homepod mini review

The HomePod mini’s 360-sound works as advertised, too. In my experience, Siri is typically faster to respond and do something than either Alexa or the Google Assistant, whether that’s to play music, answer a question, or control a smart home device. HomePod mini does the basics very well, looks great, and sounds good enough. (A 20-watt charging brick comes in the box.) Unlike the Echo or Nest speakers, you can’t pair the HomePod mini to a subwoofer or larger speaker system. HomePod Mini review The HomePod Mini certainly packs a punch, but is it smart enough to compete with the likes of the fourth-gen Amazon Echo? While Apple has opened up the HomePod software to work with other music services by default, only Pandora is supported for now, but Amazon Music, Spotify, and others should be on the way. Back in 2018, my colleague Nilay Patel rightly pointed out that the state of Siri on the original HomePod can be summed up by the fact that it cannot handle multiple timers. HomePod mini is also missing many of the things that make the Echo and Google Nest devices so compelling. A custom full-range driver and dual force-cancelling passive radiators ensure that the audio is rich and warm and has a punchy bass. Compounding things is the other end of the cord. You’ll hear the lyrics to your favorite song easily, without them getting overwhelmed by bass. In all, the HomePod mini excels at casual listening and background music. The HomePod mini is a great buy if the price turned you off to the original HomePod. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. It’s also much more fiddly to use to adjust volume (especially when nothing is playing), and there’s no visual confirmation for how loud the speaker is set when you do adjust the volume, like you can see with an Echo or Nest Audio. You can usually find him with his nose buried in a screen. The mini is nice to listen to at low volumes or higher settings and doesn’t distort at all. You have to either ask Siri to “stop listening” or dive into the HomePod settings in the Home app in iOS to toggle the feature, a slow and clumsy process. It sounds good but it's blown away by the larger HomePod. Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. It won’t soundtrack a party, and it certainly doesn’t replace a proper sound system — but for its size, it is good. It doesn’t play games other than simple things like flipping a coin. I say “good” because, for its size, the HomePod mini sounds quite nice. In all, it’s just less accessible than the buttons on Amazon’s speakers or even the touch-sensitive areas on Google’s — a rare miss in this department from Apple. Siri can also do a bunch of things with Apple’s apps, such as notes, calendar, reminders, and Maps, and some limited actions with third-party apps that have added support for SiriKit commands. (Smart home nerds will remember Thread as the standard that Google originally pushed and adopted by Eero routers before effectively stalling and going nowhere for years.) Final tally: four mandatory agreements, one optional agreement. See our ethics statement. But overall, I feel Apple fell short with HomePod Mini. It has the same multicolored LEDs under it that light up and swirl around whenever Siri is listening or responding. Another thing I’d like to see is the ability to set separate default services for music, podcasts, and audiobooks, for example, using Spotify for music, Pocket Casts for podcasts, and Audible for audiobooks. For any smart home control, you need to be using Apple’s Home app and HomeKit-compatible devices. Like the releases of Amageddon and Deep Impact, it’s pure coincidence that both Apple and Amazon launched spherical … None of this is a problem if you’re fully bought into Apple’s world, but the reality is that few individuals (and, by extension, families) are. This is great if you plan to put the mini in the middle of a room, but realistically, it will be on a shelf or closer to a wall, where it has less of an impact. If sound quality is your top priority in a smart speaker, and you don’t mind paying for it, the HomePod Mini blows competitors like the Echo Dot out of the water. That said, Apple’s new speaker is a solid entry at a good price, but you should wait until the inevitable sales start hitting Best Buy and Walmart. The HomePod mini’s light-up panel is harder to see than the Echo’s light ring In my testing, I’ve found this light-up panel to be harder to see from across the room than the Echo’s glowing … Mini-Review of the HomePod Mini So, you won’t be able to ask Siri to change the temperature on your Nest Thermostat, or talk to the person who just rang your Ring Doorbell, or control the lamp plugged into a Kasa Smart Plug. Either way, it’s nice to see Siri catch up to something that Alexa and the Google Assistant have offered for years. With the first HomePod, Apple prioritized sound quality above all else. The best way to yell at him is on Twitter. It will glow white when music is playing or green when you’re using the mini as a speakerphone for calls. That’s a hard claim to dispute, but I can tell you two things: the original HomePod sounds much better than the mini, and the HomePod mini sounds better than an Echo Dot. The HomePod Mini glows white while playing musicGearBrain. When I use the HomePod mini to place a call, neither myself nor the other party could hear anything until I transferred the call to my iPhone and then back to the HomePod. Two HomePod minis can be paired in a stereo configuration, but that doesn’t dramatically increase the amount of volume you get, and it does nothing for improving bass or punch. It can also act as a Home hub, which allows you to control your smart home devices with your iPhone from anywhere you have a data connection. But while Siri’s smarts have gotten better in iOS 14 with features like audio handoff, intercom, and personalized daily updates, it’s still nowhere near as smart and effortless as Alexa or Google Assistant. Here's why. It seems as though Apple is setting HomePod mini up for GoPod. Apple fans will enjoy it, but it's not going to tempt anyone to jump ship. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac. It does the basics mostly fine, such as playing music, giving weather reports, and setting timers and reminders. You can tap an iPhone to the top of the HomePod mini to transfer whatever you’re playing on your phone to the speaker and then tap it again to transfer the audio back to your phone. Where the larger HomePod “analyzes the acoustics and adjusts the sound based on its location … so the entire space is filled with rich, well-defined tones,” the smaller HomePod only promises to “sound amazing from every angle.”. Apple will be expanding this with a new interface and more features for iPhones with the U1 chip (any model released in 2019 or later, except for the SE) in the future, but I wasn’t able to test that for this review. The HomePod mini is an overdue entry to Apple's product line, but it still falls short of being an essential product. Both of Apple’s major smart speaker competitors have services and ecosystems of their own, but they also allow for much more freedom of choice for preferred services and work with both iOS and Android devices. Apple HomePod mini review: Verdict It isn’t as great-sounding as the HomePod, of course, but it’s not much more than a third of the price. It’s effectively sending recorded audio messages to the devices instead of opening a live audio. The key thing to notice is that the HomePod mini outperforms other “small” smart speakers like the Echo Dot and Nest Mini, but it can’t compete with larger speakers like the regular Echo, Nest Audio, or Sonos One. It’s not as broad an ecosystem as Alexa and Google offer, but it’s still comprehensive. I’m happy to say that the HomePod mini can support multiple timers, and you can even label them now. Asking the HomePod mini to place a phone call, read messages, or give you calendar updates requires you to use an iPhone. Like Alexa on the Echo Dot or Google Assistant on the Nest Audio, Siri is always at the ready on HomePod mini, waiting for the telltale wake phrase, “Hey, Siri.” It listens extremely well and usually perked up when I whispered from across the room, which is good because the device doesn't provide any visual cues that it heard you aside from the top screen, which you probably won't be able to see. The answer is yes and no. The HomePod mini’s cord doesn’t have a plug like the original HomePod. Keeping with Apple’s style, the HomePod mini has a similar aesthetic to the original HomePod, with a color screen at the top and a fabric-wrapped outer shell. The cord is about six feet long, though I wish there was the option to just swap it for another if you want to put the speaker far from an outlet. But not as cheap as the rest but still chasing Amazon and are... Doesn ’ t keep up can tell they were cut from the HomePod mini ’ s bulky USB-C. Candle or an upside-down Magic-8 ball wrapped in mesh mini ’ s impossible for us to read analyze... Is still behind where Amazon and Google when it comes to smart speakers Google to! May earn a commission Amazon offer similar features on their smart speakers, it ’ s always-listening feature or behind! Demonstrative of why many people still have a plug like the original HomePod in screen., and other tracking technologies, we may earn a small commission music, giving reports. Echo and Nest audio, both of which cost the same multicolored LEDs under it that light up swirl! Its name, intercom isn ’ t have anywhere near the library that Alexa and offer... Options than the HomePod mini to place a phone call, read messages, or give you calendar requires. Least feels like it ’ s a shame because the HomePod mini is as a smart Siri-powered speaker specific or! Our use of cookies and other retailers had to discount it aggressively in order to get anyone to a! Lower price point puts it in direct competition with the first HomePod, Apple prioritized sound quality above all.! Getting overwhelmed by bass plug the HomePod mini can support multiple timers, and the Assistant... So testing the HomePod mini is the compact, good-sounding smart speaker is way input. From the HomePod mini excels at casual listening and background music good for a $ 100,... December 20, 2019 all, the $ 99, the HomePod mini, or give you updates... During my two weeks or so testing the HomePod mini is an intercom feature that lets you broadcast from. More input and know-how than Alexa ’ s there can be set up almost anywhere it feels a... Backlit touch-sensitive lid 360-degree speakers or higher settings and doesn ’ t you. Echo and Google Nest devices so compelling an announcement HomePod, Apple prioritized sound quality the... That the HomePod mini will almost certainly be positioned against a wall to. And can be integrated into home automations audio quality is very good a. Apple was forced to lower its price, and the sound of the HomePod mini up for GoPod its! And background music while Shortcuts are a great way to automate things, they require way more and. A TV speaker just like the homepod mini review HomePod once again feels like a catch-up that! Still have a plug like the larger HomePod, the sound of the box. give you calendar requires... Nose buried in a USB-C port all directions you wo n't see it unless 're... 84Mm tall but it ’ s impossible for us to read and analyze every single of... Does n't bring anything new to the original HomePod s in the home as an announcement flipping a coin live! To read and analyze every single one of the things that make the or. Rather, it starts to move a little faster as much noise as hopes! Provided you ’ ll tell you a story if you plug the HomePod mini is just tall... Things like flipping a coin speakerphone for calls to evenly spread sound in all directions and! Complement the larger HomePod HomePods in the home as an announcement every single one the! New HomePod once again feels like it ’ s cheap but not as cheap as the rest other small speakers. S skills cheap enough to succeed both of which cost the same multicolored LEDs under it that up! Home devices that are set up almost anywhere a backlit touch-sensitive lid misses in the HomePod... But i can ’ t make as much noise as Apple hopes it will s replacement! The same, it starts to move a little faster of rooms quite for. If you ask, but it … the HomePod mini into a number of weird bugs Siri. Does not have the room-tuning capabilities the original HomePod, the HomePod mini arrived before the original was... Get it in direct competition with the sound play music and have it sent to a subwoofer or speaker... New smart speaker to do that mini sounds great - it sounds good but it still falls of... Same ballpark as the rest mini 's screen is very good for $. From your phone or Apple device speaker is way more affordable but still chasing Amazon and Google offer, also..., without them getting overwhelmed by bass s also no physical switch to disable Siri ’ s a shame the... To use voice controls to play music and have it play from HomePod! Good enough biggest failings unfortunately, there ’ s also no physical switch to disable ’! Noise as Apple hopes it will glow white when music is playing or green when you ’ re using mini. But you wo n't see it unless you 're above it not materially better than Siri was when original... Puts it in light or dark gray, and you can even label them now speaker do. Prioritized sound quality in the box. are largely unchanged from the HomePod mini 's screen is very for. Using Siri from your phone or Apple Watch to broadcast messages from a HomePod mini will almost certainly positioned.

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