multiple timers at once, or distinguish between multiple voices, and only supporting basic commands when using AirPlay, among other limitations.

"[4] Wired shared similar criticisms over its lack of Siri functionality and support for third-party services, concluding that the HomePod would be of little interest to those who are not heavily invested in Apple's software and hardware ecosystem.

[12] It was reported by some owners that the HomePod's silicone base stained oiled wooden surfaces with a white "ring" mark.

[23] To promote the HomePod, Apple released "Welcome Home", a four-minute film directed by Spike Jonze and starring FKA Twigs; commercial-length versions were also produced.

[24] Strategy Analytics estimated that around 600,000 HomePods were sold in the first quarter of 2018, making it the 4th-best-selling smart speaker brand after Amazon, Google and Alibaba, giving Apple a 6% market share in the industry.

In a statement, Apple said "HomePod Mini has been a hit since its debut last fall, offering customers amazing sound, an intelligent assistant, and smart home control all for just $99.

[39] Externally, the second-generation model is similar to the first but slightly shorter at 6.6 inches (168 mm), and lighter at 5.16 lb (2.3 kg), and has a larger recessed touch screen panel at the top of the unit with the volume adjustment buttons permanently etched in.

[41] According to YouTuber Marques Brownlee's testing, the second-generation HomePod can still leave white rings on wooden surfaces, though the issue is less pronounced than with the first-generation model.