Apple HomePod mini in color.
Apple launched a new HomePod this week, cleverly called the HomePod 2th Generation: But contrary to previous reports, rumors of a new HomePod mini 2th The generation is wrong.
That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, which says today that no such product is in development, he believes.
This is interesting because as recently as last August, Gurman himself said he believed Apple was considering releasing an updated HomePod mini. On the other hand, Gurman didn’t mention the new regular HomePod at the time; something he predicted was coming just a few days ago, and which he describes in his newsletter as part of “Apple’s January surprise.”
Gurman’s argument is that there aren’t any new features in the larger HomePod that aren’t found in the smaller one. At least functionally. It’s highly likely that the new HomePod will continue to have great audio. Of course, the first HomePod sounded richer and fuller than the HomePod mini.
But it’s true that the first HomePod lacked some of the sensors found on the mini, such as the U1 ultra-wideband chip and a temperature and humidity sensor. The Mini also had a screen that lit up from edge to edge, something the first HomePod didn’t. All these shortcomings have been solved in the second generation HomePod.
However, the larger HomePod didn’t include any new features or sensors that weren’t on the mini, suggesting that Apple thinks the mini is as functional as it needs to be, given that the larger there is no new sensor in the device. . Unless there’s something inside that hasn’t been announced yet, but that doesn’t seem very likely.
As Gurman says, this means that “there’s no obvious reason to upgrade [HomePod mini].
“Of course,” he continues, “it would be nice to get more colors, a cheaper price, and better sound and microphones, but the real improvements will probably have to be made on the back end with Siri and app integration.”
Apple HomePod mini in bright yellow, one of the added colors to the range.
I don’t think we can rule out new colors at this stage. there are only three bright hues: blue, orange, and yellow, in addition to more stark white and space gray HomePod mini versions. And adding color is something Apple likes to do with products that are already on sale.
But I would agree that the mini’s capabilities are pretty much on par with the new larger HomePod, aside from the audio quality.
I find it unlikely that Apple will want to put the mini ahead of the larger HomePod after the release of the second generation model in the next few days.
Assuming the next HomePod sounds as great as the first, and Apple says it sounds better, Apple will continue to have the loudest smart speaker on the market.
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