Apple - HomePod mini - Space Gray

I enjoy being in the apple eco system, having these HomePods are a blessing. Sound quality is really good for these small speaker. Don’t expect these to have crazy loud sounds like a sub bar or surround sound home theater. These are minimal speakers with great mids and high sounds for the price. I have bought 2 of them, and connected them across my room. It sounds like the action is happening around me, then from the sounds coming from the tv in front of me. I will say they do sometimes lose sync with my Apple TV or Wi-Fi and the sounds is off sync. I don’t know if its updating or i just need to reset them. I usually unplug it from the wall outlet and let it reboot and it’ll end up, syncing up with my Apple TV. Ifs its just one off sync, then it’ll sync up with the other one that’s playing.

I am writing this review in hopes this helps others thinking to buy them. This review is for 2 HomePod mini stereo paired. I bought one black and one white. They have to be paired in the home app on an iPhone and then updated separately. This is a pain, but be patient. Once paired, you can use with airplay. I personally just use them as a pair of speakers for my Mac mini. You can use airplay, or actually use as the audio output. I have issues with one speaker not working while the output, always works as airplay. You cannot use the EQ in airplay, only as output. Sometimes there is a gap in seamless tracks, sometimes there isn't. But all in all, I am very pleased with them. They sound great. I can use with all my apple devices. I do not use Siri, but it is possible. There is an intercom I also do not use. It is not as simple as bluetooth speakers. They do not charge, but do require a USB-c power block (included, whew). My Mac mini would not power them despite having 4 usb-c jacks. Music and movies sound great. 360 sound. I used to have the JBL BT speaker, but it died. I am not mad I replaced it with these. There are also stands that I recommend for cable management.

I had my smart home running with Google assistant before. I switch to Home pod mini looking for the security features that comes with Apple OS and the integration with my others apple devices. I have to say that in that purpose works very well. I really enjoy how you can extend you iPhone messages, calls, etc to the home minis. I like how the music sounds on it, but, I miss some features that I had when I used Google assistant such as: Siri stop to hearing you after your request, then you have to repeat Hey Siri many times. When you have your hands busy and ask Siri something, the answers are sent to your iPhone, instead to be told to you as you was expecting. You can only use Apple Music with them, no Spotify or Youtube, or other app. I really hope Apple continues improving the software and add this capabilities.

If you’re in the Apple ecosystem, a HomePod mini is a nice addition. It’s small, looks good, sounds pretty decent, and overall is useful. My main issues with this device: it has a dumbed-down way of setting up that is highly frustrating. It grabs your network from your setup device (my iPhone). So far, so good. But I live in an apartment, with lots of Wi-Fi networks really closeby. I have Xfinity, with my own named network. But I’ve also loaded the profile for the Xfinity hotspots on my phone so I can access them when out and about. Now, there are many other Xfinity customers around me, many of whom have their hotspot turned on. The HomePod grabs the profile for the Xfinity Wi-Fi network from my phone. Now, if my own network hiccups for whatever reason, it loves to slide onto one of these other networks. Then, I get “I’m having trouble connecting to the internet” and “This is taking longer than normal. Please open the Home app and connect me to the internet.” Even more annoying “Hey Siri, set an alarm for 8 am,” which results in “I’m sorry, you must be on the same network to manage alarms.” If I go to the Home app, select the HomePod, it will show it as on another network. Or on my network, but I still get these errors. I think it likes to hop between the dozen available in the area. But there is no way to access any kind of network selection or exclusion list in Home, and there’s no actual interface on the device. And you think Siri can help with that? No, Siri cannot. I’ve noticed that Siri has become less and less intelligent over the years. When Siri first came out - as an independent app that I had on my iPhone 3GS, I could ask Siri to “make me dinner reservations for 2 tomorrow night at SPQR” and it would return “a table for two is available at 6:45 pm and 9:30 p.m, which would you like?” “9:30 pm” “ Ok, you have reservations for 2 at 9:30 pm tomorrow at SPQR in San Francisco.” Good luck getting that kind of assistance anytime since. As you must interface with the HomePod primarily by verbal commands, Siri willl likely be a source of frustration. Commands that work one day will not work the next. Siri does a lot of time “thinking” and “sorry.”

Having purchased a pair of Home Pods on on launch day from Best Buy (at the $349 price) I've been a long-time fan of the smart speaker category. It wasn't long before my Google Home and Amazon Echos became paperweights. This HomePod mini at a $99 price point makes for the perfect stocking stuffer or even primary gift. In fact it does some things even better than the original. Sound quality is amazing, particular when paired with another for left/right Stereo. Even solo, they produce surprisingly full volume from a small sphere. Siri still trails the other smart assistance, and sends me to my phone more than I care to admit, but the utility of these are amazing. Adding them to rooms in your house makes your abode that much more accessible. Also cool is the ability to schedule or add events to play specific music or playlist based on a trigger (Wake up event, bed time chime, sunrise, sunset, etc. ). We used an Eve outlet to turn on Christmas tree, so "Siri, Christmas time" turned it on, dimmed other (Lutron Caseta) lights, and started playing Christmas Music throughout the house. My wife and I purchased a dozen of these between BB and Apple, mostly as gifts. The responses have been overwhelmingly positive, especially among those who's only other Apple device is an iPhone, thus making this an excellent gateway entry expanding usage on the ecosystem. The new to iOS 14 feature for HomePod mini has to be the INTERCOM. With it you can use your iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or other HomePod to communicate with Mini's in other rooms. "Hey Siri, intercom, We're starting the movie", or "has anyone taken the dogs out?". Your voice is then played either through the HomePods and mini's in every room, specific rooms, or just a floor (based on the room and floor you select upon setup) Family members then "reply, I did, got it" or whatever. This sure beats the 70s built-in wall units of yesteryear. Additionally the new Mini sports Thread Mesh Networking protocol, so the more Thread devices you add, the more redundant, and wider your mesh network becomes. We're also starting to see other manufactures support Thread, namely $20 Nanoleaf interactive color light bulbs. PROS +compact cute WAF wife-acceptance factor +surprising sound quality +cool factor adds tech to every room +Whole-house (floor, or room) Intercom is great +Thread Mesh Networking future proofs expanded functionality +magic price point +Apple Music and playlist integration CONS -only big brother model sports Dolby Atmos -would love to see a $179 / 2-pack for stereo CONCLUSION This product might be one of Apple's more successful sleeper hits, if the Reddit /Homepod forum is to be believed. Countless new users RAVE about sound quality, and then are later ingratiated with other features they didn't know it could do. Recommend : BUY !!

Amazing sounding little speaker and the simplicity setup process it is a great addition to my apple HomeKit and thread technology does work much faster then wifi & Bluetooth smart home products and looking forward to the future additions that continue to be a addition to the apple eco environment

Great speaker, easy to set up with an iPhone and use in our bedroom with another homepod mini on both of our side nightstands for close up sound with an Apple TV. Paired it with my single Sonos One too

This is a great dining room speaker. We use it every night. The intercom feature is very nice and useful. We also use the HomePod as home hub for our security cameras and lights. If you want to have a HomeKit eco system for your home, a HomePod is a must.