➤ How HomePod mini works 🎮

After hearing so much about it, you decided to buy it too home pod mini, the Apple smart speaker through which you can not only listen to music, but also use the Siri virtual assistant to perform many operations with your voice.

However, if you are here now and reading these lines, it seems clear to me that you still don't have very clear ideas about the device in question. How do you say? That's right and, therefore, you would like to know if I can show you how HomePod mini works? Of course it does, don't worry. In fact, I'll tell you more… you're right on this guide!

HomePod mini: what it is

Before explaining how is that HomePod mini works, I think I should point you out what is it, precisely this device.

As anticipated at the opening of the post, HomePod mini is a smart speaker produced by Apple, through which it is possible not only to play multimedia contents, such as single songs, entire albums and playlists from Apple Music, but also to control your smart home via HomeKit (Apple's home automation system, for which it also acts as a hub) and use the Siri voice assistant to obtain information and execute various commands. To be clear, it is a rival of the Amazon Echo speakers with Alexa and those of the Google Nest (formerly Google Home) with Google Assistant.

For HomePod mini, the release in Italy it took place on November 23, 2021. It should be noted that it is the younger brother of HomePod, a larger smart speaker launched by Apple in 2018, which has never reached the Italian market and is currently discontinued.

HomePod mini is of rather compact size: measures 84,3 mm in height, 97,9 mm in width and weighs 345 grams. It has a spherical shape and is made of a synthetic woven fabric that culminates in a backlit panel in white glass, on which touch controls are available and which lights up when the use of Siri is invoked and during content playback.

"Under the hood", as they say, there is a full range driver, two passive radiators and four microphones, capable of guaranteeing a rather powerful sound, as well as enveloping at 360°. To orchestrate everything is the S5 chip of Apple (the same used on Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch SE). On the connectivity front, however, it supports the Wi-Fi 802.11n, direct access for guests, the Bluetooth 5.0 and the home automation protocol Thread.

Le compatible audio sources are: Apple Music, purchased music from iTunes, iCloud Music Library, various third-party music services, Apple Music Radio or On-Demand Episodes, Radio Stations from TuneIn, Apple Podcasts, News in Brief, other content streamed via AirPlay from iPhone, iPads, iPod Touches, Apple TVs and Macs.

Multiple HomePod Minis can then be paired together to create a multi-channel or multi-room audio system. Another useful function to use in the home environment is the one that allows you to use one or more HomePod Minis as an intercom from one room to another and the one that, thanks to the chip Ultra Wideband, allows you to detect nearby Apple devices and transfer audio to or from them by simply bringing them closer.

Other interesting features included are those that allow you to use i Siri shortcuts created on iPhone and iPad, playback of ambient sounds, location of other Apple devices via Where, the ability to send Siri web search results directly to iPhone, musical alarms and the ability to recognize the voices of six family members.

About the speech privacyApple points out that voice requests sent to the HomePod Mini are not associated with your Apple ID, communications are encrypted, and you can also choose not to save recordings.

As regards the system requirements and compatibility, to set up and use HomePod mini you need: iPhone SE, iPhone 6s and later or iPod touch (7th generation) updated to iOS 15 or later or iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation and later), iPad Air 2 and later or iPad mini 4 and later updated to iPadOS 15 or later.

HomPod mini: price

But how much does the HomePod mini cost? I'll answer right away: the list price is 99,00 euros. In the sales package there is also the relative documentation, the power cord and a 20W power supply.

You can buy it directly on the Apple website, in the Apple Store or in the main electronics stores, both physical and online, choosing from the following colors: space gray, white, blue, yellow and orange.

When buying, it is possible to add up if necessary AppleCare +, at the price of 15,00 euros, to get two years of technical assistance and coverage for accidental damage.

Note that stands and others are also available accessories which can allow you to optimize the use experience of HomePod mini.

How HomePod mini works

Preliminary operation

If you want to find out how HomePod mini works, you need to do a few preliminary operations. Nothing complicated, don't worry.

First, you have to take the HomePod mini out of its retail packaging, connect the power cord and connect it topower pack. Then wait a few moments for the device to start working: this will be signaled to you by anpulsating white lighting visible on top.

Next, you have to take your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and activate it Bluetooth connectivity on the device, accessing the iOS/iPadOS home screen, selecting the icon Settings (Quella with the ruota d'ingranaggio), then the entry Bluetooth attached to the new screen displayed and bringing up ON the appropriate switch.

Also try to activate the Wifi connection, touching the wording Wi-Fi that you find in the main screen of Settings of iOS/iPadOS, by moving up ON the appropriate switch and, if necessary, by selecting the wireless network to which you want to connect and typing the Password possibly requested.

Configuration

At this point, you can move on to the stage of Setting up HomePod mini, so that you can then finally use it.

Therefore, bring your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch close to HomePod mini, wait for the popup showing the speaker to appear and press the button Configure to start the setup process, after which you have to stick to the wizard that is presented to you on the screen.

If the setup popup does not appear automatically, select theHome app icon (Quella with the yellow house on a white background) that you find on the home screen and/or in the iOS/iPadOS app library, then tap the button capacitor positive (+) lead at the top left and select the item Add accessory give the menu check if you press.

Next, choose the option Other options that you find on the proposed screen, tap on theHomePod mini icon from the list of nearby accessories that is offered to you and proceed in the same way as I indicated above.

What you have to do during the setup phase is indicate the room where you have chosen to place the HomePod mini (eg. Studio o Kitchen), decide whether or not to enable the personal requests (when iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch are nearby they can use HomePod mini to access messages, reminders, etc.) and accept the terms and conditions of use.

Then press the button to transfer settings from your Apple account and point with the camera your HomePod mini, aligning it with the center of the circle visible on the screen of your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. A later notification sound it will confirm you that the process was successful, after that Siri will greet you from HomePod mini and you can finally start using the speaker.

Any further configurations can always be made via the Home app. More precisely, by accessing the main screen of the app on iOS / iPadOS and selecting the item Home settings you can select your account and choose whether or not to activate voice recognition, whether and how to enable the use of Apple Music and whether to control access remotely. You can also enable HomePod mini to be used as an intercom and manage software updates.

You can also set up HomePod mini using the Home app on a Mac. To do this, select theHome application icon that you find in Launchpad of macOS, which you can access by clicking the i button colored squares located on Dock bar, click on sull'icona della cottage located at the top left, then on the item Home settings from the menu that opens and proceed in the same way as I explained above for iPhone and iPad.

utilization

Once you have set up your HomePod mini, theutilization it's a real breeze. You can use it via voice control, by touch controls or by acting from iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac or Apple TV.

As for the voice control, just say the fateful phrase "Hey Siri" to call up Siri, followed by the request of your interest and wait for HomePod mini to respond or execute the command directly. The fact that the voice assistant has taken action will be reported to you bykaleidoscopic lighting on top of HomePod mini.

Instead, as regards the touch controls, you can manage playback by tapping the top of HomePod mini as follows:

Touch — allows you to start playback and pause it.
Double tap — allows you to skip to the next track.
Triple tap — allows you to go to the previous track.
Hold down — allows you to call up Siri.
Hold (+) — allows you to turn up the volume.
Hold down (-) — allows you to lower the volume.

Regarding the opportunity to manage HomePod from another device, you can transfer playback of multimedia content from the HomePod mini to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch and vice versa simply by bringing the devices close together and pressing on thenotice that appears in the upper part of the display.

If you're not nearby your HomePod mini, you can still transfer playback from your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch using AirPlay, by pressing onicon special (the one with the triangle and the waves) visible in the playback app in use or by calling up the Control Center of iOS/iPadOS, by swiping down from the top right corner on iPhone with Face ID and iPad and from the bottom up on all other iPhone and iPod Touch models, selecting theAirPlay icon located in the box at the top right and tapping the name of HomePod mini from the list Speakers and TV that appears.

The same thing can be done from macOS. You can transfer content playback from your Mac to HomePod mini by selecting theAirPlay icon visible in the window of the application you are using or by invoking the Control Centerby clicking on the i icon two cursors located in the upper right part of the screen, by selecting the box Sound from the menu that appears, then the name of HomePod mini from the list Dismissal.

In addition to how I just explained to you, you can manage playback on your HomePod mini through the app Home. To do this, go to the application screen for room where HomePod mini is located, then if you're using iOS/iPadOS, long press thedevice icon, while if you are using macOS right click on theHomePod mini icon and choose the item Show controls from the menu that appears. Then use the playback controls that are offered to you in the new screen, from which you can also manage alarms and timers.

By instead making a long press on theHomePod mini icon on iOS/iPadOS or by right-clicking on its icon and choosing the voice Settings from the menu that appears on macOS and, subsequently, pressing on the symbol ofGear you can adjust the settings related to the use of Siri, localization, accessibility, you can configure the use of HomePod as a stereo pair ste etc.

If you own a Apple TV 4K and if it's in the same room as your HomePod mini, you can set it as the audio output to your set top box. To do this, always access the Home application screen for room of your interest, make a long press on theApple TV icon if you are using iOS/iPadOS or right click on it and choose the item Settings from the menu that appears if you are using macOS, then select the symbol ofGear, then the option Audio output default and select the name of HomePod mini.

How to set up HomePod mini in Italian

If you want set HomePod mini to Italian or in any other language, know that you can change the region settings from the app Home di iOS/iPadOS or macOS.

So, start the latter, select yours home pod mini from the home screen, scroll down the menu and you will find, among the many options available, also the one relating to language.

How to set up HomePod mini with Spotify

Spotify is your favorite music streaming service and you want to know how to access it from home pod mini? In this case, know that you can play Spotify content via AirPlay (from iPhone, iPad or Mac) but you can't call up the Spotify app directly via Siri built into the Apple speaker.

How to set up HomePod mini with Mac

You have a Mac and wondering if you can set up HomePod with the latter? If to configure you intend to perform the first installation, sorry but no, you must proceed with an iOS device as explained above.

Through the application Home of macOS you can instead control playback and other aspects of HomePod (once the initial configuration of the speaker is done) by selecting it from the main screen of the latter.

How to set up HomePod mini with Android

If you have one Android smartphone or a tablet equipped with the operating system of the green robot, I'm sorry but you can't set up HomePod mini with Android. You must use an iOS device as explained above.

HomePod mini setup problems

You've followed my instructions exactly on how HomePod mini works, but is there still something you still don't understand or have you run into problems? Under the circumstances, the best suggestion I can offer you is certainly to consult the section of the Apple site dedicated to support for HomePod.