Apple Quietly Preps HomePod Revamp With New Cooling System, Other Features

New patent applications reveal that Apple is quietly working to revamp the HomePod and improve the way it works with additional features.

According to patent applications released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple is working to add a new cooling system that will help the HomePod work better for longer, and a new feature that will make using the HomePod more comfortable. The patent applications were first discovered by Patently Apple.

Cooling system

Traditional cooling systems made use of heat sinks and other surfaces that can be used to conduct heat and let it dissipate, Apple said in the patent application. These sinks or surfaces can be used in combination with a fan in order to let heat out through a ductwork, resulting in lower temperatures.

The electronic components used in devices such as the HomePod are sensitive to temperature. High temperature levels can affect their performance, resulting in impaired “rendering of near-field and far-field speech for telephony and speech-recognition tasks, and/or other features.” Heat can also affect audio processing, amplification and delivery.

Apple’s new cooling system design helps to lower the temperatures generated by the components inside the HomePod, which ultimately helps improve its audio playback capabilities, as well as improving Siri’s ability to hear commands or inquiries and respond to them.

Those who are interested to know how the new cooling system works on the HomePod can access the patent application here.

Volume Reset

Another patent application shows Apple’s concern with people who get surprised to hear loud music or other audio output on the HomePod when they resume playback.

In the patent application, Apple described a situation where a user could be listening to loud music on an audio device and needed to pause it for a while before leaving it. Another person, not knowing that the device was set to play audio at high volume levels, would resume playback and get “startled and disappointed” at the loud noise.

Apple’s planned “variable reset volume” feature will automatically reset the volume levels of the said electronic device so that the next user won’t be shocked to hear loud noise the moment he or she turns it on. Those interested to know more about the new feature can read about it here.

Both features remain patent applications at the moment. It is unclear as to when Apple will be able to include them in the HomePod.