Apple HomePod mini Smart Speaker
Wireless SpeakerProduct Gallery
Product Overview
Apple HomePod mini is a compact smart speaker in the company's HomePod family. It delivers powerful sound performance with the comfort and convenience of a Siri-enabled device for today's smart home experience.
The HomePod mini's rich and detailed sound is produced thanks not only to the full-range driver powered by a neodymium magnet and a pair of force-cancelling passive radiators designed by Apple but also to computational audio capabilities offered by the Apple S5 chip onboard.
The HomePod mini works with Apple Music, podcasts, radio stations from iHeartRadio, radio.com, and TuneIn, etc. Multiple HomePod minis can be paired to work together in perfect sync. The three-mircrophone array listens for "Hey Siri", while a fourth inward-facing microphone helps isolate sound coming from the speaker to improve voice detection when music is playing.
Last but not least, the HomePod mini makes controlling smart home accessories easier than ever with simple voice commands for Siri to turn off the lights, change the temperature, lock the doors, or set a scene. A new Intercom feature offers a quick and easy way for family members to connect with each other at home.
A year after its initial release, Apple introduced three more lively color options for the HomePoad mini without making other changes.
Ratings
What we found
Pros
- Great sound quality
- Computational audio
- Works with Siri and AirPlay 2
Cons
- Doesn't support third-party streaming services
- Lacks a 3.5mm audio jack
What external reviewers found
External score 75%
Pros
- Great audio performance
- Great sound quality
- Excellent build quality
- Great directivity
Cons
- No HomeKit support
- Limited app support
- Not as engaging as bigger speakers
- Lacks low-bass
- Not as dynamic as Amazon Echo
- No support for Apple Music or Tidal
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Price Comparison
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Specifications
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External Reviews
digitaltrends[1]
Reviewer score 74% (normalized by Neofiliac)The HomePod mini is the most affordable home hub for Apple HomeKit devices in the home. It's not as smart or as powerful as some of the other smart speakers out there, but it doesn't need to be because its computational audio, subtle design, and HomeKit home hub functionality make it a logical choice.
Pros
- Powerful computational audio
- Computational audio
- Easy to set up
Cons
- No HomeKit support
- Limited app support
pcmag[2]
Reviewer score 77% (normalized by Neofiliac)Apple's computational audio allows the HomePod mini to get fairly loud for its size and price. At maximum volumes, you get a solid sense of bass depth, but the dynamics are limited to a notable degree. If audio is your top priority, it's not even close to the Amazon Echo.
Pros
- Solid audio performance for its size and price
- Siri and Google Assistant voice control
- DSP can raise bass levels when volume is turned low
Cons
- DSP isn’t as powerful as Amazon’s
rtings[3]
Reviewer score 40% (normalized by Neofiliac)The Apple HomePod mini is passable for music. Its balanced mid-range can reproduce vocals and lead instruments clearly, though higher-frequency noises can sound a bit dark. Unfortunately, there isn't an EQ to help you customize its sound to your liking. Also, it struggles to reproduce low-bass, and it doesn't get very loud.
Pros
- Gets very loud
- Great directivity
- Excellent build quality
- Gets incredibly loud.
- Great built-in support for Siri
Cons
- Lacks low-bass
- No EQ to help you customize its sound to your liking
- Doesn't have a very portable design
- Can't control when it's listening to you
t3[4]
Reviewer score 77% (normalized by Neofiliac)The HomePod mini is the best small speaker you can buy. Voice recognition is built in, so that it will only read your personal stuff out when it's your voice who asks for it. To play audio on it, you can either ask Siri to request songs from Apple Music (or podcasts), or you can actually play any audio from any app to it using AirPlay 2 from Apple devices. More services are coming to Siri – Pandora and Amazon Prime Music, specifically – but no confirmation yet on Spotify.
Pros
- Flexible AirPlay 2 support
- Great sound quality
- Works as a control hub
Cons
- Siri isn’t as good as Google Assistant or Alexa
- No support for Apple Music or Tidal
techhive[5]
Reviewer score 77% (normalized by Neofiliac)The $99 HomePod Mini lacks the impressive driver array of the $300 HomePod. While it's obviously a downgrade compared to the bigger HomePod, the Mini version sounds surprisingly full-bodied and detailed for its size. Purely from a sound perspective, the Nest Audio remains the smart speaker to beat—at least at the $99 price point. But if you're willing to dally with Alexa, there are better values out there.
Pros
- Sleek design
- Great audio quality
- Supports AirPlay 2
Cons
- Doesn’t support third-party music services
techradar[6]
Reviewer score 67% (normalized by Neofiliac)playing phone at the HomePod mini, and a little rumble will tell you the music is now playing on the speaker. To'steal it back', simply repeat the procedure and it'll come off the small HomePod and onto the phone again. Intercom feature enables you to tell Siri via your phone or HomePod to make announcements that are played on other HomePod speakers in your home. It's a little cumbersome to use, as we found ourselves constantly rehearsing our lines to make sure it worked correctly.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Easy to set up and use
Cons
- Siri isn’t as good as Apple’s
tomsguide[7]
Reviewer score 80% (normalized by Neofiliac)Apple's HomeKit is a sneakily good smart home platform, second only to Alexa. While you can set up the HomePod mini to recognize personal requests for up to six people, they all need to have an iPhone. It lacks such Amazon features as Kids+ (FreeTime), which has tons of child-friendly content and lets you monitor what they're doing.
Pros
- Siri and Google Assistant work well together
- Easy to set up and use
- Lots of smart home automation features
Cons
- Doesn’t support Apple’s HomeKit
trustedreviews[8]
Reviewer score 91% (normalized by Neofiliac)The HomePod Mini is not only better-sounding than the Echo Dot, but better sounding than the Amazon Echo. Apple has put in a full-range driver, two bass radiators and an acoustic waveguide that sits at the bottom of the downward-firing speaker. The system is designed to produce 360-degree sound, not because you’ll have the speaker in the middle of the room, but because we tend to move around.
Pros
- Gorgeous design
- Great sound quality
- Great integration with Apple’s Home app
Cons
- Too loud for most rooms
whathifi[9]
Reviewer score 86% (normalized by Neofiliac)From the moment we start playing music, it's clear that the HomePod Mini comfortably outperforms its size and price. It goes much louder than expected – even 75 per cent volume is louder than we imagine most people will regularly want to go in an average-sized living room. There's excellent overall tonal balance and consistency, with no frequencies over-exaggerated.
Pros
- Impressive sound quality
- Intuitive controls
- Impressive battery life
Cons
- Not as engaging as bigger speakers
- Not as dynamic as Amazon Echo
wired[10]
Reviewer score 78% (normalized by Neofiliac)Apple products are designed to be used by Apple people. Because I move in an Apple universe like Ariel under the sea, the HomePod minis were remarkably easy to set up and incorporate into my life. For such a small speaker, it is surprisingly loud. But the upper registers are noticeably more fuzzy and dull than the fourth-generation Echo Dot.
Pros
- Great audio performance
- Easy to set up and use
- Works with Apple Music, Pandora, and Amazon Music
Cons
- Sound isn’t as good as Echo Dot
Also Check
References
- ^ Apple HomePod mini review: Finally, the smart speaker Apple needs. [digitaltrends].
- ^ Apple HomePod mini Review. [pcmag].
- ^ Apple HomePod mini Speaker Review. [rtings].
- ^ Apple HomePod mini review: the best small smart speaker for sound quality. [t3].
- ^ Apple HomePod Mini review: Apple’s $99 smart speaker needs to be either better or cheaper. [techhive].
- ^ Apple HomePod mini review. [techradar].
- ^ Apple HomePod mini review. [tomsguide].
- ^ Apple HomePod Mini Review. [trustedreviews].
- ^ Apple HomePod Mini review. [whathifi].
- ^ Review: Apple HomePod Mini. [wired].
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