Adam Kos If you're looking for a better way to consume your favorite music, e.g. from Apple Music, and the iPhone or Mac speakers aren't enough for you, HomePod may be the right choice for you. However, there are a few things that you should pay attention to.
Apple introduced its HomePod, i.e. a smart speaker, in 2017 and started selling it at the beginning of 2018. Now it's only been a year since we learned that Apple has finally killed it and offers only its smaller and cheaper alternative in the form of the HomePod mini. Not so with us. Because the device is designed to be closely linked with Siri, which still does not speak Czech, you will not find it in the domestic Apple Online Store and you have to go to various importers.
Introducing the HomePod mini
Even though the HomePod has been out of production for a year, it is still available, often at a relatively favorable price, as e-shops are trying to resell it. The standard one ranged between 9 and 10 thousand CZK. The new HomePod mini typically costs from 2 to 500 CZK, depending on its color variant. The price was then the reason why the classic HomePod failed. But by being bigger overall, it will of course also provide a higher quality and denser sound, which may be what potential buyers are looking for. When you look at the mini model, it really looks like its name.
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Its diameter is 97,9 mm, height 84,3 mm and weight 345 g. Compared to it, the HomePod has dimensions of 172 mm in height and 142 mm in width. Its weight is a really high 2,5 kg. If you are limited by space, there is probably nothing to solve. If you want more colors to choose from, you can't go wrong with HomePod in white and space gray either. Mini is still yellow, orange and blue. Please note that the HomePod must be connected to the network in any case, it is not a portable Bluetooth speaker.
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Vratislav Holub The length of support is the main thing
If you go for a higher price, larger dimensions and thus better sound delivery, the main question is how long the HomePod will actually serve you in terms of software. There is not much room for concern in this regard. Apple is known for its exemplary software support even for older devices, and it shouldn't be any different here.
When the company discontinued its AirPort router in 2018, it continued to sell out for several months, with support guaranteed for another 5 years, until next year. If we use this model as a basis for the HomePod, it will be supported until 2026. Those 5 years are the period after which Apple marks unsold devices as old or obsolete and no longer has to provide spare parts for them. But software support can go further.
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So the difference with the HomePod mini is that if something happens to you, you are guaranteed to have the opportunity to have it repaired at least until the end of its sale + 5 years. Both models then share the same code base, even though the HomePod runs on an A8 chip and the HomePod mini on an S5 chip. The first was introduced back in 2014 with the iPhone 6, and it is used, for example, by the Apple TV HD from 2015. The S5 chip then debuted in the Apple Watch Series 5 and SE. In this regard, there is absolutely no danger that one of the chips will no longer be able to handle something that Apple prepares for it.
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In the end, we can say that there is no need to worry about buying a HomePod. If you require maximum quality sound and are not limited by space, and at the same time want to be absorbed as much as possible in the Apple ecosystem. But it may also pay off for you to buy two HomePod minis and connect them to a stereo or equip the whole household with them.
- Newly introduced Apple products can be purchased, for example, at AlgeIn iStores whether Mobile Emergency
I prefer two large HomePods in a pair. It plays great.
The sound of the Mini is complete bullshit, I don't understand why anyone buys it.