You know, aside from the sound and all of the core features, I really like the way the mini looks. I think Apple did a great job where it looks contemporary, where it doesn’t look ‘out of place‘ in your home. I always liked the look of the regular HomePod, but something about the mini draws me in even more that I think Apple did a stellar job with the overall design. I don’t think this gets said enough.
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Hands-On With the New HomePod Mini
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I was having a lot of trouble setting mine up. It would pop up on my phone but then tell me there was an issue with my Apple ID. I had to head to settings and, on the front page, there was a notification to sign into my Apple ID.
Then, I had to head into the Home app in order to finish setting up the HomePod manually. Took me about 20 minutes to figure it out. Once I did, it set up in less than a minute.
Just wait for the regular homepod to go back on sale for $199, it’s such a good deal at that price. I have 4 homepods throughout my house and just got the mini for the bathroom. I haven’t really used it that much but it’s disappointing when compared to the original, which is to be expected.
I agree; in comparison to the regular HomePod (at $199 sale price), the mini isn’t worth it. However, it does sound surprisingly good even in the big room I have it in. Granted, I’m sitting next to it, but it has a pleasant sound.
At first thought, the intercom feature sounded dumb. As in, "welcome to the 1960s".
But then I realized my wife, daughter, and I tend to text each other when we're in different rooms of the same house - so maybe Apple's onto something.
But then I realized my wife, daughter, and I tend to text each other when we're in different rooms of the same house - so maybe Apple's onto something.
I have an Apple TV 4K and all devices are updated to 14.2 but I cannot change my audio output on Apple TV.
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Is the mini still so overbassed as the big one? I don't listen to anything on my big Homepod, my neighbours are overwhelmed by it's bass. Even with the lowest volume setting the bass is just way too much for my liking.
How to adjust the EQ of the HomePod when AirPlaying from an iPhone or iPad
- Begin playing music from your iPhone.
- Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap Music.
- Scroll down and tap EQ under the Playback menu.
- Select a preset. ...
- AirPlay to your HomePod.
Sorry, but that doesn't do anything to the EQ on the Homepod at all. As far as i'm aware you can't do anything to the EQ on Homepods at all.
Don’t hold your breath. Spotify is notoriously slow implementing features like this (but they can screw up the UI and re-shuffle/move/hide features in their iOS app on a near-daily basis).
Apple announced it and I know Pandora already implemented it, but figure on a year or two for Spotify... then be happy if it happens to come before that.
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Placement has a lot to do with bass response. If you want to minimize it, keep it away from walls, wall/floor intersections and for heaven’s sake don’t put it in a corner.
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I had to reset one of mine in the home app and then do a software update on it. The software update hung for a while (40mins) so i restarted it and all was ok after.
Might be worth seeing if there’s and update?
That's obvious, there's not question about that. The placement of the speaker does not change the fact that it's overbassed and can't be adjusted.
My initial question was if the mini still sounds as overbassed. I don't like that overwhelming booming sound either.
Thanks!
Maybe not so obvious. Did you put it in a corner? 🤣 The placement within the room provides a huge difference with respect to bass response, specifically the reinforcement of certain frequencies caused by room modes.
But I can 100% guarantee you the HomePod mini produces much less bass than the full-size HomePod, especially the lowest frequencies which as you know only too well, carry so easily through thin walls.
Is that still too much bass? Maybe. Or maybe there won’t be enough bass for you. There’s only one way to know how it will perform in your environment, and that’s to get one and try it out. But do keep in mind my comments re: placement.
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I did have it close to a wall at first. I read about the Homepod being able to scan the room and direct sounds wherever it decides to, i didn't think it would be an issue. I've tried placing it literally everywhere, i've even tried hanging it in the middle of my living room. The bass is just insane, too much for my ears and it indeed get's through the walls to my lovely neighbours. The mini will be just right then, thank you very much.
It could be that the dimensions of your room are causing a resonance at say, sub-30 or even sub-20Hz. (You may also be getting a resonance of a second or third order harmonic of lower fundamentals.)
I’m guessing you also listen to music that has a lot of low frequency content to begin with 🙂
And due to loudness compensation curves, just turning down the overall volume doesn’t really help all that much, as you probably discovered. There will always be “too much” bass, at any volume.
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I just purchased a second HomePod mini this morning for the bedroom TV so excited to have a dedicated HomePod for this TV 4K and the full sized HomePod soley for music. I will at some point buy a third to have the stereo output. The clarity of dialogue via HomePod is brilliant compare to the built in TV speaker and with the tvOS upgrade a HomePod remains linked to this TV 4K. I wish they were $99 here - the price is 150% of HomePod minis sold in 🇺🇸.
I can just envisage it now: ER intro music concludes in your favourite medical drama's Podcast and you shout, "Hey Siri, Intercom, 'We have a Code Poo - need toilet paper stat!'" 😝Man it's really tiny. Maybe I should put one in the bathroom that way I could enjoy music while sitting on the throne or use the intercom for more toilet paper.
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"Hey Siri, answer phone." I can leave my phone lying where ever it is and in the same room respond to a call before it diverts to Voice Mail.
Your children will be excited to receive this as a gift 🎁 - playing music, intercom conversations around the house and maybe linking to an TV 4K. Wish these sort of products were around when I was a child. I had access to Apple 2e, CompuColours and the rest were boring computers for adults.
I took a call from Apple yesterday afternoon with the HomePod mini (for the first time) and it worked very well. I was impressed. Much better sound versus speakerphone.
Can you confirm it works as default TV output from AppleTV? I want to get one for my stepdaughter who's TV is on our wall and very loud when she watches the office at night!
So the reason for the USB-C wall brick instead of an AC Plug is because then they don't have to fit the AC to DC converter circuitry inside the HomePod itself. That leaves more room for the audio hardware that gives it that sound. They would have had to make the HomePod mini larger to fit that circuitry inside.