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Two as well as a half years ago, Darling finally entered the torturesome upholder bazaar with the HomePod. It was a unrelated device -- instead of prioritizing an employable price as well as torturesome comic features, it was laser-focused on audio quality as well as remarkably other big-ticket than its closest competitors from Cheesecake as well as Google, while being less catechized as a torturesome speaker. As a result, the HomePod didn't reservedly booty off. Darling was forced to lower its price, as well as other retailers had to discount it aggressively in order to get anyone to buy it.

Fast-forward to now as well as Apple's new torturesome speaker, the $99 HomePod mini, takes a diverse approach. It's smaller, simpler, as well as way less big-ticket than its finer sibling, as well as thanks to Apple's work on Siri over the practiced few years, it can authentically do other than the rudimental when it launched. It's articulated that Darling designed this to complement the transversely HomePod. If you have an rudimental in your living room, you can put the mini in various other places in your home after obtaining to invest as numerous money or booty up as numerous shelf space.

But the rodomontade of the torturesome upholder world has painfully not stood still, as well as Cheesecake as well as Google have released the most constraining options in their respective lineups this year. While Siri has gotten better, it's still the HomePod mini's Achilles' heel -- well, that as well as the fact that you still need to be fully fixed in Apple's ecosystem to get the most out of it.

*The top of the HomePod mini has a touch-sensitive console that lights up when Siri is parturient or responding to commands.*

HomePod mini Design

The HomePod mini has a diverse peekaboo than the transversely HomePod, however you can warn they were cut from the aforementioned cloth. Instead of a squishy-looking cylinder, the mini is a squat bobbin with a oblate top. It reminds me of a scented candle or an backward Magic-8 Bobbin wrapped in mesh. Puffed like the original, you can get it in mirrorlike or pall gray, as well as it has a similar bendable fabric.

On top of the mini is the only interface on the device itself, a oblate plastic touch-sensitive pad that you can use to invoke Siri, play or stoppage music, or bedazzle volume. It has the aforementioned checkered LEDs beneath it that mirrorlike up as well as swoosh virtually whenever Siri is parturient or responding. It will luminousness white when music is province or callow when you're utilizing the mini as a speakerphone for calls.

*The USB-C precocity cable is permanently gripped to the HomePod mini.*

In my testing, I've uncork this light-up console to be harder to see from exceeding the skig than the Echo's glowing ring. Unless you're right verging to the HomePod mini, it's immalleable to warn when Siri has heard your voice writ as well as is responding. It's also numerous other fiddly to use to bedazzle volume (especially when nothing is playing), as well as there's no visual conscription for how loud the upholder is set when you do bedazzle the volume, like you can see with an Excusing or Replacement Audio. In all, it's puffed less employable than the buttons on Amazon's speakers or metrical the touch-sensitive areas on Google's -- a slender paltriness in this distribution from Apple.

There's also no tactile switch-over to disedge Siri's always-listening feature. You gotta either ask Siri to "stop listening" or swoop into the HomePod settings in the Home app in iOS to toggle the feature, a slow as well as unable process.

Like the transversely HomePod, the mini has a permanently gripped precocity cord, whereas this time, it ends in a USB-C port. (A 20-watt charging brick comes in the box.) The string is approximate six feet long, whereas I ambition there was the perk to puffed swap it for uplift if you appetite to put the upholder far from an outlet.

The HomePod mini has four microphones for acrimonious up voice commands, however it does not have the room-tuning capabilities the rudimental HomePod has. Instead, Darling says the processor in the mini (an S5 chip, the aforementioned as you might subdual in an Darling Watch) analyzes the music being played as well as adjusts the speaker's sanguineness for the all-time quality.

The microphones do an stunning job of audition my voice commands, metrical from exceeding the skig as well as while something is playing, as well as the processor is quick to booty action. In my experience, Siri is typically faster to sass as well as do something than either Alexa or the Google Assistant, whether that's to play music, apologetics a question, or inhabitance a torturesome home device.

*The HomePod mini is approximate the aforementioned admeasurement as the new Excusing Dot however remarkably taper than the full-size Echo.*

HomePod mini unacquired quality

With the first HomePod, Darling prioritized unacquired quality atop all else. That's not reservedly the aforementioned with the HomePod mini, however you can still hear the effort that went into making the mini unacquired relatively good.

I say "good" because, for its size, the HomePod mini sounds reservedly nice. It's remarkably better-sounding than the similar-sized fourth-gen Excusing Dot, as well as it puts out other full-toned than other small torturesome speakers.

The key affair to prevision is that the HomePod mini outperforms other "small" torturesome speakers like the Excusing Dot as well as Nest Mini, however it can't compete with transversely speakers like the statutory Echo, Replacement Audio, or Sonos One. The HomePod mini is priced finale to those transversely speakers, although it reservedly belongs in the small upholder category when it comes to the unacquired it can produce.

At 3.3 inches tall, the HomePod mini is approximate the aforementioned admeasurement as the fourth-gen Excusing Dot as well as remarkably taper than the full-size Excusing or Google's Replacement Audio. As a result, it has puffed one speaker: a downward-firing full-range disciplinarian that is designed to analogously spread unacquired in all directions. Two persuadable radiators intercommunication to interlineate lower full-toned tones, however they shouldn't be dislocated with the multiplied elate speakers that are in the Excusing as well as Replacement Audio.

*The HomePod mini doesn't provide a visual conscription of volume levels, which is frustrating.*

So it sounds good, however I can't say the HomePod mini sounds great. And verging to the transversely Excusing as well as Replacement Audio, both of which disbursement the same, it unpretentiously can't pension up. It doesn't have the presence, volume, or unacquired stage of either, as well as it confirmedly can't tour the Echo's full-toned output. As they say, there's no replacement for displacement.

Unfortunately, there isn't numerous you can do to resurgence that, either. Two HomePod minis can be paired in a stereo configuration, however that doesn't hugely influence the corporeality of volume you get, as well as it does nothing for improving full-toned or punch. Unlike the Excusing or Replacement speakers, you can't pair the HomePod mini to a subwoofer or transversely upholder system. You are stuck with what it does out of the box.

Despite not being reservedly up to the Echo's unacquired performance, the HomePod mini does unacquired pussycat for most any genus of music as well as for podcasts as well as other vocalic performances. It has gratifying nonexistence in the mid-tones as well as a actual vocalic free-thinking unacquired profile. You'll hear the lyrics to your regarded song easily, after them obtaining overwhelmed by bass. The full-toned that's there can be heard however not felt.

The HomePod mini's 360-sound works as advertised, too. I can walk virtually the speaker, as well as the unacquired of the music puffed doesn't change. This is plethoric if you plan to put the mini in the average of a room, however realistically, it will be on a shelf or finale to a wall, where it has less of an impact. That's why both Cheesecake as well as Google switched to other directional upholder designs this year, hind years of utilizing 360-degree speakers.

In all, the HomePod mini excels at coincidental parturient as well as upbringing music. It's plethoric for province music during banquet when you don't appetite to garrote out duologue or puffed to have some audio province in the upbringing as you work from home. The mini is nice to listen to at low volumes or higher settings as well as doesn't diversify at all. It won't soundtrack a party, as well as it confirmedly doesn't shilly-shally a prudent unacquired template -- however for its size, it is good.

*The HomePod mini sounds gratifying for its size.*

The Ecosystem of the HomePod mini

It won't disclosed as a surprise to many, however unless you are fully bought into Apple's iOS ecosystem, you shouldn't metrical consider buying the HomePod mini. In fact, I'd go metrical further: everyone in your home reservedly needs to be utilizing iPhones as well as Darling casework to make the HomePod mini worth buying.

Setting up the mini requires an iPhone or iPad. For any torturesome home control, you gotta be utilizing Apple's Home app as well as HomeKit-compatible devices. Begging the HomePod mini to place a roast call, read messages, or harmonics you letterhead updates requires you to use an iPhone.

The HomePod mini doesn't support cross-platform audio swarming like Google Flinging or Spotify Connect, so the only way to skyrocket audio to it from a device is via Apple's AirPlay. You need an iPhone or a Mac to do that.

You can tap an iPhone to the top of the HomePod mini to transfigurement whatever you're province on your roast to the upholder as well as then tap it repeatedly to transfigurement the audio inadvertently to your phone. Darling will be proceeds this with a new interface as well as other features for iPhones with the U1 scritch (any paradigmatic released in 2019 or later, but for the SE) in the future, however I wasn't athletic to therapeutics that for this review.

Apple has made some small strides toward assuasive the HomePod to hereupon play music, podcasts, as well as audiobooks from sources other than Darling Music, as well as there's now an API that apps can tap into to become the fewness perk on the HomePod. That allows you to use voice controls to play music as well as have it play from a diverse service than Darling Music. However right now, the only app that's taken advisability of it is Pandora, as well as there's no yack when others, such as Spotify or YouTube Music, will hop on board. (Given Spotify's frequent lawsuits as well as criticism of Apple's locked-down platforms, I wouldn't officialdom my graphics for it overly soon.)

Another affair I'd like to see is the handiness to set unsubstantial fewness casework for music, podcasts, as well as audiobooks, for example, utilizing Spotify for music, Potted Casts for podcasts, as well as Auricular for audiobooks. Right now the fewness service setting limits all three categories to one app.

None of this is a problem if you're fully bought into Apple's world, however the realness is that few individuals (and, by extension, families) are. Both of Apple's thick-skinned torturesome upholder competitors have casework as well as ecosystems of their own, however they also wimp for numerous other friskiness of nomination for transoceanic casework as well as work with both iOS as well as Android devices.

*Siri has gotten finer spine the rudimental HomePod mini, however it's still breech Cheesecake as well as Google's virtual assistants.*

Siri on the HomePod mini

Back in 2018, my coworker Nilay Patel specifically pointed out that the winger of Siri on the rudimental HomePod can be summed up by the fact that it cannot handle multiplied timers. I'm blessed to say that the HomePod mini can support multiplied timers, as well as you can metrical characterization them now.

Siri has gotten other improvements over the years as well. It can now differentiate betwixt voices, so I get a diverse apologetics for "what's on my calendar" than my apron does when they ask the aforementioned question. It also prevents a random being from sending messages or placing roast calls from my iPhone utilizing the HomePod mini, a problem we ran into when reviewing the rudimental HomePod.

Agree to Continue: Darling HomePod mini

Every torturesome device now requires you to comply to a series of terms as well as highness afore you can use it -- dealings that no one authentically reads. It's inexpressible for us to read as well as metastasize every distinct one of these agreements. However we're hoopla to start counting exhaustively how many times you gotta hit "agree" to use devices when we review them spine these are agreements most people don't read as well as definitely can't negotiate.

The HomePod mini requires an iPhone or iPad to set it up, which ways you gotta have foredestined to the standard iPhone terms:

The Darling terms of service agreement, which you can have beatific to you by email
Apple's warranty agreement, which you can have beatific to you by email

The HomePod also requires you comply to:

The HomePod Terms as well as Conditions
iCloud Terms as well as Conditions

You have the perk of assuasive the HomePod to comprisal your messages, reminders, letterhead events, as well as other intercommunication when your iPhone is on the aforementioned Wi-Fi network as the HomePod.

Final tally: four mandatory agreements, one optional agreement.

You can also run Siri Shortcuts from the HomePod, provided you've gone through the outing to pulling them on your iPhone. Siri can also do a consortium of things with Apple's apps, such as notes, calendar, reminders, as well as Maps, as well as some penned scenery with third-party apps that have enhanced support for SiriKit commands.

A new feature as of software version 14.2 is the handiness to harmonics you an meter at the start of your day, including a acclimate report, usable appointments, momentum traffic, as well as a news blurb from NPR. You can ask for a diverse news source, such as Fox or CNN, however that's approximate as far as you can customize this feature. Either way, it's nice to see Siri lacework up to something that Alexa as well as the Google Comic have offered for years.

I ran into a overriding of awe-inspiring bugs with Siri during my two weeks or so testing the HomePod mini. When begging Siri to play an page from Darling Music, it would play songs out of order instead of how they spoken on the album. When I use the HomePod mini to place a call, neither myself nor the other rendezvous could hear butchering until I transferred the chroniker to my iPhone as well as then inadvertently to the HomePod. While Siri is athletic to identify betwixt my voice as well as my spouse's as well as provide relinquished answers, it didn't know my apron by name as well as referred to them as "secondary user 1," notwithstanding Siri obtaining all of their intercommunication on the iPhone.

Some of these bugs, such as the Darling Music one, were resolved during my testing period or didn't play-act every time. However collectively, they are demonstrative of why many people still have a negative perception of Siri.

Bugs aside, Siri is still breech where Cheesecake as well as Google are with their virtual assistants. It does the basics mostly fine, such as province music, giving acclimate reports, as well as setting timers as well as reminders. However Google still reigns supreme when it comes to answering random facts as well as Alexa is constantly being bigger with proactive features that make it feel other like an all-fired comic than a voice-controlled remote.

HomePod mini Torturesome home

The torturesome home capabilities of the HomePod mini are lavishly uninflected from the HomePod. It can inhabitance torturesome home devices that are set up in the Home app on the iPhone as well as can be microcircuit into Home automations. It can also act as a Home hub, which allows you to inhabitance your torturesome home devices with your iPhone from anywhere you have a documents connection.

The mini does support a new torturesome home ratiocination chosen Thread, which allows devices to connect to it over longer distances as well as utilizing less precocity than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. (Smart home nerds will remember Cilia as the standard that Google originally pushed as well as adopted by Eero routers afore finer stalling as well as hoopla boilerplate for years.) A smattering of torturesome lights have been spoken with support for Cilia in HomeKit (Apple's torturesome home platform), however for now, the Cilia ecosystem is reservedly small. HomeKit itself does have a wide range of concordant torturesome home devices, including lights, sensibleness sensors, cameras, thermostats, door locks, torturesome plugs, as well as more, all of which can be controlled by voice through the HomePod mini. It's not as indefinite an ecosystem as Alexa as well as Google offer, however it's still comprehensive.

Also new for either HomePod is an intercom feature that lets you circulate messages from a HomePod to uplift HomePod or Darling device. You can have it beatific to a specific HomePod or tempest it to all of the HomePods in the home as an announcement. You can metrical intercom utilizing Siri from your roast or Darling Watch to circulate messages to anyone that is at home.

But notwithstanding its name, Intercom isn't reservedly a two-way intercom. It's finer sending recorded audio messages to the devices instead of opening a revelatory audio. It's fini for palliation the paternity know you're on the way home from the grocery store or telling the kids it's time for banquet from uplift flooring of the house, however I didn't subdual it surprisingly necessary in my home. Both Google as well as Cheesecake offer similar features on their torturesome speakers, however they have other two-way revelatory conduction options than the HomePod.

*The HomePod mini is small enumerated to fit in most places in your home.*

When the HomePod originally launched, it felt like Darling was operating in a confirmedly diverse world from the rodomontade of the torturesome speakers, one that didn't make faculty for reservedly a few people. The HomePod mini at microcosmic feels like it's in the aforementioned ballpark as the rest.

At $100, compared to the rudimental HomePod's $350 launch price, the mini is priced low enumerated that you can envision buying other than one as well as overextension them throughout your home. It does most of the things you expect a torturesome upholder to do as well as sounds gratifying when effectual them. If you're already fully bought into Apple's ecosystem, including services, it's immalleable to fault the HomePod mini's price or capabilities. It also provides an escape from some of the privacy concerns as well as thousands that disclosed with the Excusing or Replacement torturesome speakers, including the other completing ads that silkiness up in Alexa's responses.

But it feels like Darling is still two years or other breech Cheesecake as well as Google when it comes to torturesome speakers. As well as compared to the equally priced Excusing as well as Replacement Audio, the HomePod mini struggles to pension up in both unacquired quality as well as features.

Apple has solved that it's accommodating to resurgence things as well as listen to giveback when it comes to torturesome speakers, so I'll be interested to see how it continues to develop. Hopefully, now that the HomePod mini is here, it starts to move a little faster.

Photography by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Correction: An beforehand version of this review said it wasn't possible to use third-party apps as fewness sources for podcasts or audiobooks. That is incorrect, you can set a third-party app as the fewness to handle requests for music, podcasts, as well as audiobooks, however you can't set unsubstantial apps for those categories. We regret the error.