Vratislav Holub Last October, Apple showed us the new iPhone 12, alongside which it also presented an extremely interesting product – the HomePod mini. It is the smaller and younger sibling of the HomePod from 2018, and in short, it is a Bluetooth speaker and voice assistant with perfect sound. Of course, this piece is primarily used for playing music or controlling a smart home, for example. But today we learned an interesting news. The HomePod mini has a hidden digital sensor with a thermometer and a humidity sensor, but it is still inactive.
This information was confirmed by experts from iFixit, who came across this component after re-disassembling the product. According to the Bloomberg portal, Apple has already discussed its use many times, when, based on the data, it could be used for even better functionality of the entire smart home and, for example, turn on the fan when a certain temperature is exceeded, etc. Its location is also interesting. The digital sensor is located on the lower side, near the power cable, which confirms that it is used for sensing temperatures and humidity from the surroundings. The second option would be to use it for a kind of self-diagnosis. For these purposes, however, the part would have to be placed much closer to the internal components. By the way, the HomePod mini's rival, namely Amazon's newest Echo speaker, also has a thermometer for sensing the ambient temperature.
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It can therefore be expected that Apple will activate this sensor through a software update in the future, unlocking a number of new possibilities. The main updates are released every year in the fall, however, it is not yet clear when we will actually see them. Unfortunately, the spokeswoman of the Cupertino company refused to comment on the whole situation. Moreover, it is not the first time that Apple has incorporated a hidden component into its product. For example, in 2008, a Bluetooth chip was discovered in the iPod touch, although support for this technology itself was software unlocked only the following year.
Apple will have to add a lot to the Homepod to repair its reputation. Although the original HomePod had absolutely great sound and was generally a very nice device, its usability was "almost non-existent".
And what is more important than sound with HomePod? Who doesn't have it, writes this crap. God?? What plays better in this category?