Music is “beamin”; HomePod mini review
Big sound and a big brain in a mini form factor, that’s the sales pitch for Apple’s latest smart speaker, the HomePod mini. Does the tiny speaker live up to these claims though?
When Apple entered into the smart speaker market with the launch of the original HomePod in 2018, it wasn’t the big hit the Cupertino company hoped it would be. While the HomePod produced outstanding sound, its smart speaker capabilities weren’t up to par with the competition. Also, the competition didn’t sleep with Amazon as well as Google constantly introducing new smart speaker models, varying in sizes, pricing and capabilities.
While the competition was pumping out new models of smart speakers, Apple took their time and took almost 3 years to come out with an addition to their HomePod lineup. So, how good is the addition, the HomePod mini, after all?
Design and form factor
The first time you hold the HomePod mini in your hands, the small size is astonishing. Even though it is accurately labeled as a small speaker, you aren’t really prepared for how little it really is. However, this isn’t a bad thing per se.
What isn’t a surprise, though, is the design itself. It has the same mesh that also cocooned the original HomePod. According to Apple, it is engineered to be “transparent” for sound to pass through while still providing a look that pleases interior design enthusiasts. You’ll also find a small touchscreen on top of the small black ball that lets you control the volume or summon Siri.
The overall design is sleek, and it really fits into almost any environment without being intrusive. Another thing that helps with the subtle appearance is the availability of the two colorways, black and white. Coming in the same color as your HomePod mini is the braided power cable that isn’t detachable. However, the cable is sturdy and of high quality.
Features
Apple teased many different features in their presentation of the HomePod mini, and while some seemed useful, others almost seemed outlandish. However, the simple conclusion is that the more you are in the Apple ecosystem and the more HomePod devices you have, the more and the better the features of the HomePod mini are.
Personally, just having one HomePod mini and no other HomePod speaker renders the intercom feature useless. Even though it seemed cool in the keynote and makes for good advertising material, I doubt that most people can benefit from this feature because they don’t have multiple HomePod devices.
“People who are rooted firmly in the Apple ecosystem that want good sound quality in a small size form factor with smart home capabilities will love the HomePod mini.
However, a feature that also makes for excellent advertising material that I actually use all the time is the handoff feature. If you get close to the HomePod mini with your iPhone, you can “beam”/ hand off your music to it. It also works in the reverse direction, and there is hardly any latency. While this feature may seem small, it brings a ton of convenience and a little touch of magic to the whole interaction with the HomePod mini.
The smart speaker’s additional features include Siri and everything Siri can do, from answering simple questions to controlling your smart home lights if they are available. All this works fine and as expected. However, even though I have never tried a product of the Alexa or Google Home family, I’d wager that those assistants can do it as well as Siri can or even better.
Sound
This is where the HomePod mini really follows in the footsteps of the original HomePod. Everyone who once heard the sound coming from a HomePod must admit that the sound was great even though it had relatively poor smart capabilities. This is where the HomePod mini follows suit. For its size, it delivers more than decent sound and gets formidably loud for its size.
Inside the HomePod mini is Apple’s S5 chip, and it is the brain of the small speaker. Not only is it responsible for the Siri interactions, but it also is used to deliver computational Audio. According to Apple’s marketing material, this is one reason why the HomePod mini sounds great.
However, sound is a highly subjective matter, and everyone has a different opinion on what good sound is. In my opinion, the HomePod mini produces a sound that is quite comparable to that of an UE Boom 2. While this might not seem like much, it gets impressive when you think about how small the HomePod mini is.
Using a HomePod mini
My main reason for buying a HomePod mini was the need for a small speaker that sits up on my desk, produces formidable sound, and is convenient to use with all my Apple devices. While several speakers fulfill those criteria, my weakness for Apple products is what was the final point in my decision.
It is important to note that my main criteria was sound and not the “smartness” of a speaker. Hence my primary use case is listening to music and podcasts via the ball-like speaker.
With that in mind, I wasn’t disappointed. The sound, as previously explained, is formidable. It can’t produce a richness in sound like a bigger speaker can. However, for its size, it is quite impressive. Furthermore, the convenience it provides is a game-changer. Previously I used an UE Boom 2 for a similar task, and while the UE Boom has significant advantages over the HomePod mini, the sound quality isn’t one. Also, it gets outright smoked by the convenience of the HomePod mini. Turning on and pairing the device that should provide music is a thing of the past, as are issues with phone calls or problems with running out of battery.
Of course, the HomePod mini does not provide the flexibility of the UE Boom 2, nor does it have an app where you can tweak EQ settings and alike. However, at the end of the day, in my personal use case, the HomePod mini currently fits better into my setup than the UE Boom 2, and this isn’t primarily due to the smart features.
Verdict
If you are looking for a small smart speaker that can produce formidable sound at a decent price point and provides some smart capabilities, the HomePod mini is excellent. However, the benefit of convenience is directly linked to your number of Apple devices and integration into the ecosystem. Furthermore, if your primary need is a smart speaker that controls your smart home, then I would heavily advise you to look into the other products that aren’t from Apple, as those provide better value for your money in this use case.
So, after all, one can say that the HomePod mini caters to a quite specific need of people: People who are rooted firmly in the Apple ecosystem that want good sound quality in a small size form factor with smart home capabilities. However, if this description doesn’t fit you, you should probably go for another product.
As always, stay safe
Raffael
