Apple may be preparing the HomePod 2 as it tries to move inventory of older HomePods before potentially preparing for the launch of its second-generation smart speaker.

At least this is the logic of Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who tweeted that Apple employees can purchase up to 10 HomePod speakers with a company discount. Previously, HomePod speakers were limited to two, so this dramatic increase indicates that HomePod may be on the way.

At the same time, HomePod is available at a fairly substantial discount, with Best Buy selling it for $200, down from the starting price of $299. This is a pretty good price for a smart speaker that we didn't expect Siri to be very smart, but we appreciated its auditory capabilities.

Given that Apple appears to be clearing out its inventory of HomePod units, it may be that it is quietly working on a sequel while rumors and leaks of the iPhone 12, AirPods Studio, and Apple Glasses make headlines. And that got us thinking about what we might want from HomePod 2.

The HomePod has an attractive design that sets it apart from the Sonos One and other audio-centric smart speakers. However, we hope Apple changes things up a bit with the HomePod 2.

More color options would be a good start, but other form factors would be appreciated as well: how about a HomePod 2 mini for bedside or office tables, like the Amazon Echo Dot? Or perhaps a HomePod 2 soundbar for use with an Apple TV setup, especially now that the Apple TV Plus has debuted.

The HomePod has class-leading sound for a smart speaker, but was somewhat lacking in the "smart" department; Siri couldn't keep up with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant in our tests, and the HomePod 2 mini is a little more "smart" than the HomePod 2, Not only did it frequently get requests wrong, it could only recognize one Apple account at a time.

Siri has improved since 2018, but we hope Apple will ensure that HomePod 2 takes advantage of Siri's new features and better distinguishes between the user's voice and background voices, including those of a nearby TV.

Setup of the HomePod is very easy, and the smart speaker automatically calibrates itself to the room in which it is placed. However, some people may not like the sound balance of the speaker.

We hope that HomePod 2 will allow for more fine-grained user control, like Sonos One and Google Home Max. whether it be improved control with Apple Music or a dedicated HomePod app, a wider range of control control, whether it be improved control with Apple Music or a HomePod-specific app, would be appreciated.

It is understandable that Apple prefers to keep its ecosystem of products and services rather closed. However, when HomePod was first released, it only included integration with Apple Music, which really limited its use. Today, you can use the iPhone's AirPlay feature to access Spotify and other services, but if you want to control your music settings, you need a phone at hand.

This makes using third-party music services on the HomePod inconvenient; Apple Music is decent, but if you've spent years building Spotify playlists, you'll find it hard to get rid of this service. For this reason, we would like to see the HomePod 2 embrace integration with third-party music services a bit more openly.

This is an obvious request, but we always expect better sound quality from the next generation of speakers. For example, some may find that the punchy bass produced by HomePod takes a bit away from an artist's vocal performance.

That said, there is no strong indication that Apple is working on a HomePod 2. However, Apple seems to be flirting with a lot of audio technology and caught our attention with the AirPods Pro. Therefore, it would not be surprising to see news of a smart speaker alongside its audio technology lineup.