Apple Announces HomePod mini With Spherical Design and S5 Chip for $99

[archer75]

I assume Intercom is with a software upgrade but the U1 proximity chip isn't in the HomePod (right?) so I suspect the handoff features won't be there until HomePod 2 is released.

I Did some reading and it seems that the biggest difference between them is the homepod doesn't have a U1 chip.

But handoff works on the homepod as is.

 

[Rugbydman]

When I did make calls, back in the days before Messenger, Siri would mangle foreign-sounding friends names.
[/QUOT

 

[Rugbydman]

No

thats stupid then

 

[dmaxdmax]

Does it require WiFi?

 

[subjonas]

I'm curious how the audio quality will compare with the original.

Also the mic quality. I don’t think they mentioned any mics or tweeters.

 

[ghanwani]

The new one has a single driver to produce all the sound that the old one did with 8 separate speakers, so the cost difference is very large. The new one has 2 passive radiators (PR). PRs are used to augment the low frequencies of the main drivers, but mainly acts as a mechanism to boost the bass without the cost of an active driver (passive is the opposite of active)

Thanks for the informative post.

In one of the leaks there was mention of 2 tweeters instead of 7. Would it be correct to say that it doesn't have tweeters at all, and instead has passive radiators?

 

[subjonas]

Intercom has me more excited than anything else so far.

I wish you could do real time talking though.

 

[munpip214]

Can someone confirm if I can tell the current HomePod to airplay audio to other airplay speakers?

 

[R3k]

I absolutely love they didn’t mention Spotify. Haha. Brilliant. Spotify suck.

If it doesnt have Spotify integration, im out. A decade + of iTunes and giving Apple music a try, I moved on. I'd very much like to put a pair of these in my kitchen though.

 

[HylianKnight]

Seems Apple finally woke up to the fact that their HomePod wasn't selling for the asinine 3-400$ they were asking for and brought the tech to a more reasonable $100

It was a reasonable price for beam forming speaker. That said, it was still more than what most want, and more than most would spend.

 

[justin.d]

Can someone confirm if I can tell the current HomePod to airplay audio to other airplay speakers?

yes, it can be a source or a destination. for instance, i have an old airport express connected to my sound system via aux cable in the lounge. i can ask the homepod in my kitchen to “play NTS radio 1 everywhere”, and it’ll play in the lounge too.

edit: airplay 2 is required

 

[ani4ani]

Can someone explain why homepod mini is not available in all Apple countries but only the big 9? Same as homepod. It was released 2 years ago, still not being sold in most Apple countries.

still hardly selling in the “big 9!”

 

[haganah]

I’m never getting a smart speaker, no matter what. Similarly I don’t have Hey Siri activated in my devices. I don’t trust these devices to care so much about privacy, with the leaks about people listening to audio snippets... no, thanks. Granted, I know Apple provides an option to delete Siri & Dictation History... but I’ll pass. I have Bluetooth speakers from Sony and Bose that I rarely use anyways.

You opt in if you want to do that. Then a tiny portion of the people who chose to be a part of it have audio listed to by their employees.

If you don't use speakers, or really any tech, that's one thing, but try not to make this something it's not. You can use Siri and a HomePod without opting into that.

 

[James Godfrey]

So with the HomePod Mini, I do have two questions:

1. Will it sync up with the original HomePod?

2. Will the Hand Off and Intercom features also be coming to the original HomePod?

 

[Tofupunch]

Did Apple lock Spotify out, or are they just not promoting them?

I was thinking along the same lines. I'm sure they didn't want to give them any air time

 

[archer75]

So with the HomePod Mini, I do have two questions:

1. Will it sync up with the original HomePod?

2. Will the Hand Off and Intercom features also be coming to the original HomePod?

Intercom, yes.
The original homepod already has hand off and has had it for quite some time.

 

[PaulFitz]

No Spotify?
What a joke Apple.

 

[anthogag]

I like this little HomePod. does it sound good? If several are staged around the home should Apple also make a sub woofer unit for these HomePod minis?

 

[anson42]

But handoff works on the homepod as is.

Oh, it does? I've never tried it, guess I should!

 

[archer75]

No Spotify?
What a joke Apple.

They didn't say no spotify. They said Pandora, amazon and others. I'm sure it will be there.

 

[LegCortex]

No but it should be

Imagine if it had a MagSafe puck for a base that you could detach it from. Missed opportunity to really differentiate. I still like it though. I think if they had managed to bring it down to like $50 it would be a monster hit. It may still be, who knows.

 

[felixen]

I kinda want some of these, but because I have a Sonos Beam as the main system for my TV and music needs, it would make more sense to buy more Sonos speakers to build out that system. If only I could add the HomePods into the mix, I’d definitely be sold

 

[SBlue1]

Can you set an EQ? Can't find that anywhere.

 

[James Godfrey]

Intercom, yes.
The original homepod already has hand off and has had it for quite some time.

Has it???? Never knew this...

 

[Apple_Robert]

What Apple didn’t talk about was sound quality.