Top Five Reasons to Buy a HomePod Mini

[LeeW]

I have vouchers for a local store that knocks 150 of the homepod. I was going to try Echo Studio but it's very big. So decided to just try the homepod in place of my ageing Echo Plus. Arrives tonight so will be interesting to see if someone like me, a person who really cares little for or knows about sound quality sees a difference.

I may then add other Homepod minis in the house if it all works out.

 

[Uofmtiger]

my Alexa's are already starting to throw unsolicited ads at me 😂

it's becoming 😂😂😂 at this point

Sadly, at 1:05 AM this morning, my Dot started beeping and the green notifications light came on. I asked it to play it for me and they were rambling on about Bruce Springsteen’s new album and wanted to know if I wanted to hear it. Second time they have sent that “notification” this week. Homepod has never done that... not even at a more acceptable time of day.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Since I am getting the new iPhone mini, I need to get the HomePod mini to complete the mini ecosystem.

 

[LeeW]

Sadly, at 1:05 AM this morning, my Dot started beeping and the green notifications light came on. I asked it to play it for me and they were rambling on about Bruce Springsteen’s new album and wanted to know if I wanted to hear it. Second time they have sent that “notification” this week. Homepod has never done that... not even at a more acceptable time of day.

No idea what you are doing or how you have it set up but I have used Echo since day 1 and never have they done anything like that. At worst they flash without any sound and when I ask 'play notifications' it is to tell me an Amazon delivery is coming that day.

 

[WilliamDu]

I don't subscribe to Apple Music (why should I keep paying for the same music I already own?). Is there a reason to buy a HomePod? If I bought my music on iTunes can I play via HomePod without having an Apple Music subscription?

Sadly, at 1:05 AM this morning, my Dot started beeping and the green notifications light came on. I asked it to play it for me and they were rambling on about Bruce Springsteen’s new album and wanted to know if I wanted to hear it. Second time they have sent that “notification” this week. Homepod has never done that... not even at a more acceptable time of day.

I have never had an ad from any Alexa devices.
I get green light notifications when Amazon deliveries occur only and then only in the late afternoons.
You can Bluetooth your iTunes music on Alexa devices with NO subscription.

 

[I7guy]

...
You can Bluetooth your iTunes music on Alexa devices with NO subscription.

That's the only thing about the echo dot, as I said previously. But then I don't need a subscription to Apple music to play anything on my iphone on my great sounding Homepod either. I don't even have to be on the same network to do it, and can be on LTE to stream on my Homepod.

 

[Uofmtiger]

No idea what you are doing or how you have it set up but I have used Echo since day 1 and never have they done anything like that. At worst they flash without any sound and when I ask 'play notifications' it is to tell me an Amazon delivery is coming that day.

This apparently because I “follow” Bruce. I don’t remember ever following anyone on Amazon, so I don’t know if that got turned on when I ordered a CD in the past or what that means.

I have no idea either, since it is the only time I have gotten something this early in the morning ( other than some sort of reset about a year ago that had it beeping in the middle of the night), so I definitely need to check settings. However, I don’t remember seeing a setting for not bothering me in the middle of the night... I would think they would know that without a settings change.

I always get a sound when I get a notification, which I have never had an issue with until last night. It is a bit annoying that they are using that more often for advertising, though. I got a notification the other day asking if I wanted to order more dog treats ( which I ordered a while back). Never have I had anything similar on Homepod. I am going through the settings today to see if I can turn off these “Reminders”, too.

I am not surprised you haven’t had the issue, yet. Coincidentally, this is the first one I have had at that hour and I have the first Echo Dot. Hopefully, this isn’t a new trend.

( note: I had notifications set to “default”. I am guessing this is where their beeping/ringing came in. I assume this is their default. I changed it to “none” on the device in the bedroom, so hopefully that will do it).

 

[Jessica555]

That's the only thing about the echo dot, as I said previously. But then I don't need a subscription to Apple music to play anything on my iphone on my great sounding Homepod either. I don't even have to be on the same network to do it, and can be on LTE to stream on my Homepod.

It sounds good.

 

[LeadingHeat]

Do you really believe this?
As long as there is power to these devices, the mike is live.
Whoever is on the other end can hear everything in addition to "Hey Siri.
It just doesn't react, just listens and listens and listens.
If you are worried about no one hearing what you say-pull out the plug.

That tin foil hat is squeezing your brain a little too hard I think there buddy

 

[MacBH928]

You are mixing things up. Dictation is not Siri and does not require an internet connection.

Dictate text on iPhone

On iPhone, dictate and type text.

support.apple.com

There is also voice control, which does not require an internet connection.

Use Voice Control on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

With Voice Control, you can navigate and interact with your device using your voice to tap, swipe, type, and more.

support.apple.com

.

Siri requires an internet connection and always has.

you are kind of half right. I went to System Preferences and it said its possible to download 1GB+ files to make dictation offline, so I tried it on my iOS 14 and it said my voice recording will be sent to Apple. You are also correct as it seems with Voice Control but I wonder if it is just as capable as Siri as in accept different forms of sentences. I looked up VoiceControl and it has dictation as part of it and it does not mention anything about sending anything to Apple servers.

I am surprised Apple split those into 3 things instead of just making it all in the Siri feature, as Siri seems to be able to do it all.

Another head scratching issue, is that on iOS14 I can enable "Siri voice" option for text-to-speech-which sounds more like human reading than a computer-but this option is not available on MacOS albeit I am running High Sierra...it might be in newer versions!?

 

[MacBH928]

That tin foil hat is squeezing your brain a little too hard I think there buddy

Amazon’s Alexa Never Stops Listening to You. Should You Worry?

Amazon’s Alexa smart speakers may be your favorite smart-home device, but you should know what you’re trading for convenience.

www.nytimes.com

Of course its always listening, how do you think its responds when you say "Alexa..." ?! the microphone is always on detecting the voice commands.

 

[I7guy]

....
Another head scratching issue, is that on iOS14 I can enable "Siri voice" option for text-to-speech-which sounds more like human reading than a computer-but this option is not available on MacOS albeit I am running High Sierra...it might be in newer versions!?

Really not sure of the answer to last question.

 

[LeadingHeat]

Amazon’s Alexa Never Stops Listening to You. Should You Worry?

Amazon’s Alexa smart speakers may be your favorite smart-home device, but you should know what you’re trading for convenience.

www.nytimes.com

Of course its always listening, how do you think its responds when you say "Alexa..." ?! the microphone is always on detecting the voice commands.

I was responding to your claim that the HomePod mini was always listening. It literally says it only listens once it hears the trigger “hey Siri”. Alexa, sure. I wouldn’t trust one of those homes more than I would a corrupt politician.

 

[ErikGrim]

Sadly, at 1:05 AM this morning, my Dot started beeping and the green notifications light came on. I asked it to play it for me and they were rambling on about Bruce Springsteen’s new album and wanted to know if I wanted to hear it. Second time they have sent that “notification” this week. Homepod has never done that... not even at a more acceptable time of day.

Is this for real?

 

[Uofmtiger]

Is this for real?

Unfortunately, it is for real. As mentioned, I turned off the default sound for the Dot in my bedroom, so if this happens again, I should only get the green light.

This was very unusual behavior...to say the least. Unfortunately, this is a setting you have to change on each individual device.

I still need to figure out how to turn off suggested re-order notifications. While I haven't gotten one in the middle of the night, it is pretty annoying. I like having the notifications on for deliveries, though.

 

[ckuttner]

I’m sorely tempted, for one specific reason: my wife and I like to listen to radio when hanging out or working in the kitchen. We have not been able to find a decent radio tuner that doesn’t get static, and the idea of bringing up either of the two stations we listen to on an iPhone and sending them to our Bluetooth speaker is fine, but more hassle than it’s worth. And if we want audiophile quality, we’re going to our home theater, anyway.
I like the idea of walking into the kitchen in the morning and saying, “Hey, Siri, play my local NPR station” (or allclassical.org) with digital sound quality.
Having the option of finding out how many tablespoons are in a quarter-cup, or the height of Kilimanjaro are sort of low-quality icing on the cake. And knowing I’d have another way to program our Sensi thermostat might be a bit of a plus.
I realize I have the option of an Echo Dot or whatever, but I distrust Apple less than I distrust Amazon with my data. I’d love to see what others think of my awfully limited potential use...

 

[brezz]

My biggest hangup for switching from Echo’s to the HomePod is the lack of universal remote support on HomePod. It may sound trivial but my wife and kids use the Harmony function to turn on/off the TV, etc... on the Echo multiple times a day. If we lost this by changing to HomePod, there might be mutiny in the house! Not sure why more companies haven’t signed up for HomeKit support, would make the HomePod more useful than just a speaker.

Brian

 

[MiamiC70]

My biggest hangup for switching from Echo’s to the HomePod is the lack of universal remote support on HomePod. It may sound trivial but my wife and kids use the Harmony function to turn on/off the TV, etc... on the Echo multiple times a day. If we lost this by changing to HomePod, there might be mutiny in the house! Not sure why more companies haven’t signed up for HomeKit support, would make the HomePod more useful than just a speaker.

Brian

“Hey Siri turn off my Apple TV” 🙄

 

[brezz]

“Hey Siri turn off my Apple TV” 🙄

I use the Echo for regular TV. It works with Harmony Hub. From what I’ve read you can’t get the HI wood to work with Harmony. That’s a big limitation.

 

[subjonas]

If you buy speakers for their sound quality you don't buy these smart toys. You buy real speakers. You buy these "smart" speakers for their ability to do stuff rather than their (lack of) sound quality. I've heard they work pretty good in English. Siri is the only one I'm aware of that even understands Finnish, but it's support is so flaky I've no real interest in paying that much money for a mediocre speaker. I rather skip smart assistants and enjoy music through my Devialets.

Even strictly speaking sound quality, I think Homepods give excellent value per price, especially with frequent $100 off sales. I’m sure Devialets sound significantly better (or at least more powerful), but at 10x the price, I have doubts they have as high of a sound quality per price ratio, and regardless they are beyond the reach of most.