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.
Apple Announced the HomePod Mini Four Years Ago Today
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You have to authenticate on your iPhone
You can get a USB-C extension, it’s pretty cheap.
Still doesn’t work properly, have so many issues with mine unfortunately
Got 2 a month or so ago as paired speakers for our living room TV and they've a big improvement over the built-in TV speakers. No complaints.
Last edited:
I have one in every room (and two connected to my TV). My only complaint about them is how terrible Siri is. If she gets an upgrade, they will be perfect.
I have three of these together with an original HomePod. Loved them all - although one of my minis started playing up earlier this year. It would talk and respond randomly, even when the room was quiet (it would say things like “OK… I’m on it…” just out of the blue, and wouldn’t react to “real” requests). Tried resetting multiple times with HomePod software 17 all to no avail. Somehow, i eventually bricked the thing as I could no longer even reset it. I was about to dump it - but I left it in a cupboard...
When HomePod OS 18 was made available a few weeks back, I dug out the mini and… interestingly, I was able to install it and get the HomePod working again! Two weeks in, no phantom responses, and everything's working well again! Just thought I’d share in case anyone had a similar issue with their mini!
When HomePod OS 18 was made available a few weeks back, I dug out the mini and… interestingly, I was able to install it and get the HomePod working again! Two weeks in, no phantom responses, and everything's working well again! Just thought I’d share in case anyone had a similar issue with their mini!
They would have to be much larger to accommodate the battery big enough to power them for any decent length of time. I have a Sonos Move (the only Sonos I have left) and, as big as it is, it barely ekes out 2 hours of playtime.
You could try powering a Mini with a portable battery.
Last edited:
They are committed to them however it’s a product category that doesn’t need to be updated that often. There is nothing about HomePods that call for new releases every year
But I doubt the current Minis will be able to handle AI.
I'm sure they will roll out "new and improved" Minis and quickly label the originals as obsolete - much like they're treating the iPhone 15.
I really hope they update this soon. If they still use the watch CPU, then I hope it uses the S9 or newer because the best thing about this on the Ultra 2 has been the onboard Siri for basic tasks.
This made making requests so much more responsive as it never needed to go off to the internet and back down again for simple requests. So asking Siri to control things like Hue lights should be significantly more responsive instead of the occasional lag that still happens.
Increasing the max video resolution in HomeKit from 1080p to 4K would be a start. I use Eufy 4K cameras, and they just added HomeKit support back in after dropping it a few years ago. But if I want to use it on HomeKit, then I have to drastically cut the resolution down to 1080p. This is entirely on Apple, as this is their cap.
This made making requests so much more responsive as it never needed to go off to the internet and back down again for simple requests. So asking Siri to control things like Hue lights should be significantly more responsive instead of the occasional lag that still happens.
Increasing the max video resolution in HomeKit from 1080p to 4K would be a start. I use Eufy 4K cameras, and they just added HomeKit support back in after dropping it a few years ago. But if I want to use it on HomeKit, then I have to drastically cut the resolution down to 1080p. This is entirely on Apple, as this is their cap.
Last edited:
My OG Homepod was rather buggy. But I haven't had many issues with my Mini. They became unresponsive after the iOS 18 update, I had to unpair them and add them again. It's been my only problem in 4 years.
Can't wait for a new generation featuring AI support. But for my use case (Airplay music + shout at it to turn lights on/off + ask it to add stuff to groceries list), it's been flawless.
Can't wait for a new generation featuring AI support. But for my use case (Airplay music + shout at it to turn lights on/off + ask it to add stuff to groceries list), it's been flawless.
I have one but it's almost strictly used as a homehub. Wife has an android, and the kids have chromebooks, so no one else can do anything with it. I caught mine on sale, but it's not (and wasn't) worth $99.
I wish it had regular BT functionality...especially since it's already built-in.
I wish it had regular BT functionality...especially since it's already built-in.
Last edited:
To have wifi always on would drain the battery big time. And they need to be on a network to work properly, so making them portable makes no sense. Homepods need constant wifi.
I have 2 that were given to me as a gift and I absolute them. They sound great and I don’t use Siri. I ended up buying a HomePod 2 for my living room and really love that as it sounds great.
I'm not asking for improved hardware, like you said it's fine. Improved software however should have been delivered years ago. That was more my point.
I get that it's called the HomePod, but I really want a portable speaker that rivals the sound quality of Bose. One that can be taken on the go for indoor and outdoor use. I'd also want it to work with Apple TV and Mac. I would own two for proper stereo. Obviously there are 3rd party solutions to my needs, but Apple could really make it a great seamless experience. It just needs to be portable!
I can recommend the JBL Flip 6 if you like neutral sound. It’s about twice the volume (size) of the HomePod mini, and much smaller than the Sonos Move. The battery holds many hours (nominally 12 hours, in practice maybe 6-8). Sound quality is way above the HomePod mini, unless you like muddy overemphasized bass I guess. No smart assistant integration, however (no mic).
I've bought them for my cheating ex. They're good and she aged like milk.
And an EQ would be nice. And an option to reduce the base after 10pm. And a left right ballance. And hearing accommodations. And finally some new colors at least!
shocking really considering they're ⅓ the price and ¼ the size of the regular HomePods