HomePod Mini • Hacker News Board

Re: HomePod Mini

#51

Post by FerdSlav » Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 7:10 PM UTC

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.

I think personally this is one of the biggest details that is being entirely overlooked. In past keynotes Apple has mentioned they are actively working with other companies on the new Project Connected Home Over IP working group[1], which according to the limited marketing material available, seems to indicate will at least partially operate over Thread.

[1]: https://www.connectedhomeip.com/

Re: HomePod Mini

#52

Post by manmal » Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 7:11 PM UTC

thomasfl wrote: post #47

No Spotify support. Spotify’s market share is probably so large that Apple will sell fever of this speakers because of that.

They are a direct competitor with Spotify Connect.

Re: HomePod Mini

#53

Post by jnwatson » Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 7:12 PM UTC

This is so me-too. The only newish feature is a better privacy argument.

This is a full 5 years after the Amazon Echo was introduced.

This just adds to my creeping feeling that innovation is dead at Apple.

Re: HomePod Mini

#54

Post by mttjj » Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 7:13 PM UTC

buzzerbetrayed wrote: post #36

mttjj wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The comparison table makes is seem like the mini can't be paired with an AppleTV at all like the regular HomePod can.

> Pick up an incoming call from your iPhone, listen to music on your Mac, or upgrade your TV experience by taking the sound from your Apple TV to the next level — they all connect to HomePod mini. From the Apple website

Weird. I see that too. Not sure what the table is trying to state then. https://www.apple.com/homepod/

Re: HomePod Mini

#55

Post by seppin » Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 7:13 PM UTC

leecb wrote: post #10

ipsum2 wrote: post #4

Looks like the Echo Dot that was just released a few weeks ago: https://www.amazon.com/All-New-Echo-Dot-4th-Gen/dp/B07XJ8C8F...

They look to both be almost exactly the same size- 3.9 inches in diameter. Echo Dot: 100 x 100 x 89 mm HomePod Mini: 98 x 98 x 84mm

1/2 the price

Re: HomePod Mini

#56

Post by untog » Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 7:13 PM UTC

turtlebits wrote: post #40

I don’t get it. Siri is the absolute worst compared to Google assistant, the only compelling reason to buy the HomePod is for sound quality. So unless this has some other redeeming quality over “Siri in your living room”, I don’t think it will sell well. The original HomePod regularly went on sale for 33% off already.

I'm curious to know what 90% of people do with their home assistant devices. I have a Google Home. I know it can do a huge array of things, but almost all I do with it is play music, control lights, and set timers. Siri can do all of those things.

Re: HomePod Mini

#57

Post by saagarjha » Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 7:14 PM UTC

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #25

ChrisLTD wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe that’s why my HomePod feels so slow?

The SoC in the Homepod is old . It's the Apple A8, which was used on iPhone 6 (2014). The HomePod Mini uses Apple S5, which was in the Apple Watch 5 (2019)

Note that the S5 is essentially identical to the S4 chip.

Re: HomePod Mini

#58

Post by agd » Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 7:14 PM UTC

jnwatson wrote: post #53

This is so me-too. The only newish feature is a better privacy argument. This is a full 5 years after the Amazon Echo was introduced. This just adds to my creeping feeling that innovation is dead at Apple.

The big difference is seamless integration with other Apple products. This is why they’ll take market share, it will just work with your iPhone better than the echo does.

Re: HomePod Mini

#59

Post by Synaesthesia » Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 7:18 PM UTC

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #25

ChrisLTD wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe that’s why my HomePod feels so slow?

The SoC in the Homepod is old . It's the Apple A8, which was used on iPhone 6 (2014). The HomePod Mini uses Apple S5, which was in the Apple Watch 5 (2019)

It's not that bad of a CPU. It's powering my iPad Air 2 (A8X) which doesn't do too badly.

Remember when we were freaking out about the unprecedented performance of the A7, the first 64-bit mobile chip? And now it's in a speaker.

Re: HomePod Mini

#60

Post by naravara » Tue, Oct 13, 2020, 7:22 PM UTC

llampx wrote: post #8

Can anyone with a Homepod comment on the usability compared to the Google and Amazon spy systems... err speakers?

I only housesat for someone with one so my experience is limited. My take was audio quality is WAY better, so if your primary desire is for a speaker it blows the Google/Amazon ones out of the water. BUT Siri is less useful so if you want more voice-control/smart assistant stuff it feels much more limited.

It's actually really decent at the use cases it's explicitly designed for, but completely falls apart if you have any edge cases. Bear in mind though, these are what Apple thinks of as edge cases like "What if I prefer Spotify over Apple Music," not necessarily a reasonable person's idea of an edge case.

I, personally, didn't notice much of a difference between the HomePod and the Sonos 5 though I know people who say the HomePod is markedly better. The Sonos, however, has a line-in and works with an Alexa unit if you have it (though, strangely, it's not built in). If not for the privacy sensitivity with Alexa I'd probably go for the Sonos, but the privacy and integration with the rest of the Apple ecosystem kind of tips it back to Apple for me.