I don’t think the minis pair like that, only the non-mini. I bought a mini this year but have never used it, because I’ve never been able to get it to stream Spotify despite following many online guides that said they could do it. Very underwhelmed.
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Is the HomePod Mini a Good Gift Still? Here's What to Consider
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I don’t think the minis pair like that, only the non-mini. I bought a mini this year but have never used it, because I’ve never been able to get it to stream Spotify despite following many online guides that said they could do it. Very underwhelmed.
I completely agree. It sounds good (maybe even great) for a small speaker, but it doesn't sound good at all for a $100 speaker. Sure that $200 setup compares favorably against a $30 Amazon Echo, but that's not really something you want to brag about.
It's good for making noise. There are far better $100 and $200 setups that not only sound better, but let you use Bluetooth or analog input too.
If you tell it “raise/decrease volume by X%”, it will do that.
As others have pointed out, it’s a shame that Apple hasn’t updated the Mini in four years. I have two as a stereo pair and they work great.
I want one or two more for my home but I don’t want to pay $100 for four year old hardware, especially with Apple Intelligence in the wild.
I’d rather wait until they release an updated one with updated hardware and AI.
I want one or two more for my home but I don’t want to pay $100 for four year old hardware, especially with Apple Intelligence in the wild.
I’d rather wait until they release an updated one with updated hardware and AI.
Set up a HomePod stereo pair
You can set up two HomePod speakers in a pair when you first set up HomePod, or you can later pair speakers you’ve already set up.
support.apple.com
Read the article, not just the headline, from Apple's Support website!
It applies to Both Homepod Mini and Homepod!
Create a stereo pair
You can create a stereo pair with 'two' HomePod mini, two HomePod (1st generation), or two HomePod (2nd generation) speakers.
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Maybe two for $99, needs Bluetooth and aux input and removable power cable. 
With OS 18, Apple brought back the issue where if you have a stereo pair, some songs start after the beginning. For instance, a song can start 15 seconds after its beginning instead of starting at 0 seconds. This is extremely annoying, so if you plan on buying two HomePods or two HomePod minis to make a stereo pair, I would strongly recommend you avoid. This issue doesn't seem to affect albums, but more random music.
Apple took months to fix this issue initially so we have no idea how much time they will need this time to fix that issue again!
Apple took months to fix this issue initially so we have no idea how much time they will need this time to fix that issue again!
Similar issue when you ask Siri to play a song, it starts playing in the background before she stops talking and so you often miss a good bit of the intro.
they failed with iPod Hi-Fi, failed with HomePod 1. HomePod mini and HomePod 2 look on the same path. Enough is enough: Apple should be ashamed, raise the white flag and give money back to investors! (/s)
Seriously, can't they just ditch HomePods and bring back Airport routers instead?
Seriously, can't they just ditch HomePods and bring back Airport routers instead?
You need to send any suggestions for improvement through the HomePod itself to Apple. So far Apple hasn't received any suggestions.
I've actually got mine scattered around my house because my living room doesn't need the stereo sound being the size it is. I tend to use my TV's audio most of the time anyway since my 4th gen Apple TV won't automatically play out of the HomePod every time it is on (like the newer ones do, I guess). Someday I'll get a new 4K TV and new Apple TV 4K to go with it.
I do actually use Siri quite a bit for basic HomeKit things, like turning on and off my lights, or turning on my TV.
Nothing wrong with the speakers...they are pretty good for the price.
Especially after I paired my 2 minis paired with the 2 Hompods, and it works fine when I have them out of reach for eventual touch that could evoke Siri's insanity.
Siri have been turned off everywhere on my Apple devices a long time. But that obviously didn't mean I got rid of that digital brat. If I only touched any of the speakers she could say somthing totally irrellevant and out of the blue.
So if possible place them where you can't touch them, and you'll be fine.
Especially after I paired my 2 minis paired with the 2 Hompods, and it works fine when I have them out of reach for eventual touch that could evoke Siri's insanity.
Siri have been turned off everywhere on my Apple devices a long time. But that obviously didn't mean I got rid of that digital brat. If I only touched any of the speakers she could say somthing totally irrellevant and out of the blue.
So if possible place them where you can't touch them, and you'll be fine.
Just don`t think it makes sense when speakers (or headsets) becomes obsolete because whoever making them have added some electronixx which main purpose is to become obsolete. Was intrigued by the original pod - clever AND a sonic effort, but the concept isn`t for me. For those who prefer, enjoy 👍
Most likely, I`ll go wired headset/passive speakers and dac/amp, keeping an open mind about bluetooth.
Most likely, I`ll go wired headset/passive speakers and dac/amp, keeping an open mind about bluetooth.
They do, I use a pair. If you sit right between them it’s actually not bad. And yeah Spotify only works by AirPlay to it, if even that.
For what I want the Homepod mini to do – sit in one place and play audio from my other Apple devices on the fly – it's perfect. It's nice that it can also control my lights and tell me very basic things (the weather, etc.), but if it didn't do those things, I wouldn't miss that. It also cost me less than a single grocery run.
The spec-sport upgrades mentioned in the article don't sound they would change much of anything practically in how I use the speaker, and I think that's happening more and more with a lot of these devices.
(Does it have the latest chip? Would you notice if it did?)
The spec-sport upgrades mentioned in the article don't sound they would change much of anything practically in how I use the speaker, and I think that's happening more and more with a lot of these devices.
(Does it have the latest chip? Would you notice if it did?)
Yeah, I am afraid all of our HomePod OGs, new HomePods, and minis are going to useless once Apple turns their AI attention to HomePods. We will have the option of buying a new $499 big HomePod or $199 HomePod mini due to all the extra RAM for local LLM model storage...
Personally I am a big fan of HomePods. They work for me, lack of blue tooth is frustrating and the minis being fixed cabled is annoying. Any update that changes this is worth it
The HomePod Mini isn’t even a good purchase for yourself, let alone a gift. It’s a dumb paperweight speaker.
Minis do not do stereo pairing like the HomePods do. Sitting between two speakers doesn’t make it stereo.
What is your exact key phrase that you use? I just say “Hey siri, and you raise/lower the volume”. Or “hey siri, set volume to x%”. I’ve never had an issue.