Your Apple smart home needs a mini HomePod

The HomePod was discontinued after just three years on the market (get it now as long as the supply lasts), but Apple is not giving up on its advanced talking intentions. Released in September last year alongside the iPhone 12, the HomePod mini was supposed to be a smaller alternative to Apple’s high-end high-end speaker, but now this is the only one home game. And if you want to set up a Siri-based smart home, it’s a must.

Size and design

The HomePod mini still has a mesh grill exterior available in gray or white, but the HomePods have a completely different shape. It’s a globe rather than a cylinder, and its appearance is somewhat similar to the mesh-protected apples you’d find at the supermarket and it’s not much bigger. The HomePod mini measures 3.3 inches tall, less than half the height of the HomePod, but it feels even smaller than that personally. The ceiling as a whole is a display, but it is specifically for Siri and status lighting and can be difficult to see from across the room. Like the original HomePod, the mini cord is permanently attached and a bit flexible, but wherever you place your HomePod mini, it’s definitely a piece of statement.

Speakers and microphones

While it may look small and without power, the HomePod mini is just as capable as the larger model, while its size means it has fewer speakers and microphones than the larger model. As Apple explains, the HomePod mini has a “full-range driver,” powered by a neodymium magnet and a pair of off-putting radiant radiators, “but its sound isn’t as deep as it used to be. Largest HomePod. It’s particularly lacking in bass, which was originally HomePod’s strongest suit, but the mini is still strong enough to fill a room with sound, especially if you pick up a pair of them and set them up. as stereo speakers on an iOS device or Apple TV.

Since the HomePod mini is a Siri device, it has three microphones that are always listening for voice suggestions, as well as built-in mics to help separate the speaker’s sound so that it can hear the “Hey Siri” command even when playing music. Apple uses the S5 chip to process the sound, the only processor in the Apple Watch SE.

Even with a pair of speakers, however, the HomePod mini doesn’t support Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital 7.1, or Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound like the larger HomePod.

Apple Music and other streaming services

HomePod’s greatest strength is playing music, and if you’re an Apple Music recorder, it’s a great companion. It also works well with the Apple Podcasts app, and radio stations from iHeartRadio, Radio.com, and TuneIn. During the HomePod news, Apple was tightening support for third-party music services, but so far only Pandora is supported. The Google Home and Amazon Echo both support Amazon Music and Spotify, so it’s a reason more services are on the way.

Siri

Like the full-size HomePod, the HomePod mini relies on Siri as its main interface, using voice commands to play music and podcasts, control smart home devices, and answer general knowledge questions. You can also use Siri for personalized updates, such as asking about your schedule, weather, traffic, and reminders as well as any Siri summaries made on your iPhone or iPad.

Michael Simon / IDG

Apple will continue to protect your privacy while using Siri. Siri applications are only sent to Apple’s servers when Siri is activated, and those requests are not associated with your Apple ID. Apple also states that it will not sell your personal information to third parties. It does, however, store some anonymous audio recordings to improve Siri’s accuracy, but you can pull it out in the Privacy tab in Settings on your iPhone. You can also delete all your Siri history in the same tab.

Home center

Apple lets you set up a device as the main home center to control HomeKit devices remotely from a central location, and the HomePod mini is the most advanced of the options. The beauty of the work is that you don’t have to do anything to set it up. Once you sign in to your iCloud account, your HomePod mini is automatically set up as a home hub so you can take control of anything you add to the Home app when that you are not around. You will also be able to create scenes and automations based on time or place that do things like turn on the lights when you get home or close them with a simple command.

Michael Simon / IDG

Intercom

In addition to playing music and calling Siri, HomePod has a nifty Intercom feature that lets you send and receive messages from one HomePod mini to another, or an iPhone car, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, and CarPlay attached. When you ask Siri “Intercom” or “ask everyone,” it will show a warning on all devices available with Intercom turned on and provide a playable audio recorder. Oddly, the Mac is not part of the Intercom feature.

U1 ultra-wideband chip

The mini HomePod has an Apple U1 chip, which delivers an ultra-wideband device, low-power radio communication technology, works in short range and with high bandwidth. The U1 allows for some cool iPhone games as well. You can “turn off” music playback from your iPhone to the new HomePod, as well as get pop-up media controls without having to unlock your ‌iPhone‌. You also get personal listening suggestions as well as visual, audible and haptic effects when transferring sound between devices.

But Apple seems to have much bigger plans for the U1 chip. It could create an API that allows smart device makers to access the U1 chip and create automations and interactions that don’t require the installation of an app. Or it could tap into Siri Shortcuts to generate room-based responses and tasks from HomeKit devices without asking Siri to take action. There’s a lot Apple can do with the U1 HomePod mini chip, so we’ll have to wait to see what comes up in future updates.

However, to use these features, you need U1 – equipped devices, according to Apple ‘s HomePod mini website. That means you need an iPhone 11 or later. Older iPhones will not be able to achieve these features.

Apple

Price, availability, and device compatibility

The HomePod mini is $ 99 USD, and is available in gray and white space in the following countries:

• Australia
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong
• India
• Japan
• Spain
• RA
• US
• China
• Mexico
• Taiwan

HomePod mini is compatible with the following devices:

• iPhone 6s or later
• iPhone SE
• iPod touch (7th generation) running iOS 14
• iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation or later)
• iPad Air 2 or later
• iPad mini 4 or later running iPadOS 14

Conclusion

If you want to set up an Apple smart home, there are three options for a hub – iPad, Apple TV, and HomePod mini. At $ 99, the HomePod mini is the most advanced of the primary and is a sleek speaker, so you can ask it to perform tasks and routines just like an Amazon Echo device. HomeKit devices are becoming cheaper and more common, so setting up an Apple smart home is easier than ever especially with a HomePod mini for control. It doesn’t look as good as the original HomePod, but it’s still better than the Echo Dot, and for $ 99, a device is needed.