Surprise, surprise - - this review/comparison breezes by this specification like almost every other review, and yet it's the first thing I look for in an always-on microphone in my home.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
$99 Speaker Showdown: HomePod Mini vs. Amazon Echo and Google Nest Audio
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Apple do initiate advertising based on the apps you download, the music your stream and the news you read, so they are definitely collecting data on you, and whilst Apple probably don’t do anything nefarious with your data directly, they certainly engage proactively and commercially with the organisations that do, that is they take $12B a year from Google and provide an optimised platform for the likes of Facebook, Instagram and the like....does that really hold up to their privacy claims?
They may not sell your data (by the way Google don’t sell data, they sell focused advertising based on your data), but they certainly grease the wheels of those that use data indiscriminately
Last edited:
Are you sure about that; I have had every incarnation of Echo in my house and never heard an advert in 6 years?It’s Amazon. Duh.
Two are always superior compared to one. The difference is breathtaking, or put it another way, having one is a bad invest, whereas two provide the full experience in fidelity, HomePods core DNA.
Some People: "Woah, I'm not having a XXX device in my house listening in on everything I say and selling my data"
XXX: "We're not doing that"
Some People: "That's utter BS, I don't believe a word you say, and never will; you're eavesdropping on my every conversation 24/7 and nothing you say will convince me otherwise"
XXX: "We'll add a button that mutes the mic"
Some People: "Cool, that works for me."
XXX: "We're not doing that"
Some People: "That's utter BS, I don't believe a word you say, and never will; you're eavesdropping on my every conversation 24/7 and nothing you say will convince me otherwise"
XXX: "We'll add a button that mutes the mic"
Some People: "Cool, that works for me."
An important drawback for the HomePod mini is that it can’t do Bluetooth audio, only AirPlay 2. So if you have a Bluetooth device that you want to play audio from that doesn’t have AirPlay 2, you’re better off with the Nest or Echo.
You guys are funny. You’re concerned about a speaker tracking your data when you actively browse the web, make phone calls that are tracked, have a social security number that is tracked, etc etc etc
You are activity monitored today lol
You are activity monitored today lol
Already have an Echo and several smart home devices Debated getting a HomePod mini for our finished basement but ended up getting the echo again. Too many smart home devices simply don’t support HomeKit and yet do work with Alexa. Some are adding Siri short cuts at least which should theoretically work with the HomePod but it’s not the same. Shame.
I think the mini's footprint is substantially smaller than the original, but both are small enough that it doesn't really matter. As others have said, being tiny is kinda pointless and needlessly limits their ability to move air. You could say there are three criteria which matter in many devices: capability, size and price. Apple often like to tie these together in annoying ways, eg you can't get high capability without also getting large (eg iPhones), or you can't get cheap without getting small (eg HomePod Mini).
Are you saying when the iPhone 3GS was out there was a Samsung phone that was years and years ahead, or is Modern Apple Historic Samsung in this analogy?
of course you can. "Hey Siri stop listening". Or use the switch in the home app.
Can you take a minute to do a quick google search before trashing Apple for the sake of it?
Wrong. "Hey Siri" is recognized by the Homepods without internet connection. Until you say "Hey Siri" nothing is heard on the other end.
Where I live, 99$ is the average monthly income of a 4 people family. I started to read this website as am a tech enthusiast but overtime I grew tired of reading your annoying first world problems
I'm entrenched in both Amazon and Apple ecosystems. I have some Echo devices to control lights and HomePods for music. I prefer the Apple devices, but there were more choices and cheaper smart plugs for Amazon.
That’s understandable, but it’s where most of us live. Plus we are far down the food chain of real first world power so some overcompensate try to ignore them🙂
A smart speaker that supports fewer (more expensive) devices, and a personal assistant that is inferior, and audio that isn’t as loud, and supports fewer streaming audio services. For $29 more than the Echo. Huh. Tough decision.
I called this years ago. I said it was a huge mistake that Apple was ceding this market. I have a $49 hockey puck Echo that streams to my home audio Denon system via Bluetooth when I want to listen to music. And yeah, using my iPhone to test, Alexa is superior. The good news is Android is still an OS that is like from the Soviet era. I used a brand new LG with Android this week and it’s horrible. So the iPhone isn’t going anywhere.
I called this years ago. I said it was a huge mistake that Apple was ceding this market. I have a $49 hockey puck Echo that streams to my home audio Denon system via Bluetooth when I want to listen to music. And yeah, using my iPhone to test, Alexa is superior. The good news is Android is still an OS that is like from the Soviet era. I used a brand new LG with Android this week and it’s horrible. So the iPhone isn’t going anywhere.
Siri is just fine for performing tasks and answering basic questions, which is why I bought HomePods:
- Play music
- Tell me the weather forecast
- Tell me a sports score
- Control my smart home (lights, thermostats, shades)
I don’t need to have conversations with a voice assistant, and never in 1000 lifetimes would I shop with one. I do wish it could handle linked commands, which I read Google Assistant can do (e.g. “Turn off the TV and lower the lights to 10%”).
- Play music
- Tell me the weather forecast
- Tell me a sports score
- Control my smart home (lights, thermostats, shades)
I don’t need to have conversations with a voice assistant, and never in 1000 lifetimes would I shop with one. I do wish it could handle linked commands, which I read Google Assistant can do (e.g. “Turn off the TV and lower the lights to 10%”).
You’re hoping for better sound from a speaker a fraction of the size?
No.
Last edited:
A lot of people are mentioning privacy concerns. What are they actually concerned about?
What conversations are people having in their homes that they don’t want Google to hear? I cannot imagine that anything I say is of interest to Google. It already knows everything about me, anyway. I feel remarkably unharmed by that.
I genuinely don’t understand people’s fears.
What conversations are people having in their homes that they don’t want Google to hear? I cannot imagine that anything I say is of interest to Google. It already knows everything about me, anyway. I feel remarkably unharmed by that.
I genuinely don’t understand people’s fears.
That's been my experience in the last month too! Also, all of my echo dots have randomly disconnected from wifi, or in the case of my 1st gen. Echo, died. It went from smooth home automation and queries to barely functional. Switching to HomePods after the first of the year.