HomePod Mini Now Works With Select 18W Chargers Following 14.3 Software Update

[citysnaps]

Yes you could. It’s 20W just like the one Apple includes in the box (just in a more compact package).

Do you happen to know if the Anker Nano charger is UL Listed?

 

[Gsmaniac]

why does it plug into the wall rather than plug into the HomePod. If anything should happen to the cable, then the HomePod is stuffed. Pure stupidly.

 

[citysnaps]

For the same purpose that they included it in the HomePod Mini. And so that the high end device isn't missing a feature the Mini has, as far as the A8 chip, merely because it would be 4 years newer:

From MacRumors.com (https://www.macrumors.com/guide/homepod-mini-vs-homepod/ )

U1 Chip​

The ‌HomePod mini‌ contains one feature that the original ‌HomePod‌ lacks: the U1 chip. The Apple-designed U1 chip is an ultra-wideband chip which performs directional and proximity-based operations.

The ‌HomePod mini‌ uses the U1 chip to detect when other U1 devices, such as the iPhone 12, are nearby. This allows it to more quickly hand off audio and interact with nearby devices, as well as display relevant information on devices that are close to the ‌HomePod mini‌.

Beyond this, however, the full potential of U1 in ‌HomePod mini‌ does not yet seem to have been realized. In the future, U1 could facilitate close-range data-transfer, improve AR experiences, and track a user's location within the home. Apple now seems to be adding the U1 chip to all of its new devices, with the chip appearing in the iPhone 12 lineup and the Apple Watch Series 6.

"The ‌HomePod mini‌ uses the U1 chip to detect when other U1 devices, such as the iPhone 12, are nearby. This allows it to more quickly hand off audio and interact with nearby devices, as well as display relevant information on devices that are close to the ‌HomePod mini‌."

I have five HomePods, two HomePod Minis, and an iPhone 12 Pro.

Transferring music that's playing on my iPhone to my HomePods or HomePod Minis takes the same amount of time, with the same transfer information displayed on my iPhone. There's no difference.

 

[rikscha]

Great as I have no use for my ipad pro charger. But what will I do with the obsolete 20W charger now? Wished they stopped shipping charger a bit earlier

 

[SDJim]

This is actually good news!
1) Buy HomePod Mini
2) Buy MagSafe charger
3) Switch 18w iPhone 11 Pro brick and 20w HomePod mini brick
4) Get full charging speed from MagSafe
5) Profit.

 

[chucker23n1]

I was going to buy a couple of these until I found out that you have to plug them into a wall socket...so 1990s. Why not make them rechargeable?

For starters, because there’s no battery inside. There’s nothing to recharge.

(Why not put a battery in? That would either make the product bigger and heavier, or sound worse.)

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

And you guys said that Apple doesn't innovate lol.

 

[m0dest]

I was going to buy a couple of these until I found out that you have to plug them into a wall socket...so 1990s. Why not make them rechargeable?

The HomePod mini's work great with a compatible battery pack. I plugged 2 of them into giant USB-C battery packs (Zendure SuperTank; 100 Wh, the largest that you can take on a plane without declaring). Each lasted over 1 week with constant usage, including music playback at ~60% volume for most of the days.

 

[Wpaulo]

Thanks for the info. I tried the swap when I first got the new Mini and as noted it would not work. Since the specs said it took nowhere near the max 20 watts I was surprised when it didn’t work initially with the 18 watt charger

 

[840quadra]

FINALLY works with my Anker portable battery pack. Now to see how well it lasts

 

[CarlJ]

I was going to buy a couple of these until I found out that you have to plug them into a wall socket...so 1990s. Why not make them rechargeable?

They're designed to sit on a table / desk / etc. Why needlessly complicate the design by adding batteries and charging hardware, and then complicate use by having to worry about keeping them charged, and having to worry about battery life? They're speakers - if you add batteries, either they're bigger and heavier, or there's less room for, you know, the actual speaker drivers, lowering sound quality.

Do you also want your TV to be rechargeable? And only plug your TV in when it needs to charge?

 

[AppliedMicro]

Because the HomePod mini is a hub in the HomeKit environment, if the rechargeable battery were to go flat, no more controlling your automated home.

So are iPads - with a rechargeable battery.
And I'm pretty sure many of them are used untethered.

 

[CarlJ]

I want to use it in my car.

That's... weird. What WiFi network do you expect it to be a part of? While the sound level is adequate in a home, cars are generally noisier inside - might be kind of quiet for that use.

 

[840quadra]

That's... weird. What WiFi network do you expect it to be a part of? While the sound level is adequate in a home, cars are generally noisier inside - might be kind of quiet for that use.

Like the big HomePod, you don’t need a wifi network to connect it to, before you can connect to it. I use both for travel extensively all without them ever connecting to the hotel wifi network.

 

[chucker23n1]

They're designed to sit on a table / desk / etc. Why needlessly complicate the design by adding batteries and charging hardware, and then complicate use by having to worry about keeping them charged, and having to worry about battery life? They're speakers - if you add batteries, either they're bigger and heavier, or there's less room for, you know, the actual speaker drivers, lowering sound quality.

Do you also want your TV to be rechargeable? And only plug your TV in when it needs to charge?

Well, wireless speakers are a thing.

For example, these are HomePod-like, but can be detached and run from their battery: https://www.jbl.com/bluetooth-speakers/LINK+PORTABLE.html

So are iPads - with a rechargeable battery.
And I'm pretty sure many of them are used untethered.

Yup. I mean, they even come with a cellular option…

(Also, unrelated, but I wish Macs could be a HomeKit hub. I mean, an iMac or Mac mini are basically perfect for that… maybe next year.)

 

[chucker23n1]

That's... weird. What WiFi network do you expect it to be a part of? While the sound level is adequate in a home, cars are generally noisier inside - might be kind of quiet for that use.

AirPlay/AWDL will simply make its own ad-hoc network.

 

[bodonnell202]

Do you happen to know if the Anker Nano charger is UL Listed?

I don’t see it specifically listed. Many of the Anker chargers are UL listed but I don’t think the Nano is.

 

[tgwaste]

Got my Minis the other day and laughed at the fact that my $1500 iPhone doesn't come with a 20W adapter but my $99 home pod mini does.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Why would you need to use a different power supply than the one supplied? Doesn't make sense.

 

[Just Jeff]

Is there a dual USB-C power adapter to drive two HomePod Mini's?

 

[Braderunner]

I was going to buy a couple of these until I found out that you have to plug them into a wall socket...so 1990s. Why not make them rechargeable?

Hope it didn’t take too long for you to figure that out.

 

[ouimetnick]

They're designed to sit on a table / desk / etc. Why needlessly complicate the design by adding batteries and charging hardware, and then complicate use by having to worry about keeping them charged, and having to worry about battery life? They're speakers - if you add batteries, either they're bigger and heavier, or there's less room for, you know, the actual speaker drivers, lowering sound quality.

Do you also want your TV to be rechargeable? And only plug your TV in when it needs to charge?

Is a 65" TV a small light weight device? Didn't think so. HomePod Mini with it's small size and very light weight could very well be though.

 

[Htsi]

Why would you need to use a different power supply than the one supplied? Doesn't make sense.

Swap out old iPhone 11 Pro brick to HomePod and use 20w for your new iPhone.
That’s the only way I see it makes sense.

 

[singularity0993]

"The ‌HomePod mini‌ uses the U1 chip to detect when other U1 devices, such as the iPhone 12, are nearby. This allows it to more quickly hand off audio and interact with nearby devices, as well as display relevant information on devices that are close to the ‌HomePod mini‌."

I have five HomePods, two HomePod Minis, and an iPhone 12 Pro.

Transferring music that's playing on my iPhone to my HomePods or HomePod Minis takes the same amount of time, with the same transfer information displayed on my iPhone. There's no difference.

Support for HomePod mini's U1 chip is coming in a later software update -- which means the U1 is useless until iOS 14.4

 

[centauratlas]

"The ‌HomePod mini‌ uses the U1 chip to detect when other U1 devices, such as the iPhone 12, are nearby. This allows it to more quickly hand off audio and interact with nearby devices, as well as display relevant information on devices that are close to the ‌HomePod mini‌."

I have five HomePods, two HomePod Minis, and an iPhone 12 Pro.

Transferring music that's playing on my iPhone to my HomePods or HomePod Minis takes the same amount of time, with the same transfer information displayed on my iPhone. There's no difference.

To me it sounds like Apple has plans for the U1 chip in the Home Pod Mini. Perhaps you don't need it, and if so, great. I tend to think that Apple didn't just put it in for the heck of it, so there is some purpose that perhaps doesn't show up in your setup or in the current version of iOS. I doubt Apple put it in there for no reason.

It just seems logical to think that if the Mini has it, eventually the Home Pod will also along with a new A chip, given the Home Pod's chip is nearly 4 years old now.