This last pain point is not specific to the HomePod Mini because the full-size HomePod has the same problem, but working with third-party apps and services via Siri is somehow more awkward on HomePods. It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s annoying that you can’t define your own priority. One last nitpick is how Apple insists that HomePods are more preferred AirPlay targets than other speakers (even an Apple TV) by placing them at the top of any AirPlay output list. I would find the HomePod Mini way more useful in the kitchen if there was a way to route all audio requests through an alternate speaker in the house, like the stereo pair of Sonos One SLs sitting inches away. For example, if you use the Hand-Off feature to beam audio playing on your iPhone or iPad over to the HomePod (which, I should point out, is actually super cool!) you’ll find your track only playing on the HomePod Mini’s crummy speaker instead of the AirPlay group with the other speakers. You can sort of do this with a HomePod by grouping the Sonos speaker via AirPlay 2 with the HomePod, but it’s fiddly and definitely not a persistent setting.
So if you have an Echo or Echo Show in a room that also has some Sonos gear, saying “Alexa, play some music” can automatically play your request through the Sonos speakers instead of the Amazon device. In comparison, one feature that Amazon nails with Alexa devices is that you can choose a different audio device as the default speaker for any music requests.
I totally get this with the full-size HomePod, but Apple needs to admit the Mini isn’t always going to be the best speaker in the room. I’d love to play the music on anything elseĪnd that brings to my first major issue with these devices, which is that Apple insists they are your first choice for playing back any audio, despite the hardware’s shortcomings.
ANYLIST SIRI NOT WORKING FULL
I’m not talking just about volume here - they sound less full and seem to have a much smaller soundstage. And they are! They look tiny and you can absolutely hear that difference. I also tried a stereo pair of HomePod Minis directly next to a stereo pair of Sonos One SLs before arriving at the same result, which is that the HomePods sound, well, small. I don’t have an Amazon Echo on hand to directly compare it to what is probably the closest competitor for most people, but I did place it next to a Sonos One SL in our kitchen and it’s not even close to a fair fight the Sonos is a clear winner. Let’s start with the easy part: the sound on the HomePod Mini is not good. The sound quality matches the device’s size Provide a way to use an app other than Apple’s Reminders as the default for lists (or at least a few named ones).Offer an option to always play music requests through an alternate speaker.
ANYLIST SIRI NOT WORKING SOFTWARE
If you’re okay with that trade off, I could see it being a fantastic put-a-bunch-of-these-around-your-house-in-shouting-distance device if Apple made two key software tweaks (more color on these below):
The TL DR is that the HomePod Mini is really close to being a great product (especially at the $99 price point) if you value privacy in a home assistant more than speed 1 and accuracy. I picked up a pair of HomePods Minis a few weeks ago and have thoughts.
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