HomePod HomePod Mini Power Requirements

[RabidMacFan]

So we know that the HomePod Mini comes with the new Apple 20W USB-C adapter.

We also know that USB Power over USB-C is a confusing mess, with various supported power delivery options.

But, does anyone know if the HomePod Mini actually requires 20W of power, or will it operate with an 18W or even 15W alternative adapter?

It would be nice to know if I could swap out the 20W HomePod Mini adapter with my iPhone 11 Pro 18W USB-C power adapter so I can use the new 20W adapter with my MagSafe charger without having to buy it separately.

 

[RabidMacFan]

Attempting to research answers for my own question, I found an FCC filing for the HomePod Mini. The bottom of device does specify 9V ⎓ 2.22A, which is the same power provided by the 20W adapter. If that is true, then only adapters that were already found compatible with the MagSafe charger will properly work. I would still like confirmation on this though, as I won't get mine until the very end of the month.

https://fccid.io/BCG-A2374/Label/FCC-ID-Label-and-Location-4938487

 

[Phil77354]

The mini includes a 20W adaptor, why would you want to use something else? The actual demand is going to depend upon how loudly it is playing, if it is in standby then the draw should be near or at zero.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

So what happens if it is plugged directly into a Mac's USB-C/TB3 port?

 

[Phil77354]

So what happens if it is plugged directly into a Mac's USB-C/TB3 port?

It will probably work just fine. But there is really insufficient information available, that I can find at the moment, to really clearly understand what the options will be for powering the HomePod mini.

Added:

In MacRumors separate article, they state "the HomePod mini could potentially be powered by a wider range of devices and peripherals, ranging from MacBooks to USB-C battery packs with enough wattage, but this will ultimately depend on how much power the HomePod mini draws"

HomePod Mini Cable is Non-Detachable, Ends With USB-C Connector for Use With Included 20W Power Adapter​

While not detailed in the tech specs, MacRumors can confirm that Apple's new HomePod mini features a non-detachable power cable that ends with a USB-C connector for use with the 20W power adapter included in the box.

With the switch to USB-C, the HomePod mini could potentially be powered by a wider range of devices and peripherals, ranging from MacBooks to USB-C battery packs with enough wattage, but this will ultimately depend on how much power the HomePod mini draws.

The standard HomePod also has a non-detachable power cable, but it terminates with a plug for direct connection to a wall outlet.

The standard HomePod's power cable ends with a plug (via iFixit)
It's worth noting that soon after the original HomePod launched, it was discovered that the power cable can technically be removed if enough force is applied, so time will tell if this is possible with the HomePod mini too. In an internal document obtained by MacRumors in 2018, Apple warned that the HomePod's power cable should not be removed, noting that this could cause damage to the cable or internal components.

Introduced at Apple's event earlier this week, the HomePod mini has a more compact, spherical design, standing just 3.3 inches tall. However, despite being much smaller, Apple says the HomePod mini still delivers "amazing sound" using "computational audio," a feature that is powered by the same S5 chip as in the Apple Watch Series 5.

HomePod mini will be available in white and space gray for $99, with pre-orders set to begin Friday, November 6 at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Article Link: HomePod Mini Cable is Non-Detachable, Ends With USB-C Connector for Use With Included 20W Power Adapter

 

[Phil77354]

Check out iJustine's review, first I've seen:

 

[Mansu944]

Check out iJustine's review, first I've seen:

Well there’s the braided cable that was leaked and rumored to come with the phone.

 

[Kaffebreak]

Would love if someone could test the 18W Apple adapter. Many of us would have one spare at home and could use the 20W included with the mini with other things (like charging the iPhone)

 

[RabidMacFan]

The mini includes a 20W adaptor, why would you want to use something else? The actual demand is going to depend upon how loudly it is playing, if it is in standby then the draw should be near or at zero.

Because I already have an 18W adapter, and the Apple MagSafe charger does not include the 20W adapter that is needed to take full advantage of it. Being able to swap out the adapters would save me $20.

My theory was that Apple includes the 20W adapter because they are standardizing on that for now, and will no longer produce the 18W adapter. They could have designed the HomePod Mini to require only 15W or 18W, even though it comes with a 20W adapter.

It would be interesting to see the max energy use of the HomePod when plugged into a 20W adapter at full volume.

 

[profets]

FYI Gruber tested out a power adapter less than 20W.

When doing so the HomePod mini’s top panel pulses orange.

The HomePod Mini

They’re easy to set up and sound great for the price — and to my non-audiophile ears, sound remarkable for their size.

daringfireball.net

 

[jzuena]

FYI Gruber tested out a power adapter less than 20W.

When doing so the HomePod mini’s top panel pulses orange.

The HomePod Mini

They’re easy to set up and sound great for the price — and to my non-audiophile ears, sound remarkable for their size.

daringfireball.net

Great... now I’ll need to keep a 20W and 18W adapter around for the mini, depending on what color I want the top panel to pulse.

 

[Phil77354]

FYI Gruber tested out a power adapter less than 20W.

When doing so the HomePod mini’s top panel pulses orange.

The HomePod Mini

They’re easy to set up and sound great for the price — and to my non-audiophile ears, sound remarkable for their size.

daringfireball.net

Interesting. I'm looking forward to receiving my own mini and testing it out . . .

 

[RabidMacFan]

Well, looks like this one is solved. Using an adapter less than 20W turns the top red to let you know it won’t work. Any 9V ⎓ 2.22A like the one from Apple that comes in the box should work.

 

[davidkerin]

So what happens if it is plugged directly into a Mac's USB-C/TB3 port?

Just got mine for my bathroom. Tried plugging into my MB Pro USB-C ports. The Mini just started flashing orange on the top panel, so no go. I may still get an adapter to see if it will run on the fairly burly power bank I have, but not holding my breath.

 

[profets]

Posted this in another thread:

FWIW - my mini was recently delivered. Out of curiosity tried plugging it into an Anker charger that has multiple ports (mostly USB-A, but also a single 30W USB-C), and it works.

I guess its not that it needs the specific PD profile of 9V 2.2A from the 20W USB-C charger, as this Anker charger is older and does not have that profile.

 

[profets]

Got a few more of my HomePod minis in.

The black one is going in a spot where the cable & receptacle are visible. its near dark granite, so kind of blends in well. But the large 20W power supply looks a bit stupid.

Going to try this one out.

AUKEY iPhone Fast Charger, Omnia Mini 20W USB C Charger for New iPhone,Power Delivery 3.0 Fast Charger,USB C Wall Charger PD Charger for iPhone 12 Pro Max,iPad Pro 2020,iPhone 8 Plus,airpods pro-Black

AUKEY iPhone Fast Charger, Omnia Mini 20W USB C Charger for New iPhone,Power Delivery 3.0 Fast Charger,USB C Wall Charger PD Charger for iPhone 12 Pro Max,iPad Pro 2020,iPhone 8 Plus,airpods pro-Black

www.amazon.ca

 

[MorganB]

Question for those that know more about power supply than I do, would I be able to plug my mini directly into the charging port on this wall plug?

Legrand radiant R26USBCC6W 15 Amp Tamper-Resistant Decorator Duplex Receptacle Outlet with Ultra Fast USB C/C 6.0A Charging Ports, White (1 Count)

Real talk: we're all addicted to our devices. In fact, 90% of people feel anxiety when their phone battery drops below 20%. Never experience "low battery anxiety" again! From the industry leader in USB charging solutions comes the latest usb outlet technology for your USB-C compatible and legacy ...

www.amazon.com

It says it supplies 6 amps @ 5v and also goes on to mention the following:

"This Type C USB outlet include two 5V DC USB ports that work with USB 2.0 & 3.0 compatible devices. Efficient power supply meets the Department of Energy Level VI no-load power requirement of 100mW max for external power supplies."

The OP mentions " Any 9V ⎓ 2.22A charger ....... should work" but I'm unclear if the ports are limited to 5v so they wouldn't work even though they exceed the amp requirements?

 

[RabidMacFan]

Question for those that know more about power supply than I do, would I be able to plug my mini directly into the charging port on this wall plug?

Legrand radiant R26USBCC6W 15 Amp Tamper-Resistant Decorator Duplex Receptacle Outlet with Ultra Fast USB C/C 6.0A Charging Ports, White (1 Count)

Real talk: we're all addicted to our devices. In fact, 90% of people feel anxiety when their phone battery drops below 20%. Never experience "low battery anxiety" again! From the industry leader in USB charging solutions comes the latest usb outlet technology for your USB-C compatible and legacy ...

www.amazon.com

It says it supplies 6 amps @ 5v and also goes on to mention the following:

Reviewers are saying that it can supply 5v at 3 amps per port. There are two ports, so they are advertising a total of 6 amps. That's only 15 watts total per port, and not enough for HomePod mini. On the bright side, the HomePod Mini does come with a power adapter so you can just use that. Anker also has a 20W charging plug that is about half the size of Apple's and works great.

 

[MorganB]

Reviewers are saying that it can supply 5v at 3 amps per port. There are two ports, so they are advertising a total of 6 amps. That's only 15 watts total per port, and not enough for HomePod mini. On the bright side, the HomePod Mini does come with a power adapter so you can just use that. Anker also has a 20W charging plug that is about half the size of Apple's and works great.

Thank you for breaking it down for me. I appreciate it. I am trying to avoid using the charging plug because I have limited space so being able to directly power the HomePod without the adapter is ideal. I was actually thinking about the Anker as it is smaller. I did notice this mentioned in the reviews of the Legrand product and I think it should do the trick. What do you think?

Leviton T5635-W 30W (6A) USB Dual Type-C/C Power Delivery In-Wall Charger with 15A Tamper-Resistant Outlet, USB Charger for Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops, White

The T5635-00W 30W (6A) Dual Type-C USB with Power Delivery (PD) is the most advanced USB In-Wall Charger on the market offering up to 30 Watts of charging power on a single port. Enjoy high-speed, efficient charging of laptops, tablets, smartphones and more. Smart chip technology optimizes chargi...

www.amazon.com

 

[waw74]

there is a new-ish spec called USB-PD (power delivery), it allows USB-C ports to deliver something more then the usual default of 5 volts, the old rectangular ports are limited to 5v.

with PD, there are stepped requirement, as the wattage goes up, it also must be able to supply higher voltages,
up to 15w, only 5v
up to 27w - 5 or 9v
up to 45w - 5, 9 or 15v
over 45w - 5, 9, 15, or 20v

for any of the voltages below the current max voltage, they top out at 3 amps, while the current max voltage will adjust with the wattage
For example, on a 50w charger - 5,9, or 15v all top out at 3 amps (15,27,or 45 watts respectively) but the 20volt will top out at whatever wattage the charger is


so for the HomePod mini, you'll need a "USB PD" charger, with more than 20 watts
they are fairly easy to find, but because there are so many USB charger options they can easily get lost in the crowd. You just need to verify that the charger supports the spec, and you should be good.
that Leviton outlet linked in the previous post by MorganB looks like it should work.

 

[MorganB]

there is a new-ish spec called USB-PD (power delivery), it allows USB-C ports to deliver something more then the usual default of 5 volts, the old rectangular ports are limited to 5v.

with PD, there are stepped requirement, as the wattage goes up, it also must be able to supply higher voltages,
up to 15w, only 5v
up to 27w - 5 or 9v
up to 45w - 5, 9 or 15v
over 45w - 5, 9, 15, or 20v

for any of the voltages below the current max voltage, they top out at 3 amps, while the current max voltage will adjust with the wattage
For example, on a 50w charger - 5,9, or 15v all top out at 3 amps (15,27,or 45 watts respectively) but the 20volt will top out at whatever wattage the charger is


so for the HomePod mini, you'll need a "USB PD" charger, with more than 20 watts
they are fairly easy to find, but because there are so many USB charger options they can easily get lost in the crowd. You just need to verify that the charger supports the spec, and you should be good.
that Leviton outlet linked in the previous post by MorganB looks like it should work.

Thank you very much for the clear explanation! You really helped me understand the nuances of power supply. I will be trying the Leviton outlet at some point and it looks like that type of outlet can charge my MacBook Air as well! I've added it to my Christmas list and will report back.

 

[frazhna]

So we know that the HomePod Mini comes with the new Apple 20W USB-C adapter.
View attachment 1661222

We also know that USB Power over USB-C is a confusing mess, with various supported power delivery options.

But, does anyone know if the HomePod Mini actually requires 20W of power, or will it operate with an 18W or even 15W alternative adapter?

It would be nice to know if I could swap out the 20W HomePod Mini adapter with my iPhone 11 Pro 18W USB-C power adapter so I can use the new 20W adapter with my MagSafe charger without having to buy it separately.

I can verify that the HomePod mini does not work when I plug it in to my UPS’s usb-c port that is labeled “5V 3A”. I suspect the 5V is the limiting factor here more than the 15W max power in that port. When I plugged it in, the HomePod mini took a few moments then the top started slowly flashing a yellowish orange color.

 

[MorganB]

So I ended up getting the following wall plug with USB-C PD and I can confirm it will power the HomePod mini:

T5835-G - 30W (6A) USB Dual Type-C/C Power Delivery Wall Outlet Charger with 20A Tamper-Resistant Outlet in Gray - Leviton

Gray - 20 Amp, 125 Volt, Decora Tamper-Resistant Outlet. NEMA 5-20R, 30W (6 Amps), Dual Type-C/C Power Delivery USB Chargers, Grounding, Side Wired & Back Wired

www.leviton.com

However, when I plug a USB-C lighting cable into the second USB-C plug the mini powers down and the light turns orange. If I plug in a USB-C to USB-C cable the HomePod mini doesnt power down but when I plug something into the other end of the cable it does.

I can charge my iPhone 12 and MacBook Air M1 at the same time ( not sure of the speed ).

As I have read further in the tech docs it explains the situation :

• - Single port connected to PD-enabled device: 15VDC@2A (30W) or 9VDC@3A (27W)
  - Single port connected to non-PD device: 5VDC@3A (15W)
  - Both ports connected to devices: 5VDC@3A (30W total power)

So with both ports connected it drops to 5VDC which is below what the HomePod mini requires.

 

[playaproved]

So I ended up getting the following wall plug with USB-C PD and I can confirm it will power the HomePod mini:

T5835-G - 30W (6A) USB Dual Type-C/C Power Delivery Wall Outlet Charger with 20A Tamper-Resistant Outlet in Gray - Leviton

Gray - 20 Amp, 125 Volt, Decora Tamper-Resistant Outlet. NEMA 5-20R, 30W (6 Amps), Dual Type-C/C Power Delivery USB Chargers, Grounding, Side Wired & Back Wired

www.leviton.com

However, when I plug a USB-C lighting cable into the second USB-C plug the mini powers down and the light turns orange. If I plug in a USB-C to USB-C cable the HomePod mini doesnt power down but when I plug something into the other end of the cable it does.

I can charge my iPhone 12 and MacBook Air M1 at the same time ( not sure of the speed ).

As I have read further in the tech docs it explains the situation :

• - Single port connected to PD-enabled device: 15VDC@2A (30W) or 9VDC@3A (27W)
  - Single port connected to non-PD device: 5VDC@3A (15W)
  - Both ports connected to devices: 5VDC@3A (30W total power)

So with both ports connected it drops to 5VDC which is below what the HomePod mini requires.

I bought essentially the same outlet. I was disappointed that it couldn’t power the mini, as I wanted to use the other port to charge iPhone/iPad in the kitchen.

I ended up getting a clear silicone port plug to prevent anyone from using the other port and I converted an additional outlet right next to it for charging purposes.

 

[RabidMacFan]

Wow, looks like the 14.3 software update lets the HomePod mini work with 18W adapters now! Unexpected but certainly welcome improvement that will let me use my older power adapters for this speaker!

HomePod Mini Now Works With Select 18W Chargers Following 14.3 Software Update

Earlier this month, Apple released a 14.3 software update for the HomePod and HomePod mini, and it has since been discovered that this update allows...

www.macrumors.com