- I'm Andru Edwards.
You're watching Gear Live
and these are the new white and space gray HomePod minis.
Apple says that despite their small size
they pack a punch when it comes to sound
and they send some over for review,
so let's check them out.
The HomePod mini was announced a few weeks ago
alongside the iPhone 12
and iPhone 12 pro lines of smartphones.
It's a smaller Siri enabled smart speaker
when compared to the standard home pod
with a much smaller price tag to match.
Before we jump in, this is a very busy quarter for Apple.
They've got a bunch of products dropping
and I'm covering all of them here on the channel.
So be sure to hit that subscribe button
so you don't miss anything.
Oh, by the way, big, welcome to everyone
who came over to the channel from Reddit.
I've been seeing a lot of you guys in the comments
letting me know that that's where you found me.
So if you're one of those viewers, welcome to the channel.
Now I've had a few of these HomePod mini speakers here
for just over two weeks.
And I've used them pretty extensively to test out
all the functionality.
Now, as a point of reference, I consider myself to be
an audio file.
I have a 7.2 .6 Dolby Atmos surround set up in my TV area.
And I own 22 different Sono speakers
eight of which are split between two, 5.1 surround setups
in other rooms.
I also own eight standard home pods
and I've been a fan of them since Apple first released them.
I mean obviously, otherwise I wouldn't have purchased
eight of them.
So to start I need to tell you about what surprised me most
about the HomePod mini and that would be the sound quality.
And now I have to be honest right off the bat.
When I saw the announcement of the HomePod mini
I figured, okay, a tiny HomePod at a smaller price.
They'll compromise on sound quality
but get the HomePodinto more homes.
Good for Apple, but probably not for me because I want
great sound out of my speakers, but then Apple sends these
over for review and I set them up and play the first track.
And I was instantly blown away.
I had the whole pod mini placed one shelf
below a standard home pod.
And I actually thought that I sent the music
to the wrong device for a second.
The size and price difference of the HomePod mini
when compared to the standard HomePod does not equal
the difference in sound.
Apple is getting way better sound quality
out of the HomePod mini
than I think just about anyone expected.
And what might be most surprising is that
when you turn the HomePod mini all the way up
even at full volume, the music sounds rich,
the base is full and there just isn't any distortion.
Now Apple has been leading the game when it comes
to computational audio and its devices for a few years now.
And what they've done with the HomePod mini
is right up there with the witchcraft
that is spatial audio on the AirPods.
All right, up next, let's talk about this design.
On the outside of the HomePod mini is covered
in a seamless mesh fabric that doesn't interfere
with the acoustics of the device.
And you can either get it in space, gray or white.
At the top you'll find the touch surface
which allows you to tap the volume control areas
tapping hold for Siri and control music playback.
There's also a permanently attached cable
with a USB-C connector at the end which you plug
into the included 20 watt Apple power adapter.
It's 3.3 inches tall so it can be placed
just about anywhere.
Now that's the outside but it's what Apple did
on the inside that sets the HomePod mini apart.
It starts with a custom full range driver
and dual force canceling passive radiators
designed for high output and low distortion.
Then there's the acoustic wave guide at the bottom
of the HomePod mini, which channels sound down
and out giving it a 360 degree audio experience.
Powering everything is the Apple S5 shape
which is the same system on a chip found
in the Apple watch series five.
Apple uses this to process
the computational audio algorithms,
which it does over 180 times per second.
And it also adjust dynamic range, optimizes loudness
and predicts movement of the driver and passive radiators
in real time.
It's a speaker that isn't just playing music
but that knows how that music is actually being played
and how the hardware itself is being used.
Now, while the whole pod mini is a very capable speaker
for listening to music and other media like podcasts,
it can do a whole lot more.
For example you can use them as the base of your smart home.
The HomePod mini is actually the
least expensive home kit hub that Apple sells.
You can also use an Apple TV, iPad, or standard home pod
as your home kit hub but with the release
of the HomePod mini Apple has lowered the barrier of entry.
The HomePod mini has four microphones built in
three are used so that it can hear your Siri commands
from anywhere in a room with the fourth used
for echo cancellation.
So Siri can hear you even if the room is noisy,
or if the HomePod mini itself is playing music
at a loud volume.
Of course you can use voice commands
to control individual accessories.
And by the way, Siri will recognize the individual voices
of the members of your household.
You can do things like turning off the light
or changing the temperature on your smart thermostat.
You can also set up scenes and shortcuts
that allow you to speak a command to the HomePod mini
that has it do several things at once.
For example, when I tell Siri good night,
it turns off all the lights in the house,
locks all four doors if any of them are unlocked,
closes the garage door, if it was left open.
Sets the temperature to my preference for sleeping,
closes the blinds and turns off my home kit TVs.
Now that's a lot of running around
that I no longer need to do.
And it also gives me peace of mind
that nothing has been forgotten before I go to sleep.
Another command that I've been using over the past
couple of weeks with this Nanoleaf Essential
smart light bulb is letting my wife know
when I'm I'm recording a video.
So just tell Siri that I'm recording
and immediately the light turns on and glows red,
giving her a visual cue.
When I'm finished, I tell Siri that I'm done recording,
and then the light turns off.
Another example, just this morning,
I couldn't find where I put my iPhone.
So I just asked the HomePod mini where it was.
It recognized my voice and then told me that
my iPhone 12 pro max was nearby
and then proceeded to make it chime so I can go grab it.
Now, even better as a home hub, the HomePod mini
gives you access to your home kit devices and accessories
even when you're away from home, just open the home app
on your iPhone or Mac, and you can check the status
of your devices and control them remotely.
The new Intercom feature was just released
and allows you to use a HomePod or HomePod mini
as a way to communicate
with other members of your household.
You can send messages from one HomePod to another,
or send a message to multiple rooms and devices
throughout the home.
Even cooler your other iOS devices can get in on the action.
So Intercom messages can also be sent
and received from your iPhone, iPad, Apple watch,
air pods and even CarPlay.
Next let's talk about the HomePod minis
additional audio features.
These are just a few more cool things that you can do
with the HomePod mini that make it more
than just a small speaker that sits on your counter.
So first there's whole home multi-room audio.
If you have home pods or HomePod minis in multiple rooms
you can have them play the same game music perfectly
in sync with each other.
You can do this from one of your Apple devices
or you can just ask Siri to play something
and tell her what rooms to play it in.
It can even add in other airplay
two enabled speakers and TVs.
Now, of course you can have different things
playing in different rooms as well
making the HomePod mini even right more versatile.
Now taking things to the next level.
You can also take two HomePod mini speakers in same room
and create a stereo pair.
In this mode, one speaker handles the left channel
and the other handles right giving you a wider
and more immersive sound stage.
You get even richer sounds, deeper base
along with two times the volume.
But we're not stopping there the next level after that
is using a pair of HomePod mini speakers with an Apple TV.
Now in this mode, you have the same stereo pair of benefits
that I just mentioned with the addition
of being able to use them to play immersive sound
from your TV shows, movies, and games
that you play from your Apple TV.
Then there's handoff.
You just bring your iPhone close to the HomePod mini
and your music, podcast, or even phone calls
will instantly move over and start playing from there.
Later this year Apple will be making this feature
even more rich with the power
of the U1 ultra wide band chip,
providing visual, audible and haptic effects
when you use handoff.
And now to me, that sounds super cool
but I just can't imagine what that's gonna feel like.
So hopefully that feature drops suit.
Then you can also bring your phone
near the HomePod mini when nothing is playing
to get a list of personalized suggestions
for what to listen to.
And anyone in the home can see and control what's playing
on a HomePod by bringing their iPhone next to it.
Now I can go on and on about the HomePod mini
but I wanna talk about what may be the most important part
of the equation here for a lot of people that being price.
With the original home pod, the one thing I heard
from viewers and followers on social media
more than anything else was that they felt
it was outside of their budget at the $349 launch price
which has since been lowered it to 299.
However, with the HomePod mini Apple now has a $99
space saving great sounding smart speaker
that matches almost 100% with the larger home pod
feature for feature.
Now the HomePod mini doesn't get
the spatial awareness feature of the larger home pod
nor does it get the Adobe Atmos support with Apple TV 4K.
But when it comes to everything else, it's hard not to love
the HomePod mini and the very fair $99 price point.
The HomePod mini is available for pre-order right now.
If you pre-ordered I think you're gonna be very pleased
when you start using it.
But now I wanna hear from you.
What do you think of the HomePod mini?
Did you order any, are you already a HomePod user?
Let me know down in the comments below
and I will meet you there for further discussion.
As I mentioned, I'm gonna have even more
on Apple's fall releases coming up here on the channel.
The HomePod is just one of many.
This is a very busy quarter for Apple.
Be sure to hit that subscribe button down below
so you don't miss anything.
Of course we'll have even more on the HomePod mini
and other Apple devices coming up on Geared Up.
The other position where I do each week
with John Rettinger where we cover the latest in tech,
gadgets and games.
Just search for Geared Up at your favorite podcast app
or podcast player, if you wanna listen.
Until next time, thank you so much
for watching as always guys.
I appreciate your support.
I'm Andru Edwards, and I will catch you in the next video.