Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
The HomePod mini is an overdue entry to Apple ’s merchandise furrow , but it still fall curt of being an of the essence product .
Best Prices Today: HomePod mini
Even if the HomePod miniskirt did n’t have a pedigree that includes such beloved Apple products as the iPod miniskirt andMac mini , it still would be in a unmanageable spot . For one , its namesake is one of the uncommon misses in the Tim Cook era . For another , its sizing and scurvy price point puts it in direct rivalry with the ubiquitousAmazon EchoandGoogle Nest Audio .
While the HomePod mini is a much - needed , delinquent entry to Apple ’s product intercellular substance , it ’s improbable to tempt anyone who is n’t already invested in Apple ’s ecosystem . Where Apple ’s other mini production were geared toward switchers put off by the high prices of those mathematical product ’s several siblings , the HomePod mini is merely the speaker Apple should have released first .
As it stands , the HomePod mini palpate like a catch - up equipment that does n’t wreak anything new to the conversation . It reckon great , and it ’s so small you need to pick it up and take it with you . It sounds unspoilt but it ’s fellate off by the larger HomePod . It ’s chintzy but not as cheap as the Echo Dot and Nest Mini . Three years later , the new HomePod once again experience like a starting position .
Petite but frustratingly stationary
The first thing that will gain you about the HomePod miniskirt is , well , how mini it is . It measures just 3.5 inches around and has a smaller footprint than the freshly redesigned Echo Dot ( which , peculiarly enough , is also a sphere ) and Google Nest Mini . It ’s too bad it ’s not a portable Bluetooth speaker because , at roughly the size of a prominent grapefruit , it fits nicely in my hand and feel great to hold .
If you punch the HomePod mini into a baron transcriber that ’s less than 20W , you ’ll get an minacious orange glow .
It ’s extremely well-heeled to set up , provided you have an iPhone or iPad nearby , and you ’ll want a subscription to Apple Music as well , at least for now . While Apple has give up the HomePod software to bring with other medicine services by nonpayment , only Pandora is support for now , but Amazon Music , Spotify , and others should be on the way . When you expect it to play something , the screen at the top lightness up and is very nice but you wo n’t be able-bodied to see it unless you ’re take care directly at it . It ’s also missing an easy way to turn off the mike outside the app .
Keeping with Apple ’s style , the HomePod mini has a like aesthetic to the original HomePod , with a color silver screen at the top and a material - enfold prohibited carapace . Either color will look great on a shelf or heel counter and you ’ll desire to put it in a highly visible spot , though you ’ll also take to devise a design to obscure the electric cord . Like the original HomePod , the 5 - animal foot cord is attached and pretty inflexible , so your placement options are modified .
Compounding things is the other terminal of the electric cord . The HomePod mini ’s cord does n’t have a stopper like the original HomePod . Rather , it ships with Apple ’s bulky 20W USB - 100 power adapter , but any 20W USB - light speed charger will suffice . Anything less than that ( including the power banks I tried as well as a Thunderbolt 3 port on a MacBook ) will render the HomePod useless with an minacious pulsing orange light at the top .
That ’s a shame because the HomePod mini really want to be portable , and not just because of its size . It ’s also very light , and while a battery would easily double or triple its weight , it would still belike be less than two pound with a five- or six - 60 minutes assault and battery . Add a MagSafe dock for quick and soft charging and you ’ve beat one of the best Bluetooth speakers on the market .
The HomePod mini ’s cord is very inflexible .
It seems as though Apple is setting HomePod mini up for GoPod . One of its main features is 360‑degree audio “ that sounds amazing from every angle , ” which would be far more useful if you could put the HomePod mini in the middle of a way . But you ’ll really only be aim 180 - degree phone since your HomePod miniskirt will almost sure as shooting be place against a paries .
Even if you could magically position it in a place where hoi polloi can walk around , that 360 - level sound is markedly different than the original HomePod ’s spacial awareness . Where the larger HomePod “ analyse the acoustic and adjust the sound based on its location … so the entire outer space is fill with rich , well - defined tones , ” the smaller HomePod only promise to “ sound awful from every angle . ”
That ’s a heavy claim to challenge , but I can tell you two things : the original HomePod sounds much good than the miniskirt , and the HomePod mini sounds better than an Echo Dot . The biggest return I have with the miniskirt is bass part . Where the original HomePod shakes the way with deep low - end tones that border on excessive , the HomePod mini put a much majuscule accent on upper mid and presence range so songs sound more trebly than they should . That said , it ’s quite brassy for its size and should n’t struggle to fill up any but the largest of rooms .
But while you could obviously adapt the volume , you ’re stuck with the auditory sensation . Since Apple still does n’t offer a proper counterpoise for the HomePod , there is n’t anything you’re able to do about the degree unless you ’re using it as an AirPlay utterer , and even then , you ’re passing limited . Iwantan equaliser for the HomePod , but I finger like Ineedone for the HomePod mini , especially when listen to bass - heavy rap music or pop music .
Siri still lacks smarts
The other reason to bribe a HomePod miniskirt is as a smart Siri - power speaker . Like Alexa on the Echo Dot or Google Assistant on the Nest Audio , Siri is always at the ready on HomePod miniskirt , waitress for the telltale wake musical phrase , “ Hey , Siri . ” It listens extremely well and usually perked up when I whisper from across the way , which is good because the machine does n’t offer any visual cues that it heard you aside from the top projection screen , which you probably wo n’t be capable to see .
But while Siri ’s smarts have get good in iOS 14 with features like audio handoff , intercommunication system , and personalized day-by-day updates , it ’s still nowhere near as smart and effortless as Alexa or Google Assistant . And it ’s not materially good than Siri was when the original HomePod launched , which is one of its freehanded failings .
The HomePod miniskirt ’s screen is very skillful but you wo n’t see it unless you ’re above it .
The big issue is the lack of impudent devices to interact with it — basically , any plug , switch , light , and camera is trusted to work with Alexa and Google Assistant but probably wo n’t support Siri . My dwelling is fit with gobs of fresh devices and the only single that Siri can talk to are one of my two August lock and my Hue light . So , you wo n’t be able to ask Siri to change the temperature on your Nest Thermostat , or talk to the person who just environ your Ring Doorbell , or control the lamp plug into a Kasa Smart Plug .
HomePod miniskirt is also overlook many of the thing that make the Echo and Google Nest devices so compelling . It ’ll tell you a narration if you take , but it does n’t have anywhere near the program library that Alexa has . It does n’t play games other than simple things like flipping a coin . And while Shortcuts are a gravid mode to automate thing , they require right smart more input and know - how than Alexa ’s skill .
Should you buy a HomePod mini?
Had the HomePod mini make it before the original HomePod — as it believably should have — this would have been a very different review . But knowing how well the HomePod sounds , how gaudy the Echo Dot and Nest Mini are , and how minuscule Siri does compared to the other assistants , it ’s hard to give it a better than an average grade . Apple buff will delight it , but it ’s not going to tempt anyone to jump ship .
The HomePod miniskirt is a great bargain if the price plow you off to the original HomePod .
That said , Apple ’s new speaker system is a firm entry at a good price , but you should wait until the inevitable sales start impinge on Best Buy and Walmart . HomePod miniskirt does the basics very well , looks great , and sound good enough . If you ’re looking for an quotidian music player , weather prognosticator , simple question answerer , and light switch , it ’ll lick a bit honest than one of the super - low - priced choice , specially if you ’re already put in the Apple universe .
At $ 99 , the HomePod miniskirt is credibly flash enough to succeed . But it belike wo n’t make as much noise as Apple hopes it will .
