Apple unveiled the HomePod mini at its ‘Hi, Speed’ event on Tuesday. The aim, said CEO Tim Cook, was to bring the Siri-enabled speaker to more people.
Introducing HomePod mini
Multiple HomePods can play content in-sync, and two in the same room can operate as a stereo pair. Meanwhile, Siri allows integration with your phone and recognizing different people’s voices. There is also a new feature called Intercom. This allows one user to send a message via HomePod mini to other family members using all their different devices such as iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch. The device is just 3.3 inches tall and costs $99. It will be available to preorder from November 6, and ready for customers to pick up on November 16.
At launch, HomePod mini works with Apple Music, podcasts, radio stations from iHeartRadio, radio.com, and TuneIn. In the future, it will work with Pandora and Amazon Music too. It’s notable, but perhaps not surprising, that Spotify was not mentioned at all.
“HomePod mini has everything customers want in a smart speaker — amazing sound for listening to music, a world-class intelligent assistant that delivers a personal experience to each member of the household, and like every Apple product, it’s designed with privacy and security in mind,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “HomePod mini is the ultimate smart speaker for anyone with an Apple device. It works effortlessly with iPhone to hand off music, answer calls, or deliver personalized listening suggestions, elevates the sound from Apple TV, plays music from a Mac, and so much more. There’s a lot of Apple innovation packed into such a small speaker, all at an affordable price.”
Charlotte:
The question is not if, but how many, HomePod Minis yours truly will purchase, including one for my downstairs workout space, which I can now fill with richer sound from my streaming workout apps. At US $99/device, the possibilities are…many.
That would be handy for my desk.
Hopefully they fixed the Siri design flaw that interprets “Turn on candle (candle or whatever being a HomeKit scene) to play music from some God awful musician or band. To to play music the only command should be “Play…” or “Playlist…”