HomePod Mini Reviews: 'Remarkably Big Sound' Despite Compact Design

[mazz0]

My only interest in smart speakers is for music, so I love the HomePods. Stereo pair in my lounge, incoming Mini’s for the bedroom and kitchen.

The big HomePods hold the peculiar status of both my favourite device and most frustrating device, heheh. When they work, they are tremendous....but does it REALLY need “just a moment” occasionally when I ask it to lower the volume???

Of course it does!

Office Space - Just a moment

 

[NightFox]

I wouldn't base your decision on Atmos.

*****
EDIT: because Anson42 said it MUCH better than I did...

Just to be clear, Atmos itself isn't a gimmick but the producing of Atmos effects through psychoacoustics is a "gimmick" in my view. The science behind psychoacoustics is very real, but Atmos from 2 speakers is NOT Atmos from a multi-speaker speaker system, it is just an approximation.

*******
I am sure Apple does the best job of implementing it on two speakers, but the reality is, Atmos was designed to be used with at least 5 speakers (better 7) including two surrounds and with the surrounds having upward firing speaker components. Apple is doing amazing things with acoustics, but at some point two speakers are just two speakers. And Atmos even as Apple implements it, is not universal across applications. I say this even as I love my HomePods and have a stereo pair on my desk.

The other thing I would say, is that many people report that the use of HomePods (original) with Apple TV is not optimal for a variety of reasons including the Apple TV sometimes resorts back to the default of piping the sound to the TV and not the HomePods, especially it seems if your WiFi is marginal.

So I would research that to see if you can live with the limitations. I know Apple improves it with software updates.

Totally agree - I think in many cases people fall for specifications like "Dolby Atmos support" when all that really means is that a device is capable of taking an Atmos-encoded input and outputting it as sound, even if that means it's downmixing it to a stereo or mono output. It doesn't necessarily mean you're getting Atmos output (even simulated) - that's always going to be a limitation of the number, spacing and firing-direction of speakers you're outputting through.

 

[yegon]

Of course it does!

Office Space - Just a moment

LOL, forgot that, years since I watched it, time for another viewing!

I’d like to think Siri was trolling me but...yeah right. Staggers me that certain commands aren’t baked into the system, although I’m sure someone will educate me why it’s not possible due to machine learning or Apple Music being server based blah blah.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

a 'Bookshelf system' is a complete stereo system - no smart speaker will nor should ever be expected to compete/compare.

i.e. bookshelf systems like what Technics/Sony/Aiwa/Pioneer etc used to make (NOT component stereo systems meant for a complete living room/family room entertainment centre setup).

Well you want to compare ... try it out with a reference system yourself. These reviewers are comparing this product with like products within the same product market segment, as they should.

I know what they are. But given that Apple is trying to position this as a more premium sound, it would be good to know how "premium" it is.Because lets face it, Apple tried to position the iPhone sound quality as premium, and it's rubbish. And top of the pick of 3" speakers really isn't so much better.

 

[aloyouis]

Still not the best option for most, even in the Apple ecosystem. There are smart speakers in the market that do more, have better smart assistant and universal connectivity at half or a third of the price.

As long as you don't consider your personal information part of the "price".

 

[iJustines]

After over 3 years, Apple will unveil HomePod 2 with USB-C, U1 Chip and new price.

According to Siri, It is likely to release by next year.

 

[BlueCreek]

Currently have one HomePod and multiple Sonos. I was put off going all-in on HomePod because of the cost to change.

Now I can see me getting multiple HomePod minis and ditching the Sonos completely. Music is my main thing (rather than Siri) and the handoff between phone and the mini looks great.



Buy two minis.....the HomePod does sound great, but given that the reviews are saying the minis are almost as good, you will get more value out of 2 minis I would say.

Do you use your sonos for watching Tv? The only thing stopping me from purchasing into the HomePod ecosystem is due to not having an option to use them with a Tv.

 

[Iconoclysm]

After over 3 years, Apple will unveil HomePod 2 with USB-C, U1 Chip and new price.

According to Siri, It is likely to release by next year.

View attachment 1664469

What would the point of USB Type C be?

 

[anson42]

What would the point of USB Type C be?

Good question. I read in an old article that HomePod consumes less than 9W when playing music. Perhaps both the HomePod and HomePod mini can be powered by a MacBook in a portable scenario. This should shave some components, allowing the innards to be designed more efficiently. I guess time will tell.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Did u read the entire article?

"while the HomePod mini sounds good, it doesn't sound as good as similarly priced competitors like the Amazon Echo and Google's Nest Audio"

And that quoted snippet is subjective. Each person has different expectations of sound quality, not to mention those with auditory limitations and damage.

Each person should evaluate the HomePod mini for him or herself, instead of taking with word of a stranger getting paid to write an article.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Compare apples to apples, not apples to Audi’s.

As long as Apple prices their products like Audi, I'll compare them to Audi.