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1. You can buy 2-3 Echo dots for the same price. 5 right now if you go with the previous gen.
2. Alexa has supported this for years.
3. Much, much more smart products support Alexa than Homekit, and cost generally half as much.
4. Yeah Alexa has also supported this for two years now.
5. Why do I need this? It's a cute gimmick but other than that I can continue playback on my Alexa devices with a voice command.

So let's see: close to whole home coverage for the price of one Homepod Mini thanks to the Best Buy sale going on right now, the same if not better functionality in regards to communication and control of smart devices around the home, easy stereo pairing that improves sound quality dramatically with minimal effort and supports ALL music streaming services including Apple's? Sorry, but no. Apple needs to try a lot harder and compromise on their ridiculous price margins a bit more before I'd ever consider abandoning my Echos for HomePods, Mini or otherwise.
And yet...I've had Echo dots for years now...find them to be crap, and unimpressive, and looking to get Home Pod mini now.
 
Really interested in the intercom feature. But I don't quite understand it. Does it require the homepod itself? Apple's keynote mentioned how the message can go to Apple watch and Airpods, so will it work if it's iPhone to iPhone? I mean obviously I can just make a phone call, but I'm assuming it works with the family group in iCloud for Apple's system to recognize to whom it should blast the message, right? So the device shouldn't matter?

Or is it some artificial software feature just for the HomePod mini?

I tested in last night as I have a couple of homepods downstairs and two upstairs. It works pretty well. you have to address the HomePod at the moment but it will be better when they enable it on iOS devices.
 
... you don't think Apple is listening, despite being busted last year for doing just that?
First they said Siri doesn't record ANYTHING, then they said Siri only records ACTIVE requests for quality assurance, then they said their iOS API's prevented other apps from listening in without notifying you. Well they lied, they lied again after getting caught lying the first time, and last week I was presented with ads for rotary sushi restaurants on four separate apps that were not running at that time an hour after mentioning it in a phone conversation. I HATE sushi, I haven't discussed, searched for or even thought about sushi let alone restaurants that serve it rotary style in years, which is how that topic came up in conversation as I was discussing how a place that used to be popular in high school was shutting down because of dropping sales blamed on the Rona. But please, Apple, tell me again how Siri and iOS protect my "privacy."

Alexa devices have a hard button on the top to mute their mics completely. I don't see that functionality anywhere on the HomePod line, hardware or software based. If you're placing a a smart speaker in your home, you need to accept that your conversations are going to be recorded and used for marketing purposes etc. If you cannot abide this, don't get a smart speaker, but at least don't kid yourself into thinking Apple is any different than Amazon in regards to this issue because they've already lied a couple times about it.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/28/apple-apologizes-for-listening-to-siri-conversations.html
That folks didn't read, doesn't mean Apple lied. And Apple didn't lie again. And Siri is not used for market purposes as I have never had ads presented for queries that I've made. My anecdotal opinion vs another.

A lot has changed since then and the link you posted, and even then it wasn't an issue. There is an option for opting in to improve Siri and the TOS details the information. As with Alexa, Siri requests can be deleted from Apple servers from your phone.

A mute button isn't that useful, if you need to walk over to the device to unmute it, or open an app to unmute it. That Apple has built a system that protects our privacy, means a mute button is moot and the device is useful 100% of the time.
 
It's a super low power standard to be used by smart home devices. It's meant to be the successor to zigbee (which is currently what stuff like Phillips Hue and Ikea Tradfrii use).

Essentially, when devices (bulbs, switches) start moving to Thread - the homepod will be able to function as a hub, removing the need to buy a Hue hub or Ikea Hub or whatever. Also, you're removing one device in the chain so instead of HomeKit Hub > Hue Bridge > Lightbulb you are just going straight Homekit Hub > Lightbulb

Oh wow, that really is convenient!

Thanks for the clear explanation!
 
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... you don't think Apple is listening, despite being busted last year for doing just that?
First they said Siri doesn't record ANYTHING, then they said Siri only records ACTIVE requests for quality assurance, then they said their iOS API's prevented other apps from listening in without notifying you. Well they lied, they lied again after getting caught lying the first time, and last week I was presented with ads for rotary sushi restaurants on four separate apps that were not running at that time an hour after mentioning it in a phone conversation. I HATE sushi, I haven't discussed, searched for or even thought about sushi let alone restaurants that serve it rotary style in years, which is how that topic came up in conversation as I was discussing how a place that used to be popular in high school was shutting down because of dropping sales blamed on the Rona. But please, Apple, tell me again how Siri and iOS protect my "privacy."


As much as I hear anecdotal stories on this, from all the people who've tried to purposefully reproduce it - I don't think anyone has provably done it. The test I've seen people try is where they choose a truly random subject or product, of which they can be 100% sure they've never searched, then they actively avoid searching for it while also actively talk about while they're around various smart devices (phones, speakers, etc).

There is obviously a chance you're right, but this is also something that your could easily test and prove in a controlled way - so the fact that all we have is anecdotes from people accepting their memory as being 100% accurate sways me in the other direction.
 
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Top 1 reason not to buy it: Not available in your country.

I actually found this pretty interesting and though about getting it for the bedroom, but apparently I don’t live the right place to be able to buy one.

I agree I live in The Netherlands which uses the same power socket as Germany and I have drive 2 hrs to an apple store in Germany if I want to buy it.

I can only assume the reason for this is SIRI and Dutch language which is a pain since a) I dont speak dutch I am an expat who speaks English... Well Australian English.

I already have 2 of the original HomePods (purchased in Germany) setup as a stereo pair for with my AppleTV4k and it works great.. Finally have the option now to choose Default Audio but it cant see my HomePods to select them which again is strange since its currently selected manually as the source and I can hear the audio perfectly. So I can only assume this is a Dutch thing since Siri on my AppleTV is disabled by the OS because I use the Dutch App Store but it works perfectly as English on the HomePods
 
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I’m buying two of these to use as a surround sound system for my living room Apple TV - The software update for the HomePod now allows you to pair these to your Apple TV to use as the default sound system which is definitely awesome! I think Apple is going to sell a lot of these this year for Christmas time!

For that, you’re better off buying HomePods because they support Home Theater mode which the mini does not. I’m also assuming the mini will lack the bass to make a decent home theater setup. I went through a bunch of wireless speakers and I can confidently recommend HP over many of the more expensive options out there.
 
I'm considering this one. Although I didn't realize it was so much tinier compared to the HomePod. Of course I knew it was smaller, but the HomePod itself isn't very big. I don't have a HomePod yet, but I have to wonder how good the audio quality is on this. I might get one or two of these to put on the bar between my kitchen/living room and maybe one for the bedroom, and maybe the new HomePod after it comes out and goes on sale for my studio at some point down the road. Maybe if this one is good enough I'll just get one more of the Mini.
 
I think the little HomePod is cute, and I might end up with 1 or 4 someday... But its "$99 price" is not a reason to buy. That's still $99 more than not buying one, which is $0.

Yeah, part of the pitch from Apple is the multi-room stuff that can be done. They should have had a 3 for $199 combo pack or something and gotten a bunch of them into everyones home. The whole home speaker/assistant is a super crowded market, and Apple is playing catch up. I'm all in on the Apple ecosystem and would like to have a few of these, but don't want to spend $300 for the privilege.
 
When do you think we will get to read some reviews of the sound quality?

How early do Apple usually send samples out to the major review websites.?
 
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I’m buying two of these to use as a surround sound system for my living room Apple TV - The software update for the HomePod now allows you to pair these to your Apple TV to use as the default sound system which is definitely awesome!
You can pair two of the full-sized HomePods to use for simulated surround sound on the Apple TV. The best you can do with a pair of HomePod minis is to pair the two of them to the TV as a stereo pair. Not the same experience.
 
You don't know that. I wouldn't be surprised if e.g. Sonos One sounds better than the HomePod Mini - it's competing well with the normal HomePod.
I would be quite surprised if the HomePod mini sounds as good as a Sonos One, given that the one has a larger mid-woofer and a separate tweeter, while the HomePod mini has a single smaller full-range driver.
 
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I’m buying two of these to use as a surround sound system for my living room Apple TV - The software update for the HomePod now allows you to pair these to your Apple TV to use as the default sound system which is definitely awesome! I think Apple is going to sell a lot of these this year for Christmas time!

---
I don't believe you can pair the HomePod mini's to your 4K AppleTV box, just the HomePod (bigger) ones can be paired to the 4K ATV box. Please check and confirm. Otherwise, I agree these will sell like hotcakes (not even sure how will hotcakes sell though). :)
 
I'm not following. Speakers are speakers. If you already have one smart speaker (HomePod) why would you buy two more tiny ones just to use them as rear surrounds?
That’s not a true statement at all. I have 13 speakers in my home theater pushing over 2000 watts rms total. And it sounds way better than my upstairs sound bar.
 
I think the little HomePod is cute, and I might end up with 1 or 4 someday... But its "$99 price" is not a reason to buy. That's still $99 more than not buying one, which is $0.
Yeah that first point kind of disturbs me... reeks of brainwashing... of "c word" brainwashing. (...it's an economic system but I fear being modded for just bringing it up.. starts with c, rhymes with "schism" ...)
 
... you don't think Apple is listening, despite being busted last year for doing just that?
First they said Siri doesn't record ANYTHING, then they said Siri only records ACTIVE requests for quality assurance, then they said their iOS API's prevented other apps from listening in without notifying you. Well they lied, they lied again after getting caught lying the first time, and last week I was presented with ads for rotary sushi restaurants on four separate apps that were not running at that time an hour after mentioning it in a phone conversation. I HATE sushi, I haven't discussed, searched for or even thought about sushi let alone restaurants that serve it rotary style in years, which is how that topic came up in conversation as I was discussing how a place that used to be popular in high school was shutting down because of dropping sales blamed on the Rona. But please, Apple, tell me again how Siri and iOS protect my "privacy."

Alexa devices have a hard button on the top to mute their mics completely. I don't see that functionality anywhere on the HomePod line, hardware or software based. If you're placing a a smart speaker in your home, you need to accept that your conversations are going to be recorded and used for marketing purposes etc. If you cannot abide this, don't get a smart speaker, but at least don't kid yourself into thinking Apple is any different than Amazon in regards to this issue because they've already lied a couple times about it.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/28/apple-apologizes-for-listening-to-siri-conversations.html

That article mentions the things they heard were from Siri activations, i.e. active requests. So no, Apple didn't lie. Your conclusion is based on assertions that have not been proven.
 
I have mostly Apple devices and I still struggle to see why I would pick this over the Nest Audio. It's the same price, and Google has the better voice assistant by far. Unless this somehow blows the Nest Audio out of the water in sound quality, Apple may still have a tough fight on their hands.
 
It's a super low power standard to be used by smart home devices. It's meant to be the successor to zigbee (which is currently what stuff like Phillips Hue and Ikea Tradfrii use).

Essentially, when devices (bulbs, switches) start moving to Thread - the homepod will be able to function as a hub, removing the need to buy a Hue hub or Ikea Hub or whatever. Also, you're removing one device in the chain so instead of HomeKit Hub > Hue Bridge > Lightbulb you are just going straight Homekit Hub > Lightbulb
btw... do you know if the current Apple TV also supports this? ... I've been wanting to upgrade my Apple TV 3, but if this is coming then I will probably wait.
 
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