The new Apple HomePod 2 offers a few upgrades over the original, but there is one new feature that could make Apple's latest product a very capable smart home speaker.

One of my favorite Alexa skills, if not my favorite overall, is Alexa Guard. It is a home monitoring tool that allows Alexa to notify me if I hear smoke detectors, glass breaking, or other suspicious activity coming from my Echo speakers.

Currently, the new HomePod 2 has a similar feature for HomeKit users.

The $299 HomePod 2 can notify its owner when smoke or carbon monoxide alarms registered by the smart speaker's internal microphone are detected in the home. This way, even if the user is out of the house, he or she can be notified of the situation at home and take appropriate action.

In other words, even if the user does not have a smart smoke alarm or other automatic response service, they will know as soon as the siren goes off.

While this is not a necessary feature for users, with an average of 358,000 home fires reported annually by the National Fire Protection Association (opens in new tab), it is important to take safety precautions. Activating smoke detectors and addressing possible fire hazards in the home is non-negotiable, but some extra measures are also worthwhile (and I'm not just saying that because I'm a firefighter's daughter)

So, I have an Alexa Guard enabled Echo in multiple rooms of my home and parents' house I have Alexa speakers installed. Fortunately, I have not had any situations where Alexa Guard has had to intervene, but you never really know.

A major difference between Alexa Guard and the HomePod 2's alarm notification feature is the paid tier of Alexa Guard Plus, which provides professional home monitoring for $50 per year.Guard Plus allows Alexa to quickly alert emergency services when a situation is detected. Guard Plus users can also have the Alexa speaker listen for footsteps, a door opening, or a baby crying. In addition, Alexa Guard Plus can make the speaker sound a siren or emit a dog bark to scare off intruders.

The Alexa Guard version of the HomePod 2 may not have advanced home monitoring options, but if you already have a video doorbell, indoor security camera, or DIY security system in place, smoke alarm alerts will allow you to be able to check on it.

Since HomePod 2 is Matter compatible, it can also be set to trigger routines with other Matter smart home devices.

HomePod 2's alarm notification feature is one of the upgrades that make it possibly the smartest Siri speaker ever; HomePod speakers, even the adorable HomePod mini, have been working with Amazon and Google's ecosystems for didn't have the whole-home intelligence to keep up.

We won't know if the HomePod 2 is even more advanced until we do a detailed review, but from first impressions, it looks to be the intuitive smart home device that HomeKit users have been waiting for.