Podcast episode where I talk about HomePod Home Theater mode: bit.ly/3fT1kl2 🪙 MY CRYPTO COURSE & NEWSLETTER 👇 The Great Onboarding is my other brand focused on helping newcomers understand and keep up with crypto. - Crypto and Web3 for Absolute Beginners Course: bit.ly/3Kc0Ncv - The Great Onboarding crypto newsletter: bit.ly/3ttDWmY - FREE lesson “Cryptocurrency Basics” here: bit.ly/3qLjFaB - Follow @greatonboarding on Twitter: bit.ly/32hXDml

You spent a lot of time telling me where to put this thing, but not much time telling me what it does how to use it practically, which is what you said you were going to do

Great video! Office and bedroom were the first two places I put the minis also. Then my 10-year-old convinced me to put one in her room. I was surprised at how useful it’s been there. She uses it to listen to music with friends, controls her bedroom lightstrip (thanks to homekit), listens to ambient sounds at bedtime and even sets her alarm to get herself up for school in the mornings. And not to mention intercom...every parent’s favorite new feature...no more yelling across the house!

The Mini is great if you have some hearing loss to watch tv. I was having trouble hearing tv and my wife would complain it was too loud. So we got a mini, paired it with our Apple tv and set it on the end table right next to me so now i can hear everything clearly and i get no more complaints. It takes up so little space too

I just got mine today--ordered in early November. i have had originals as stereo since beginning and love them. I thought the Mini would be good but am more impressed than I expected. I bought one for the bedroom--night music with sleep timer and listening to radio stations (NPR, Cable stations) when I am in room during the day. Decided I didn't need stereo for that. I fiddled with playing same thing in all 3 at same time, different music or radio on stereos and the Mini. Works easily and just exactly as I wanted.

What I like about you is you're pretty real about things and not just negative or positive. Even on point when you called out older TVs with rattling speakers LOL. It just started happening to me, although I am looking to upgrade to 4K or 8K soon.

Yeah it’s a great little device. I put in the middle of the the house. I can talk to from anywhere in my house. I uses daily for weather, news, podcast, music and control all my lights, lock, Apple TV and fans. It’s very useful in my house.

Agree, HomePod Mini is a good deal because of the superb sound quality at low volumes and expanding HomeKit to more rooms. The intercom feature is really nice so my wife doesn’t have yell across the house like an air raid siren. Just intercom to a specific room or all rooms.

Thanks for useful ideas. This was a great way to break in to smart homing. I bought HomePod mini and four tp-link receptacles. So far, one controls bedroom lights (manual), coffee pot (automated), backyard water fall (automated). Loving it.

that was actually a very smart video and useful advice, thanks! I don't have HomePods or HomePod Minis right now, but a few years down the line, if I change my MacBook Pro for a Mac mini instead, to save money, then I'll probably get a HomePod Mini or two as my desk speakers. Also, talking of having several ones for several uses, I wouldn't be able to justify buying one for each room and so on, but if I could justify getting 2 for the stereo, then I could very well have one on my desk, one in the kitchen, and then move both of them to the same room when watching a movie, or something like that.

I just bought the apple HomePod Mini couple weeks ago. I didn't know bout double & triple tapping on it. I did buy a smart light bulb & that is super handy when walking into a room & have Siri turn the light on so I don't walk into a dark room. It was super easy to set up everything. Thx for the tips.

Love the video chapters!! Thanks for adding!

Great video. I have one on my desk, in addition to a 3rd gen Echo dot. Honestly, the HomePod mini is pretty cool when the proximity handoff is working w/my iPhone, but while the sound is pretty impressive, it’s not an insane improvement over the 3rd gen echo dot. The dot also supports many more smart home devices, and have been going for $18 lately. While enthusiasts like us can find value in the HomePod mini, I feel that most consumers will flock to the dot, given the low price and perception of equal quality.

I whispered "hey Siri" like 3 metres away from the HomePod and it still recognises my command. That's just impressive.

Been waiting for days for your review to drop. You're the only person I trust here on KZfaq now.

Thanks for the tips!! Appreciated the one about setting them up as a pair and with your Apple TV. Definitely going to get a pair for the living room and one for the bedroom. Can you run sleep apps off your phone through the HomePod Mini?

How do you only have 300k? This was the best HomePod Mini review I have seen so far... an I have seen a lot... Seriously I think your channel deserves much more appreciation!

We have two HomePod mini’s in the livingroom TV now as a stereo pair. We are getting two more for surround sound, when we can get them. We will start on other rooms after that. I got a portable power bank, and already tried it as portable, and it was pretty cool.

I’ve got one each on my nightstands - being able to sit on the bed in the middle and have the sound surround you is amazing 🤩

Your channel deserves 1 million. not kidding. You're the only who puts effort in your content these days and even though you have only 289k subs, you put effort into your video like you have 3/4 million subs. these videos are amazing and you should continue like this.

I bought three HomePod minis and used 2 for dual speakers. They sound beautiful for small devices however It was extremely difficult to stream music even on Apple Music. And the lag (I have fast internet) was driving me crazy. I’ve had an Alexa for years and will remain using their products. I do hope that Apple comes up with a better solution. Lots of room to improve. Using the HomeKit as my only app for smart devices is where I want to be but it won’t be today unless huge improvements are made.

I plan on buying my very first HomePod as a Christmas gift to myself and your review has been very helpful. I’ll definitely get a HomePod mini since it’s more affordable

Chris this was so incredibly helpful thank you. Particularly the section on Spotify, I did think that airplay would be the solution but to have someone actually talk it through super helpful! But most of all thank you so much for showing Song Shift - never knew this was a thing and have been debating Apple One subscription! Another great video thanks

I got the Apple TV 4K and two homepods for the bedroom. If I’m watching tv in bed, this is nice so I don’t have to turn the volume up too much because the tv gets loud. It’s convenient to answer calls, play music and I got one for the kiddo for the intercom feature.

I’d recommend keeping it away from the bedroom because it emits a huge amount of RFs even while idle, more than your phone for some reason. It’s great in my kitchen/living room for some nice background music though. Great sound and really small!

I got a home pod mini for my iPad Pro and sound quality is a great improvement while remaining compact.

I just got mine I order 3 space grey two for my living room for the stereo pair sound and one in my bedroom and the sound coming out of these are great for anyone who lives in a apartment I was going to the bigger one but apple discount it I am glad I got the HomePod mini great purchase I got my from Best Buy in a 3 pack off there website or app which is great

I live in 1-bedroom, so I put the pair of new big ones in the livingroom and the pair of minis in the bedroom. Dude, I love it!

I have the OG’s which I use with my T.V. I have the mini’s in each of my kids room, kitchen and bedside table. I’m going to order the ALLICAVER shelf to use one in the bathroom. I also use them for my Phillips Hue lights.

I'd fully invest in the HomePod if they'd add native Spotify to it - I have a couple of Minis that I use as little speakers for my AppleTV but the lack of native Spotify is a problem and apparently it's on Spotify, not on Apple

Such a professional, really great videos! All the small details make the difference!

Great useful review. Waiting for it to arrive

I was late to buying the home pod mini. I purchased one for my desk area, but I couldn't use it with my mac via airplay (no matter what I tired it didn't work). After watching this video I decided to keep the mini and put it in by bedroom. :)

Sweet shirt Chris! Love the podcast too BTW (although the last episode (44) the audio was a bit more tinny / echoey - not sure if you changed anything about your setup but just some feedback). Thanks for all your awesome content.

Loving the new HomePods. How seamlessly do they switch devices? I have a MacMini with a small speaker plugged into it. I don't have a TV, instead I have a projector mounted to my wall, connected to my AppleTV. I of course also have an iPhone and shall be getting a new iPad before long. I'd like to replace my cheap, bluetooth sound bar with one or two HomePod Minis. But could I easily use them for my Mac Mini, iPhone, etc. as well, switching between devices without much fuss?

I love my home pod mini I’ve got them paired getting one for the bedroom love the apple products. My watch the phone and the mag safe duo great review 🔥👏💯

nice. helpful. I am just launching into apple homekit and received my first mini. Thanks. well done.

Replaced my OG HomePods with minis in the office and kitchen. Bought a used Apple TV 4K and paired that with the OGs for a sweet living room setup. Couldn’t be happier with the result.

What people never seem to review is the personality and ease of use of various tasks. I have had Amazon Echo for years and it's always worked pretty well and very intuitively (I don't have to be rigid in how I get things done, just ask as I would a person and it mostly always doees what I want). The problem is it NEVER STOPS TALKING, even on brief mode. It always adds, "By the way" and also asks how it did in interpreting your plans. Imagine if your every light switch in your home did this every time you used them and you start to see how infuriating it gets (especially when you realize it's all driven by Amazon wanting to push more on you or glean more information about you, which is what their shopping list feature really is, a spy that looks at what you buy and how often as just one puzzle piece in building a profile about you). So while Amazon Echo and Alexa have gotten to be infuriating, and the last straw was sitting 3' from it and just wanting to play music through it and it interrupting the music I could already hear playing to say "Now connected to MacBook Pro," I decided to start exploring options. I'm sold on the sound of the HomePod mini even just from watching a movie and shooting the sound over to play through it. I can tell immediately two in stereo would be noticeably impressive compared to an Echo Dot or even the Echo Pro I own. But in just about every other way the HomePod mini and Siri are ridiculously far behind Amazon Echo and Alexa in intuitiveness and ease of use (intuitiveness under Steve Jobs used to be Apple's strong suit. Tim Cooke's Apple can't begin to compare. So instead of focusing on the HomePod mini and human interaction experience, Apple seems to have focused on the HomePod mini and iPhone/Siri experience. It's awful and it's unnatural and it's surprisingly rigid. Whereas with Echo/Alexa I can just speak naturally and it mostly works, Apple/Siri seems highly structured. I can't sit working away at my Mac and just say, "Hey, Siri, play my [name] Playlist." The iPhone will do it, but the HomePod mini won't. I also tried Apple's Music service and deleted it after a day of struggle and issues. The killer was saying, "Hey Siri, play Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland," and it said it didn't have that and it played someone else's (weird) version of the song, but when I said, "Play songs from Judy Garland," what popped up right away but Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It was absolutely infuriating compared to the ease of speaking to and getting results from Amazon Echo/Alexa. With Echo/Alexa I can also 100% more easily tell it to add something to my Groceries list and also to delete them all or singly as I wish. The same thing with HomePod mini/Siri is absolutely infuriating to the point of giving up on it. It's truly awful in every way, and again, for the Echo/Alexa I never had to read a manual or remember a list of commands, I just spoke like I would to a person. Right now I've got both and am using Amazon Echo to control my lights on and off by voice and TRYING to move over to Apple HomePod mini for just about everything else, but while some things (asking it the weather forecast is one) work easily, some things like the groceries list are just unbelievably mind numbingly bad in comparison -- so bad as to be near unusable, and wreak of some engineer's rigid adherence to how lists/reminders work on the iPhone rather than moving it naturalistically into today as other competing devices (Echo) prove possible. I may get another HomePod mini and end up using them both for the sound on my TV and move on to something else for everything I've used Echo/Alexa for for years. Other than the never quits talking and interrupting of Echo/Alexa (which is the only reason I decided to look for an alternative), it works fairly flawlessly and intuitively. Apple, in comparison, seems truly clueless and years behind, if it ever reaches what Amazon's engineers have already achieved at all. When I think of the phrase "Think outside the box," I think Apple would do well to focus on HomePod mini and the human interaction and then work on the iPhone to catch up, not constrain the experience now by having this layer of iPhone between the HomePod mini and the end user that mucks up the entire experience and makes it unnatural. Apple needs to focus on HomePod mini and the end user and think outside the iPod. As speakers, they've done a good job (clearly better than Amazon's equivalents), but as an interface for making a smart home easily and intuitively they're not only years behind, they're going in the wrong direction. It's absolutely clunky in comparison.

I picked one up on release day (via express pickup). It’s on my desk and I use it everyday :)

Will either of the Homepods act as a speaker for the TV in general? As in would it work with a console (Xbox Series X) and project sound from there? I purchased a new LG 55Nano85UNA, Apple TV 4K, and 2 Homepods, all this week for my family. Later on when the Xbox Series X is “available”. I want sound to project from the homepods as I play video games etc. (Pardon my ignorance).

Recently found you and love your unique approach to these videos

Love your idea of using two of these as a stereo pair to replace TV speakers, especially in smaller spaces. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t let you set it up as your default audio output. Hopefully, that will change in a future tvOS software update.

I am looking to move these away from my bedroom “theater” setup and move them to my desktop. I’m dreading adding additional cables - but they don’t need to sit on the desk do they. Looking forward to seeing how this goes.

I have 10 in my house now and it’s made our life just a bit better we really enjoy playing music whilst in the laundry

I have two homepods connected to my tv.... the sound it’s incredible, just bought a HomePod mini for the kitchen, and one for my nightstand

I have a couple of HomePods on my nightstands for watching movies with stereo sound and another one in my kitchen mainly to control my smart things at home. I’m planning on getting a Mini for my garage to communicate with my husband when he’s working there. But man, a couple of Minis for my desk sounds really interesting too... 🤔

One of the few things the HomePod mini has going for it is that it’s a great quality speaker, pretty much everything else is still topped by both google and Alexa devices. But glad apple are taking it more seriously now.

This was a great episode. Funny and informative. Great job!

I stream audiobooks to go to sleep to. Plus, I have a movement sensor from eve technology four my entryways and it is set up to let me know if somebody is moving around or moving open my front or back door by setting off an alarm. The sensors can tell the difference between humans and animals. No false alarms.

Hello, thanks for the video. I just bought a mini yesterday and like it. I wanted to ask if you have a link for the hue lights you mention in the video?

Which wireless charging station on your nightstand. What is the best all in one wireless charging option for Apple Watch, AirPod pro and iPhone ?

I am getting one for Christmas and I am excited because I have been wanting a home pod for a long time but could never afford one because price. I am excited that apple came out with a small one. My question is can one home pod mini be used with movies as a speaker

Great review.. side note. If someone wanted to jump on the thread tech.. no mini or ATV needed.. just your phone or watch Siri. 😎 But.. hey.. I love my pod and mini pod too.. but if you wanted automation without mini pod or atv… it’s doable with Thread.

Homepods are on sale at bestbuy all the time. I’ve bought five of them. Each of them $200 or less. It’s still more than the HomePod mini but if you’re looking for a really good sound that’s an alternative.

I’m impressed with the B roll footage. It’s something that takes a lot of effort

Just got my mini this week.. works good with Apple Music which I’ve had since it started... but now that google home devices can play Apple Music, I use my multiple google devices primarily for music..I have no intentions of switching my google home setup to apple home kit.. had I known google was going to support Apple Music, (started December 8th) I probably wouldn’t have bought a mini

Thanks for suggesting alternative use and places to use it

Is there a way to clean gently the homepod? I am thinking to buy white since however I think it is more difficult to clean. My apartment is prone to dirt, so can you suggest how to clean them? (or anyone from the youtube community?)

I'm already an Apple One user, but I didn't know about songshift. Thanks for the tip 👍

Hey thanks for the video, very useful, love it. Is someone else there having issues with the transfer of music? It's working just few times for me (1 each 10 times), but mostly, I tap my iPhone with the HomePod Mini and nothing happen 😥 should I go for tech support?

Hi, Can they make announcements when there motion using a Homekit motion sensor? Example someone is at the back door or motion at back door. And if you use them with a power bank can that be anywhere beach for example or you still need to be near WiFi? Thanks.

Funny you make this video because everything you mention in this video I have done. Only thing I don’t like is they pair by airplay, not Bluetooth. I purchased the Apple TV 4K and pair two together for stereo speakers and although I have to pair them every time, they sound amazing. I can’t pair them to my Samsung tv because they won’t connect by Bluetooth. And I would love to use Apple Music but it doesn’t work the same way. Spotify saves my most recent radio I played. I can’t even figure out how to use the radio part of Apple Music. Awesome video! Where can I get that shirt???

I just order the Alexa dot for my wife simply because she and Siri don’t really get along. Lol. But I’m curious to set up a home pod and set my home up with apple products since we have iPhones iPad and macs. Let see how it goes. Thank you so much for all the information you share. What the name of your podcast I’d like to check it out. Thanks again.

I got it on release day and I LOVEEE ITT

I would love to use two HomePod minis as a stereo pair for my computer. But I was also wondering, is it possible for me to pair two HomePod minis with my computer and have a seperate one on my nightstand? (Computer is in my bedroom) Does it affect the usabilitiy?

We have a stereo pair in our bedroom on our nightstands. It's perfect for watching TV without disturbing the people in the next room.

Question: at the handoff mark, was the music first being played on the original HomePod or something else? Bc if that was the HomePod sounding like that, I’m sold.

I have 2 , paired as stereo, in my living room which is 25'x15.5'. I play mainly Classical music and the sound clarity and volume is very good. I used to have a powerful hi-fi system with large speaker cabinets. I have grown older and don't need Back organ music to rattle the windows. I wear hearing-aids, so very low frequency bass is lost. Hi-fi, the mini Homepods are not; but they are amazing, for their size.

Love your vids. Would love an ‘experience’ video of how you got into being a content creator and the pit falls, technical tips, recommended software etc

I've been shocked at how wonderful this little ball is when adding it to a sound system. Added it to my Apple TV setup with 7.1 Atmos - and it just delivered this wonderful punch that brought the music and movies even closer to me. I'll probably be picking up another one. Oh, and then if you combine the Apple TV, the HomePod mini and the speakers you have connected to a MacBook, it almost blows a hole in my ceiling.

Great video, really useful. subscribed 🙌🏽

Can you drop in multiple pods at the same time from your iPhone away from home? With amazon echos it only allows one at a time, or a recorded message to announce to all echos at once.

As the speaker for my Mac (new Mac mini) I get a huge audio delay when I use FaceTime or any web conferencing application. Any suggestions?

Just ordered my blue one! Im so excited

Super informative video. Creative and fair. Liked and subscribed 👍

Love these kinds of videos... How is the new house?

can I stream to these via bluetooth from a non mac computer? or can i hook these up directly to my computer monitors or my docking station? would like them as my computer speakers but am not sure they'd actually work...

I use JBL 104BT. Wireless works well. Sound is crisp.

I switched from amazon alexa to homepod mini because alexa doesn't integrate very well with apple music. Loved the homepod mini from day one.

How do you sync the mini home pods to the Apple TV .... I’ve just got one for the bedroom & want to play the Audio my shows from Netflix etc & I can’t find anywhere on apple where it explains how to do it

Great video! I really liked all the practical applications covered, but I am not ready to switch to apple music because I am paying $0 for Spotify.

Great video! Thanks!

Very good description of mini and uses. Thankfully I have no such requirements or needs so I can spend my money on other Apple products.

Great video review!! Even cooler t shirt. Where did you get that?

Thank you for this video. Very useful.

It’s possible to use the Apple HomePod or HomePod mini as sound bard? I have an lg Oled tv c8

Great video I am going use with my Mac mini. Love that shirt...

Are you sure you can stero pair them to use as computer speaker? I thought that function is for iPhone only?

Can you use the homepod mini in the bathroom while you shower, or will the steam impair its performance or break it?

Great video Chris. In the UK we wouldn’t be able to put anything electrical in the bathroom, especially near the sink! No plugs allowed in the UK. Great T-Shirt - do you have the link? Thanks

Alas, at the moment neither the HomePod nor the HomePod mini work well in a stereo pair with Macs. For some reason you can only output sound to one speaker of a HP or HP mini stereo pair if you do it from the Sound System Preference or from the Mac's sound icon in the title bar. You CAN select a stereo pair from within either the Music app or Apple TV app but you can't do it from Safari or Apple Arcade. Macrumors has a convoluted workaround that lets you direct system-wide sound to a stereo pair but it is kludgy and plagued with latency issues because it is using AirPlay 1 not AirPlay 2.

They should made the homepod screen surface a charging port, magsafe screen would have been the cherry bonus feature

“It is....a lot more......private” 😂 gold

can you consider doing a comparison of the google home mini and this homepod mini?

You left a link in the description to check the price on Amazon. Amazon won’t sell other brands’ smart speakers because Amazon has the echo.

Amazing video - but I've been hearing that the Mini doesn't work in stereo form for the AppleTV as a default speaker setup; and that the same is true for the MacBook Pro (2019). Also, if you're using these speakers as your pair for the MacBook Pro (2019), do you know how it performs okay - or does it cause echo when using ZOOM.

👀 I enjoyed the video very much. Blessings on your day.

Love the shirt! Also would be interested in info for the watch band!

okay now I know I am going to get a homepoad mini but what color? Most of my execorsies are silver and my iMac is of corse silver so maybe a white one? And my Apple TV 4k is black I could use some black homepods whit that.