ya gotta give the profiteers a chance to rake in the dough first.. that'll come (the battery, maybe not the water resistance) in a few years for the "HomePod Mini 4S".
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First Impressions From HomePod Mini Customers: 'The Sound Quality is Great'
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HomePod mini is certainly not the cheapest (Echo Dot, Nest Mini) and most people would agree that Siri is not as robust as Alexa and Google Assistant.
But it is certainly cheap enough, and to me, sounds better than smart speakers in its class (Echo 4th gen, Nest Audio).
If you are into Apple's ecosystem, it's a no brainer which is the right speaker. You get AirPlay 2, Intercom, Apple TV audio output, HomeKit hub, and iPhone hands off to name a few. And to me, looks a lot nicer than other speakers, including full sized HomePod.
But it is certainly cheap enough, and to me, sounds better than smart speakers in its class (Echo 4th gen, Nest Audio).
If you are into Apple's ecosystem, it's a no brainer which is the right speaker. You get AirPlay 2, Intercom, Apple TV audio output, HomeKit hub, and iPhone hands off to name a few. And to me, looks a lot nicer than other speakers, including full sized HomePod.
This!
I have an iPhone running iOS 13. The version I have runs great, silky smooth and great battery. I have no desire to upgrade to IOS 14 at the moment....however, even with HomePod 14.2, I cannot set my default media streamer away from Apple Music, without upgrading my phone.
Worst of all, 14.2 causes "HomePod could not be reached" across all my devices(from Big Sur laptops, to IOS devices)....the fact Apple can "break" a speakers functionality like that is concerning for long haul.
I want a speaker to just work 100% of the time.
Have any reviewers/new owners tried plugging the USB-C cord into a large battery pack yet? It's kludgy, but perhaps not as bad as dragging the iMac to the coffee shop.
Just got mine, it is perfect for my kitchen where I don't want the huge bass of the HomePod I have in my living room. I wonder if you can plug these in to a power bank for mobility, does anyone know?
Setting up HP’s as TV’s default speakers is buggy and less useful. Every time I navigate through apps and menu options, I keep hearing a crackling noise.
If I keep the default audio setting to TV speakers but manually change the output using the control panel to play sound through my HomePods, I can tell my HP to stop/pause video playback. Oddly, the clicking sounds when navigating apps come through on my TV speakers with this setup... but at least it eliminates the annoying crackling noises.
ATV retains this audio setting and I consistently hear music and video through my HomePods (except clicking sounds when navigating apps) so I’m not sure what the point of having the option to set HomePods as the default TV speakers actually accomplishes other than confusing and annoying the heck out of users.
If I keep the default audio setting to TV speakers but manually change the output using the control panel to play sound through my HomePods, I can tell my HP to stop/pause video playback. Oddly, the clicking sounds when navigating apps come through on my TV speakers with this setup... but at least it eliminates the annoying crackling noises.
ATV retains this audio setting and I consistently hear music and video through my HomePods (except clicking sounds when navigating apps) so I’m not sure what the point of having the option to set HomePods as the default TV speakers actually accomplishes other than confusing and annoying the heck out of users.
One of apples dumbest products. Let’s take the only good part of HomePod and make it worse. HomePod mini. Sounds like crap now and just as limited as the original. Hurry up and order. Lol
I've been thinking about the HomePod ever since the announcement. Is this something you can attach to the TV for better sound? I know the original HomePod came with some mixed reviews, compared to the Amazon and Google models at least.
thinking the same thing...no matter what you got haters
It’s not that simple. The Homepod has spacial awareness meaning the Homepod uses the 6-microphones to EQ the room for correct TV audio. It focuses the L/R and surround audio out of its 6 tweeters so the sound is coming at you.
The default 2 tweeter system in mini only creates an omnidirectional room filling sound that won’t work the same for TV audio.
A HomePod has more bass than a Sonos One (or a Sonos Move). It's closer to a Play:5. You might prefer the Sonos sound itself to a HomePod, but I prefer the HomePod sound.
Yeah, I actually wanted to know this too. This was the purpose of why I ordered one, but I'm thinking that's not the case and I probably made a mistake?
Just set up my first two (I have two more coming next week). I haven't set them up in a stereo pair as they are going into different rooms. I already have two full size HomePods for our main listening, so compromising there is acceptable - but will still be using them with music, so want something reasonably decent.
I think, individually at least, "reasonably decent" is a good description. Surprising bass - but certainly not full bodied. Detail is good - but can be a little muddy (but take that with a pinch a salt as I have some physical hearing issues at certain frequencies there, so I'm an unreliable source). Certainly not disappointing at this price point.
Setup was simple, holding an iPhone up worked fine. However they each set up slightly differently, which was odd. The second one finished up saying that AirPlay 2 wasn't supported on my wifi network (no issue there on the first one). It's possible the wifi was just overloaded as I have a lot of devices - and just added two more. But it was a worrying start.
Even odder, I then tried sending audio to them from my iMac (which presumably does so over AirPlay2). The second one worked for a while, then stopped. I couldn't reconnect for a while. Tried the first one. That one wouldn't connect straight away, then wasn't even visible. Eventually I got it to work - and it's playing ok now. Just switched back to the other one and that was more seamless.
The issues may all be more to do with my wifi than the devices. But I have a fairly decent Amplifi Ubiquiti router - a dedicated endpoint in my office. Will have to see if these issues persist or it settles in ok once they are in their intended rooms - but it's not a reassuring start! There's still time to cancel the other two if it's going to be like that.
I think, individually at least, "reasonably decent" is a good description. Surprising bass - but certainly not full bodied. Detail is good - but can be a little muddy (but take that with a pinch a salt as I have some physical hearing issues at certain frequencies there, so I'm an unreliable source). Certainly not disappointing at this price point.
Setup was simple, holding an iPhone up worked fine. However they each set up slightly differently, which was odd. The second one finished up saying that AirPlay 2 wasn't supported on my wifi network (no issue there on the first one). It's possible the wifi was just overloaded as I have a lot of devices - and just added two more. But it was a worrying start.
Even odder, I then tried sending audio to them from my iMac (which presumably does so over AirPlay2). The second one worked for a while, then stopped. I couldn't reconnect for a while. Tried the first one. That one wouldn't connect straight away, then wasn't even visible. Eventually I got it to work - and it's playing ok now. Just switched back to the other one and that was more seamless.
The issues may all be more to do with my wifi than the devices. But I have a fairly decent Amplifi Ubiquiti router - a dedicated endpoint in my office. Will have to see if these issues persist or it settles in ok once they are in their intended rooms - but it's not a reassuring start! There's still time to cancel the other two if it's going to be like that.
Well maybe it is is fake, but to put it in context, he spent supposedly spent 5 minutes actually listening to it before deciding it sounded crap; compare this to the 10,000's who decided it sounded great without ever hearing it and and pre-ordered?
I’m a huge fanboy, but this is a little bit disappointing for me. Mine came early this morning in the U.K. and have been listening to it all day.
I was hyped by the reviews and I totally accept my expectations were too high, but this sounds like a slightly cheaper Bluetooth speaker.
There’s a slight dullness to the overall sound. A bit plastic.
in this size range, I only have a Bose Soundlink Mini to compare it to, which is similar in size, but nowhere near as good sound-not even close (I have the original HomePod which I find incredible sound wise, but obviously it’s not comparable).
Im not going to get rid of it. Siri still sucks, but it’s ok for basic tasks and I’m knee deep in the Apple ecosystem. But the hyperbole about the sound quality is totally unjustified in my opinion.
I was hyped by the reviews and I totally accept my expectations were too high, but this sounds like a slightly cheaper Bluetooth speaker.
There’s a slight dullness to the overall sound. A bit plastic.
in this size range, I only have a Bose Soundlink Mini to compare it to, which is similar in size, but nowhere near as good sound-not even close (I have the original HomePod which I find incredible sound wise, but obviously it’s not comparable).
Im not going to get rid of it. Siri still sucks, but it’s ok for basic tasks and I’m knee deep in the Apple ecosystem. But the hyperbole about the sound quality is totally unjustified in my opinion.
Sure, but $200 gets you a solid entry-level sound bar which is going to have far better sound than two HomePod minis. It's not for me to tell people how to spend their money, but I'm going to say it anyway, spending $200 on two HomePod minis to upgrade your TV sound is stupid.
That isn't to say Apple should stop people from doing that for no reason, though.
Agreed on the bluetooth thing in principal, though I haven't yet encountered a circumstance where I'd want to bluetooth anything to my HomePod.
...and there's me thinking it was called Homepod Mini, meaning it was also available to be used in a small British car...tuh!
I am eager to hear if you can set an EQ on this. Like asking Siri to reduce the bass.
And what Apple produced thankfully does not fit within that category. For those that need a portable battery powered speaker there are tons of inexpensive choices out there. Simply purchase one and be happy.
For me, it would be a huge minus having to keep my HomePods charged even though they're stationary speakers.