HomePod Mini: Apple's Echo competitor costs under $100
Apple's HomePod was a flop with mainstream consumers if we were to be really honest with ourselves. Apple seems to have finally acknowledged this after many years and earlier today, they have apparently redeemed themselves from their past mistake by introducing a cheaper product. Known as the HomePod Mini, this small and round device costs only a fraction of its big, chunky predecessor.
Apple introduced the HomePod Mini today. It looks just like the big HomePod, but it is spherical in form factor, far smaller, and also comes with a touch surface located at the top complete with a volume and silence button alongside LEDs for Siri's colourful visualisation.
The HomePod Mini delivers 360-degree sound - similar to its larger-sized sibling from before. The speaker also integrates the Apple S5 chip and supports what Apple calls "Computational Audio". The HomePod Mini was designed to optimise music in real-time. Apple will be primarily relying on people to set up several of the HomePod Minis in their homes in order to enjoy the optimal experience. AirPlay 2 will synchronize Apple's HomePod series so that your favourite music is played in every room.
HomePod now plays news from the Apple Watch
The small HomePod Mini is also supposed to have Apple's Hand-Off feature, so that music played on the iPhone is transferred to the HomePod as soon as the iPhone is held near the speaker. This function already works well on the large HomePod, so it should work equally flawlessly here. The HomePod can also now send messages back to HomePod devices via the iPhone and Apple Watch.
The HomePod Mini will be available in white and black shades from November 16 at a price of $99. German prices are still pending at the time of publication of this article. According to Caschys Tweet, the HomePod Mini will cost €97.
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