HomePod mini and HomePod Can't Be Stereo Paired, But HomePod Home Theater Support Coming Soon for Apple TV 4K

[MacRumors]

Following the HomePod mini announcement at Tuesday's Apple event, The Loop's Jim Dalrymple has answered a key question many people have been asking: Can you pair a HomePod mini with an original HomePod to make a stereo pair?

"The short answer is no," explains Dalrymple. "You can't make a stereo pair of a HomePod and a HomePod mini. You can make a stereo pair of two HomePods or two HomePod minis, but you can't mix and match the two products."

That's not to say the two devices can't be used together at all, however. Dalrymple goes on to explain that if you have a HomePod and HomePod mini in the home, they can be used to play your music in different rooms. Apple's new Intercom feature will also work on both devices.

Dalrymple says an update is on the way for the original HomePod that will add many features that are coming with the HomePod mini, including Intercom, personal update, Maps continuity, multiuser support for Podcasts, and support for third-party music services like Pandora and Amazon music.

In another notable tidbit, he says an additional upcoming feature exclusive to the original HomePod will add "an immersive home theater experience when paired with an Apple TV 4K."

To get the 5.1, 7.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos, you need to pair one or two HomePod speakers to the Apple TV. This feature requires the spatial sound support of HomePod, so it isn’t available for the HomePod mini.

It's understood that this ability to select HomePods as home theater speakers for Apple TV will also fix the lingering issue of Apple TV often forgetting that HomePods are the preferred speakers for audio output.

Lastly, Dalrymple notes that a HomePod and HomePod mini can't be connected to Apple TV at the same time, but two HomePod minis connected to Apple TV will provide stereo sound.

The HomePod mini costs $99 and is available in both White and Space Gray. Pre-orders begin on November 6, and deliveries begin on November 16.

Article Link: HomePod mini and HomePod Can't Be Stereo Paired, But HomePod Home Theater Support Coming Soon for Apple TV 4K

 

[farewelwilliams]

that's like wearing an AirPod on the left and an AirPod Pro on the right. of course you can't pair them.

 

[WiseAJ]

Well that sucks. There goes my plan of getting a mini to go with my regular HomePod.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

So, you won’t be able to pair them up or what?

 

[NervousFish2]

This is all the confirmation I need. I was holding back on getting a second HomePod. Next time I see one below $250, its mine...

 

[scaramoosh]

And will it have the unusable latency of Airplay? Seriously try and play games with it on your Mac, it’s so bad. Bluetooth is needed.

 

[Icaras]

So, you won’t be able to pair them up or what?

Not for stereo sound pairing, no. There should never be an option to mix and match HomePod and HomePod mini for stereo sound.

My hope however was to be able to pair two of these as rear surround speakers with the HomePod to the Apple TV 4K. This would be the closest solution to my dream HomePod Sound Bar product that I’ve been wishing for.

Disappointing it can’t yet, but I’m still very interested to hear this upcoming ‘home theater’ support for the original HomePod.

Also, who knows what other options could be unlocked via software updates...

 

[ian87w]

So basically you can buy 5 Homepod minis and create a 5.0 surround system? Thats kinda neat in a sense.

 

[Icaras]

So basically you can buy 5 Homepod minis and create a 5.0 surround system? Thats kinda neat in a sense.

No, that’s not what you can do at all...

HomePod minis can only stereo pairing or multi-room audio.

 

[klunernet]

And will it have the unusable latency of Airplay? Seriously try and play games with it on your Mac, it’s so bad. Bluetooth is needed.

this is likely related to your WiFi, not AirPlay itself. I have not noticed any latency here. (But my WiFi and network setup is decidedly not “consumer”)

 

[scaramoosh]

this is likely related to your WiFi, not AirPlay itself. I have not noticed any latency here. (But my WiFi and network setup is decidedly not “consumer”)

Nope I’ve tried several routers, including the Airport Extreme. I have an AX 6000 router now and it’s still the same, the latency of Airplay sucks for real time. It’s fine for music and video and it syncs, but for gaming.... no.

 

[macduke]

Dang. Too bad I can't set one of these behind me to act as a satellite speaker for my sound bar. Didn't realize they didn't do any spatial audio stuff. My living room is not constructed for doing surround sound so it's a big PITA. Thinking about just using spatial audio on my AirPods Pro while watching movies, lol. My wife cares less about audio so I think you can pair two devices, so she could do her regular AirPods. Then soundbar only for when watching movies with the kids.

And will it have the unusable latency of Airplay? Seriously try and play games with it on your Mac, it’s so bad. Bluetooth is needed.

No. This is talking about home theater. The software puts a small delay on the video for AirPlay. Games are different as they can't have delay or they would be nearly unplayable with the lag.

 

[itsmilo]

i dont even get what that means. What is stereo-pair and what is the difference to multi-room?

Like lets say I have a HomePod in the living room and a HomePod Mini in the bathroom and bedroom. Am I able to play the same song at the same time through all devices or not?

 

[ian87w]

No, that’s not what you can do at all...

HomePod minis can only stereo pairing or multi-room audio.

Oh, well that’s a missed opportunity...

 

[mike...]

Why would anyone have thought it would be possible to pair two speakers of vastly different sizes and capabilities? The full size HomePod would completely drown out the HomePod mini. Of course you can't stereo pair them.

 

[Icaras]

Oh, well that’s a missed opportunity...

I agree. It totally is. Hoping that Apple can expand the mini’s potential with a future software update, like it’s about to do with the original HomePod!

 

[ani4ani]

i dont even get what that means. What is stereo-pair and what is the difference to multi-room?

Like lets say I have a HomePod in the living room and a HomePod Mini in the bathroom and bedroom. Am I able to play the same song at the same time through all devices or not?

A stereo pair is taking a music stream / signal and splitting the source into left & right sound [from a left and right placed speaker]

Multi-room is having a single speaker in various locations and being able to listen to the same music in all locations. Other systems can play different music in each room, e.g. Echo, Sonos and the like...I personally don't know if homepod can do that.

 

[Pimmp]

"To get the 5.1, 7.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos, you need to pair one or two HomePod speakers to the Apple TV. This feature requires the spatial sound support of Homepod"

Surround or Atmos, Did not know this at all. I have two paired homepods to my ATV4k

 

[jb-net]

More information about home theater update would be nice but I guess its mostly marketing. Sound like Apple will be doing some software virtualization, since AirPlay 2 is stero only. No real competition for a real soundbar surround setup. And I guess the lag on Airplay will lead to lip sync issues with different Apps and sound formats.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Not sure what to believe — the marketing material on Apple’s site states “HomePod Mini works with HomePod for multiroom audio and features like intercom.” This tells me that they communicate somehow. Maybe this is referencing Handoff?

 

[hagar]

i dont even get what that means. What is stereo-pair and what is the difference to multi-room?

Like lets say I have a HomePod in the living room and a HomePod Mini in the bathroom and bedroom. Am I able to play the same song at the same time through all devices or not?

Yes. Multi-room is supported with both devices. You can play the same song throughout your house. But you can’t mix both devices to create a stereo pair in the same room for the obvious reason they‘re different speakers. You probably can put both in the same room and they will play in sync, but they won’t play in stereo.

 

[hagar]

Still no answer on why they are not adding more languages to HomePod and Homepod Mini. Why will it not be available in all countries that do have Siri support on their iOS devices? So frustrating to not know why.

 

[Spongmincer]

A stereo pair is taking a music stream / signal and splitting the source into left & right sound [from a left and right placed speaker]

Multi-room is having a single speaker in various locations and being able to listen to the same music in all locations. Other systems can play different music in each room, e.g. Echo, Sonos and the like...I personally don't know if homepod can do that.

It can.

 

[honglong1976]

this is likely related to your WiFi, not AirPlay itself. I have not noticed any latency here. (But my WiFi and network setup is decidedly not “consumer”)

Seriously? Airplay is lag city, famous for it's 1 second lag.

It's lag free with music and films, but laggy with games.
[automerge]1602665257[/automerge]

i dont even get what that means. What is stereo-pair and what is the difference to multi-room?

Like lets say I have a HomePod in the living room and a HomePod Mini in the bathroom and bedroom. Am I able to play the same song at the same time through all devices or not?

Stereo pair - two speakers in one room
Multi Room - A speaker in each room

 

[SevrinDantus]

Remember that only the homePOD can do spacial awarness, the mini cannot