Apple - HomePod mini - White

Realistically I would give this like a 4.5 star review. Its not perfect, "Alexa" and "hey google" are probably better androids and the price for the home pod mini is higher than the similar sized product from amazon and google. But in the end, this is a beautiful, clean, reliable and secure device that sounds SIGNIFICANTLY better than the Google home mini and echo dot, like its not even close. I plan to get a couple more and would like to hear how much better stereo pairing the music would be. It doesn't bother me that Siri isn't as smart as the others, but it for sure is the safest and most secure at protecting your privacy. my only dock on this would be the price vs its direct competitors, but to me, the quality and sound more than make up for it. Especially as your turn up the volume, it still sounds great and doesn't dilute like the competitors. I'm also impressed at how lightly I can say "Hey Siri" when the music is loud and she will still hear me. I'm impressed.

I’ve been using Apple products for a good portion of my life. My first college computer was an iMac. About a year ago, I finally made the transition from Android to iOS. From there, I’ve slowly integrated myself into the Apple ecosystem. As an I.T. Technician, I personally enjoy utilizing home automation. However, the cheaper cost of the Google devices lead me to build around them. With increasing security concerns with the likes of Google and Amazon, this HomePod Mini couldn’t have come at a better time. Not only does it sound amazing for its size, it is the perfect product to begin the transition to Apple’s HomeKit. If you are someone dedicated to using Apple devices and are on a budget, like myself. I can’t recommend the Apple HomePod Mini enough.

Incredibly compact and very well built! Well worth the money if you’re looking for a good home assistant and you want to be in the Apple ecosystem. Pros: - Sound quality is absolutely amazing for the size. Honestly impressed with how Apple has done this. - Extremely compact so can be kept very easily on a corner table or desk - Integrated with Siri and HomeKit so it works great as a digital assistant - Very easy to set up, takes seconds to connect on an iPhone, compared to the tedious process required to set up an Alexa device Cons: - On the expensive side compared to an Alexa or Google device (sound quality makes up for it though, miles better than the other two) - Space Grey model comes with a black body and black cable but a white power adapter. Looks a little odd and not very aesthetically pleasing

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 !!

I love the New HomePod mini. It’s just like the main HomePod but just smaller. The sound quality is amazing for the size. Just as loud as the big one. I can’t tell the difference. The quality is just what you expect with Apple. If you don’t want to spend the money for the big HomePod. Then you sure won’t regret getting this small one.

Very easy to setup, looks great on display, sound quality is also amazing, easily pairs with Apple Music and iTunes, just wish it could play sound automations off my phone, I have a NFC setup and have custom sound bytes that play when I scan them and hoped that the automations would play off them as well but sadly it doesn’t, I hope down the road they add it in a update, but besides that I also wish you could play SoundCloud and YouTube off of it but you can’t do that as well which again are all minor things but would be nice down the road in a possible update.

HomePod Mini - Best Sounding?! Dare I say crisp? The HomePod Mini has some of the best sounding audio in a tiny package for $100. It really can’t be beat. Only qualms I had is that you need to have Apple Music and Apple’s line of online services... such as Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple News. You can use Spotify but Apple made it so it’s much more of a hassle to connect. The HomePod Mini isn’t a Bluetooth speaker because it doesn’t use bluetooth. It uses Apple H1 Chip which is like the Bluetooth for only Apple Products. It works really well when connecting to the HomePod. H1 is in the AirPods and that’s why the experience is seamless. Is apple made a soundbar, that would really put them up there with Sony. I make videos. This product is next. I got a YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/techspace27 Video is on Wed of thanksgiving week!

Excellent product for the money. Had a couple un-apple-like issues getting it set up initially, but been going strong ever since. Sound is BIG for the size, but took some adjusting coming down from the full-size HomePod which I since moved to my living room. Obviously the full-size sounds way better, but is triple the price. Great for using for phone calls too. Mixed home with 5 Amazon Echo Dots, and Google WiFi, and Alexa just seems to have the smart home thing down better than Siri, but if you have Apple Music and and iPhone, this product is a no brainer.