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HomePod Is the HomePod Mini truly that problematic?

S

satchmo

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 6, 2008
5,233
6,114
Canada
From what I’m reading in the threads here, it sounds like there are issues.

What I’m trying to gauge is whether the complaints are from a handful of users or is the HomePod universally considered a flawed Apple product?
Are the issues isolated incidents? Are the millions of other HomePod Mini owners generally happy with them?

The HomePod Mini is on the list of items I could redeem my credit card loyalty points for. That said, I don’t want to be stuck with a lemon of a product.
 
I own 5 Minis. Never had any issues with them. Most problems with Minis IMHO can be traced back to woefully inadequate networks, or fundamental flaws in Siri etc.
 
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Like others have said, they seem to be decent speakers with flawed software. I do think there were hardware issues with the original HomePod (bad wifi and overheating), but the mini seems ok from that standpoint, though I haven't really been paying too much attention.

But even without the software issues, I think for the price there are better options. My choice for a $100 speaker would be the Ikea Symfonisk, which has recently been updated. Not as cute, but it will definitely sound better.
 
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I have one HomePod mini in my kitchen...

The good:
  • Hardware feels / looks nice
  • Speaker sounds amazing
The bad:
  • Siri
  • Location tracking is horrible
If Siri wasn't so impossibly useless (and getting more useless every year), it would be a great product. As it stands, I pretty much have to interact with it through my iPhone because Siri is so consistently problematic or incapable. Also, the location tracking absolutely sucks. I can whisper to Siri on my phone in the bedroom and end up barely hearing Siri's response coming out of the kitchen speaker... on the other end of the house. Why can't Siri respond to me on the device I spoke to?!

I mostly just use it as an AirPlay speaker at this point. I'll occasionally use it for HomeKit voice control too, but half the time Siri can't figure out what I want anymore. Even commands that used to work perfectly have stopped in the last few years... "turn on the bedroom lights" / *turns on 1 of 3 lights in the bedroom* -- "turn on the orbs" / *turns on the Left Orb but not the Right Orb* -- "turn on the living room floor lamp" / *turns on the office floor lamp*.

So all this to say: the HomePod mini sucks as much as Siri does. If Apple decides to stop kneecapping Siri and instead actually improves it, the HomePod mini could be great.
 
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Have 2 Minis... they're not going to wow you with audio quality but they're decent for what you're paying.

Only time I have issues is when the Internet is sluggish. Works well most of the time with my smart lights and strips too.
 
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DJLC said:
I have one HomePod mini in my kitchen...

The good:
  • Hardware feels / looks nice
  • Speaker sounds amazing
The bad:
  • Siri
  • Location tracking is horrible
If Siri wasn't so impossibly useless (and getting more useless every year), it would be a great product. As it stands, I pretty much have to interact with it through my iPhone because Siri is so consistently problematic or incapable. Also, the location tracking absolutely sucks. I can whisper to Siri on my phone in the bedroom and end up barely hearing Siri's response coming out of the kitchen speaker... on the other end of the house. Why can't Siri respond to me on the device I spoke to?!

I mostly just use it as an AirPlay speaker at this point. I'll occasionally use it for HomeKit voice control too, but half the time Siri can't figure out what I want anymore. Even commands that used to work perfectly have stopped in the last few years... "turn on the bedroom lights" / *turns on 1 of 3 lights in the bedroom* -- "turn on the orbs" / *turns on the Left Orb but not the Right Orb* -- "turn on the living room floor lamp" / *turns on the office floor lamp*.

So all this to say: the HomePod mini sucks as much as Siri does. If Apple decides to stop kneecapping Siri and instead actually improves it, the HomePod mini could be great.
Click to expand...

So it's mainly Siri and software, it'll be solved next week at WWDC. ?
 
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If I wasn’t so deep into HomeKit, I’d probably be looking at Sonos. I say that because I use Siri a lot to control my devices and as default audio speakers for my AppleTVs. For the most part, Siri has been atrocious on OS 15 but the latest 15.5.1 seems to have improved, for me at least. YMMV depending your network.
 
I have 4 of the minis and in general like them. I think they require a decent wifi network/router setup, and that might be some of the complaints you see/read. I also use one as the Homekit hub, which has been working great. Personally, I'd like to see Apple come out with something in a mid-range btw the OG and the mini, for a little more "umph"
 
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....I had 3ea OG homepods. Got rid of them because they started popping (heavily discussed on other threads). I shifted over to the MINIs and there are definitely software issues with them. I have a gamer ASUS router, and no other devices ever have WIFI issues, but my Minis randomly disconnect etc. Each software update seems to fix or break them LOL. Seriously they will work fine, then software update, then issues.... Long story short, I got a SONOS roam for my birthday and its convinced me to start switching to SONOS. sound is much better, wifi connection much more stable, etc. In other threads its been mentioned how much better SONOS are. Note: I mainly use them as speakers to play music around the house.
 
I have two minis and two OG HomePods and have no problems with any of them. Siri has issues but it's improving and is perfectly adequate for controlling my lights, blinds and music. The minis sound fine until you walk into the room with the OG HomePods but they're good for the price. One thing to keep in mind is that all HomePods place heavy demands on your wifi network so be prepared for problems if wifi coverage and speed is not adequate. The HomePod experience is better with Apple Music.
 
The HomePod mini is certainly not a lemon. Siri might not be the brightest of the voiced command services, but it certainly isn’t annoying like Alexa. I’ve got several Echos and Alexa periodically just starts talking for no apparent reason and babbles on and on about nothing. She also tries to suggest things for you to buy. Thankfully Siri doesn’t do any of that. I think the HomePod mini sounds better than any of the Echos I have heard, except for the Studio of course. The HomePod mini has a surprisingly good sound for its size. As with any Apple device these days though, the FW needs work, but the hardware is very good.
 
I've got zero complaints about my HomePod Mini. It works, as expected. I have had it on my bedside table, in the bathroom, and it's now in my study to play music in the background. The only obvious "complaint" is that it's not loud enough, and the audio quality is not great.

Happy owner of 2x original HomePods for my AppleTV in the living room, and would happily recommend Mini's to those who ask (Assuming you live in the Apple ecosystem).
 
I have a HomePod and it is quite a frustrating gadget because:

- Siri is horrible and only understands the simplest of commands.
- Even with simple commands such as "set a timer for x min", it either doesn't hear the command at all or understands a different number for x requiring me to cancel and retry. This happens with song and album names as well much more frequently.
- Even when it understands them, it sometimes has trouble executing them -- "On it...still on it...somethings taking a little too long here" at which point it aborts.

If you're in the Apple ecosystem there is no choice. I understand from others that have experienced my HomePod when visiting me that Alexa works much, much better.

This seems to be a software issue, so my guess is HomePod Mini would be no different. If you're using an iPhone/iPad to control it, then your experience may be better.
 
StumpyBloke said:
In my experience, the HomePods themselves are great, it is just Apple’s absolutely **** not fit for purpose complete abortion of a software that they install on them
Click to expand...
Still true. 17 being the worst of them all. I knew I should have waited till the end of the OS cycle
 
Siri is almost as dumb as it always has been, but getting replies isn't an issue because all my Homepods have a stable network connection - and aside from that I have zero issues in general with the Homepod / Minis. Sometimes a unit has to be power cycled, but it's very obvious when that has to happen. Generally speaking, it's been just as reliable as Sonos was.

I have been to other people's homes where they complain about very similar things to many in this thread, but this always seems to come down to them not even having the most basic grasp of networking even on a supposedly 'digitally literate' common sense level - and they expect it to work by some sort of fruit magic.

(Also I am the type to say that to your face, so it's actually a miracle I have any IRL friends)

If it's flaky and it's a networked device, guess what - it's very likely your network is flaky.
 
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my neighbor has a 1990 stereo system and I have now just a pair of HomePod minis.
beside the loud volume, there is not difference.
case in point with sound systems played "one of these night" eagles
and both sounded great, clear as every instrument was heard.

not bad for something this size of an orange!
 
MBAir2010 said:
my neighbor has a 1990 stereo system and I have now just a pair of HomePod minis.
beside the loud volume, there is not difference.
case in point with sound systems played "one of these night" eagles
and both sounded great, clear as every instrument was heard.

not bad for something this size of an orange!
Click to expand...

Since Sonos kickstarted the wireless room-filling speaker thing this category has really blown up in terms of how a comparatively tiny thing can actually convincingly fill a room that you wouldn't expect a speaker of the size to manage.

I still find myself being surprised at how good a job the Homepods / Minis do in that respect.
 
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Just my personal opinion, if you are only using 1 or 2 speakers you will not have any issues with the HomePod. And the sound quality for the price can't be beat. However, if you do a multi room setup with 5 speakers like I have, HomePod will start giving issues. I have solid WIFI, no other devices give me issues. I've now completely switched over to SONOS and I am so happy. but the price is much more expensive.
 
jimmysalg said:
I've now completely switched over to SONOS and I am so happy. but the price is much more expensive.
Click to expand...
Do you have Apple Music or something else? How do you control it? The problem with Sonos is that you either exit the Apple ecosystem (i.e. change to something other than Apple Music) or give up voice control.
 
ghanwani said:
Do you have Apple Music or something else? How do you control it? The problem with Sonos is that you either exit the Apple ecosystem (i.e. change to something other than Apple Music) or give up voice control.
Click to expand...
OH NOT AT ALL!!!! Sonos supports Apple Music, Amazon Music, and a bunch of other lesser known services. Additionally they have their own Voice Assistance "Hey Sonos" and it works SOOOO much better than SIRI. Just be advised it's only good to play music (and set timers). And you can tell it what music service to use to play your request. Additionally you can use Alexa if you so wish. Lastly you can use the Sonos App to control all your stuff. And just good to mention Sonos supports airplay so you can use your Apple TV/Mac/iPhone to play to the Sonos speakers
 

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