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HomePod Mini

apple.com

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Re: HomePod Mini

#111

Post by jagger27 »

gnicholas wrote: post #101
jagger27 wrote: post #23

The coolest part to me is that they're using the S5 watch SoC to power it. Pretty cool that Apple's various hardware teams can just grab a part off the shelf to use in a completely different class of device. I'd love to see them reintroduce AirPort routers powered by an A-series chip.

I'd love to see them put AirPort tech inside their smart speakers. That's one great way to differentiate from Alexa devices. We're still running AirPorts at my house, though I know eventually they'll die and we'll have to find something else. In the meantime, they're super convenient for having my Time Capsule back up my Mac, and for piping audio via an Airport Express to the speakers I use with my projector setup.

Oh yes that would be nice. A bunch of PoE HomePod minis with WiFi 6 would work great in my house to replace my 802.11ac UniFi setup.

I'm really dreaming big now, but some sort of AirPort central base station with SFP+ for my FTTH connection and 4xPoE to power and feed a bunch of HomePods would be brilliant.

Re: HomePod Mini

#112

Post by gerash »

ndrake wrote: post #20
noodlesUK wrote: post #6

One of the interesting things is that on the specs page it says it supports “Thread”, which is a new wireless protocol championed for home automation tech, as an alternative to zig bee and Zwave. One thing I didn’t see was any mention of if it would support being a “Home Hub”, allowing for remote access to smart home stuff.

The footnote on that item is a bit disappointing: "Not compatible with non-HomeKit Thread devices."

Lol. Adopt an open protocol built by Nest and then make it exclusive to Apple devices. Very revolutionary indeed

Re: HomePod Mini

#113

Post by corytheboyd »

TYPE_FASTER wrote: post #104
leoedin wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by the last part? Swatted, as in having a SWAT team called to his house? What role did the Echo play in that?

Yes, the police showed up at his door a couple times saying somebody called 911. He disconnected everything from his network, no more visits from the police. He plugged devices back in one at a time, leaving a day or so between devices. Within an hour of plugging in the Echo devices, the police were back. He unplugged the Echo devices, no issues since.

I meeeaaannn come on, I feel like this person is withholding some important details about why the police show up at their door. This is just too ridiculous to be real.

Re: HomePod Mini

#114

Post by ssully »

Oddly enough this was the most exciting thing for me today.

I use a Google Home in my kitchen almost exclusively for hands-free timers and music control when cooking/cleaning. My Home got bricked by an update last month and was going to just forgo replacing it because I am getting tired of Google's diminishing support of their products and the privacy concerns.

My only concern is Siri is easily the worst assistant when compared to Google or Amazon. I just hope it is good enough to handle my music and timer requests.

Re: HomePod Mini

#115

Post by Bud »

Pretty disappointing that some users here flagged this post, apparently just for spite. Some of us are interested in this discussion.

Re: HomePod Mini

#116

Post by Bud »

ssully wrote: post #114

Oddly enough this was the most exciting thing for me today. I use a Google Home in my kitchen almost exclusively for hands-free timers and music control when cooking/cleaning. My Home got bricked by an update last month and was going to just forgo replacing it because I am getting tired of Google's diminishing support of their products and the privacy concerns. My only concern is Siri is easily the worst assistant wh…

I definitely agree with you that Siri is (currently) the worst assistant, but if it helps, it has consistently been just fine for me with music and timers.

Re: HomePod Mini

#117

Post by jagger27 »

duhi88 wrote: post #93
jagger27 wrote: post #23

The coolest part to me is that they're using the S5 watch SoC to power it. Pretty cool that Apple's various hardware teams can just grab a part off the shelf to use in a completely different class of device. I'd love to see them reintroduce AirPort routers powered by an A-series chip.

Agreed. I wonder what the cost is on that chip. Apple Watch S5 - Sensors + Speaker + Markup = $99

I'm having a hard time finding out which node it's on and the die area. The S5 is essentially a re-badged S4 which as far as I can tell is made on standard TSMC 7nm. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say the BOM is dominated by the casing and speaker hardware. That chip has been in production for about 2 years now.

Re: HomePod Mini

#118

Post by _ph_ »

Really cute :). I have a pair of Homepods which pretty much has replaced my stereo for me, as together they sound really impressive. And are very convenient to use. Most of the time, I use my iPhone to control them. Certainly will get one or two minis for the rooms I am not constantly in, but would like to have some music support.

One thing I don't get, why Apple doesn't push them more as computer speakers. Mojave still doesn't support them as a pair, and the latency is too big for normal speaker usage. Should be a relative easy sell with a new Mac, if macOS supported them as a proper pair with low latency.

Re: HomePod Mini

#119

Post by nkristoffersen »

gerash wrote: post #112
ndrake wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The footnote on that item is a bit disappointing: "Not compatible with non-HomeKit Thread devices."

Lol. Adopt an open protocol built by Nest and then make it exclusive to Apple devices. Very revolutionary indeed

Pretty sure that means HomeKit certified devices, not Apple-built devices.

Re: HomePod Mini

#120

Post by gonehome »

gnicholas wrote: post #78

Wish I could get 4 or 5 of these and use as a home theater setup. It'd be significantly cheaper than a Sonos Arc, and presumably offer better surround (though worse low-frequency response).

You'd be limited to only getting audio through the content of your Apple TV right?

You wouldn't be able to get the audio from an Xbox for example?

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