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First Impressions From HomePod Mini Customers: 'The Sound Quality is Great'

topdrawer said:
most homes have outdoor outlets.
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Yo, how long is this silly back-and-forth but-but game going to go on?
Some people wish there was a battery-powered version of the HomePod, because that would meet their particular use scenarios and preference to be able to buy an Apple-branded product to keep it with an ecosystem that promises maximum interoperability.
Some people are fine with the current product offerings.

If you're fine with the current product offerings, consider just chilling out a little and simmering in satisfaction while letting people with differing use requirements and preferences express those without descending into, uh, garden-outlet shaming.
 
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mpetrides said:
You CAN use the HomePod mini in place of the TV’s built-in speakers. You WILL get improved sound quality. However, because the HomePod mini does not have Spatial Awareness, you can not get Dolby Atmos or even 5.1 or 7.1 sound out of the HomePod mini. Sheesh.
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You can´t set the minis as the default output of the ATV. That (at the moment), is exclusive to the original Homepods.

He was talking about this, not stereo vs atmos.
 
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SirAnthonyHopkins said:
It might be a little bit odd that you can't set them as audio output for the TV, but it does lead to the question quite why you'd want to?
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You CAN set them as audio output for your TV—and you will get improved sound quality if you do. What you won’t get is Dolby Atmos, 5.1, or 7.1 audio. Why? Because those features are dependent upon Spatial Awareness, which is only found on the OG HomePod.
 
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I guess none of these reviewers have ever heard a decent and properly set up hifi system, all these smart speakers ever are going to be are glorified musical wall paper, great to have a bit of background noise during cooking or something, but to sit down , close your eyes and properly listen to some music as it was meant to be, no contest at all...
 
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mitty said:
sound quality is great. Siri still dumb as a bag of rocks.
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That's why I turned on Siri's Australian accent.
She may be dumb, but at least she now sounds sassy enough to compensate.
(Sorry for objectifying your regional accent, Australians, but do feel free to take it as a compliment.)
 
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k2k koos said:
I guess none of these reviewers have ever heard a decent and properly set up hifi system, all these smart speakers ever are going to be are glorified musical wall paper, great to have a bit of background noise during cooking or something, but to sit down , close your eyes and properly listen to some music as it was meant to be, no contest at all...
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You're this guy, aren't you!

 
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GadgetBen said:
The main disappointment for me is that it's not portable (no battery) and it's not water resistant.

The HomePod mini should have been the answer to WonderBoom Ultimate Ears.

I would have loved to take my HomePod mini outside in the Summer in the garden or to a barbecue/garden party.
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Agreed. While I did end up buying one, I would have like it to be portable in every sense. A smaller and more annoying issue I have is the power brick, it's too obtrusive. Hopefully someone designs a 20W power adapter for USB-C that sits flush with the plug coming out the bottom.
 
k2k koos said:
I guess none of these reviewers have ever heard a decent and properly set up hifi system, all these smart speakers ever are going to be are glorified musical wall paper, great to have a bit of background noise during cooking or something, but to sit down , close your eyes and properly listen to some music as it was meant to be, no contest at all...
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And I guess you don't know what a fair comparison is. They sound good... in this product category.

Of course a proper AVR+ dedicated speakers are gonna sound A LOT better, but they´re not in the same league. They are not even in the same sport.
 
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My box to return the iPhone for credit towards the 12 is scheduled to arrive today; the homepod mini is scheduled for Wednesday. So naturally the homepod showed up on my doorstep just as I was walking out the door. Go figure. I set it up, and Siri sounds alright, but I haven't played any music yet.

Setup was a snap though.

Edit: Sound quality is good enough for the kitchen if a bit muddy, but max volume is a bit low.

Edit 2: compared to my Cortina speaker, it's very muddy. This isn't a good speaker for listening to music on, it's a Siri speaker that happens to not suck for music.
 
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B/D said:
You can´t set the minis as the default output of the ATV. That (at the moment), is exclusive to the original Homepods.

He was talking about this, not stereo vs atmos.
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Yes you can. From Apple’s own list of Technical Specifications for the HomePod mini: “
  • AirPlay other content to HomePod mini from iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac”
 
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GadgetBen said:
The main disappointment for me is that it's not portable (no battery) and it's not water resistant.

The HomePod mini should have been the answer to WonderBoom Ultimate Ears.

I would have loved to take my HomePod mini outside in the Summer in the garden or to a barbecue/garden party.
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god please give people not only brains but the ability to use them.

HomePod has a usb c connector cable which connects to ??? Yes a powerbank!
 
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k2k koos said:
I guess none of these reviewers have ever heard a decent and properly set up hifi system, all these smart speakers ever are going to be are glorified musical wall paper, great to have a bit of background noise during cooking or something, but to sit down , close your eyes and properly listen to some music as it was meant to be, no contest at all...
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Maybe so but how many people are buying them to replace such a system?

A bit of musical wallpaper in a kitchen or conservatory etc is probably a great use of the HomePods, and no bad thing at all.
 
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erinsarah said:
Yeah, this is the first I'm hearing of this, and I was planning to buy two minis for this exact purpose. We've got an AppleTV connected to a Panasonic LCD and the built-in speaker not only sounds like crap, but we have to turn the volume all the way up to hear it. We have the system connected to a home theatre setup as well, but it's too much effort to turn the stereo on, switch inputs, turn the volume down on the TV, etc. I wanted the HomePods to simply serve as the everyday output for the AppleTV. I wonder what the odds will be of Apple adding the feature if enough people complain?
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You CAN use the HomePod mini as output from an Apple TV. You won’t get Dolby Atmos because that requires Spatial Awareness. But you will still have better sound than from the TV’s built-in speakers. From Apple’s own Tech Specs for the HomePod mini: “
  • AirPlay other content to HomePod mini from iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac”
 
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B/D said:
No, you cannot. You can choose them through the ATV control center, but you cant make them the default output of the ATV. Different things.
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How many times are you going to respond and be wrong? Do you have a target number or are you just going to go for it see what happens?

As of 14.2 you definitely CAN.
 
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k2k koos said:
I guess none of these reviewers have ever heard a decent and properly set up hifi system, all these smart speakers ever are going to be are glorified musical wall paper, great to have a bit of background noise during cooking or something, but to sit down , close your eyes and properly listen to some music as it was meant to be, no contest at all...
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That’s not what the HomePod was designed for. Anyone who thinks this is going to come remotely close to a hi fi system is daft.

This is for casual listening. Nothing more. Nothing less. End of.
 
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FuturePilot said:
The sound quality is the biggest thing I'm curious about with the Mini. Obviously I know it's not going to sound as good as the HomePod, but for the use case I'm thinking of, if it sounds decent it would be good enough and I would get one.
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HomePod Mini arrived today - listed to Abbey Road - tested some Siri commands - just ordered a second for another room, in store pick-up tomorrow ✅
 
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"Setting HomePods as the default audio output is part of Home Theater Mode which is only currently available with Apple TV 4K and original HomePods. This feature is not available on HomePod mini yet".
 
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