HomePod Mini

Announced in October and shipping from November 16, 2020, the Apple HomePod Mini was launched at $99, a fraction of the $349 the original HomePod cost when it debuted two years earlier. 

It came in a small spherical shape wrapped in mesh fabric, in just two colours at launch, Space Gray and White, with Yellow, Orange and Blue added about a year later. Inside sat the same S5 chip used in that generation's Apple Watch.

Sound came from a single upward-firing driver paired with two passive radiators handling bass, and the speaker used what Apple called computational audio, adjusting its output in real time based on the room it was placed in and how loud it was playing. The flat top surface was touch-sensitive, lighting up with a small LED display for controlling Siri, volume and playback.

A few software features set it apart from being just a speaker. Intercom will let you send a spoken message from one HomePod mini to another elsewhere in the house. A built-in U1 chip enabled a proximity handoff trick, bringing a compatible iPhone close to the speaker would transfer whatever was playing straight over. It could also work as a Thread border router, acting as a hub for compatible smart home accessories, and Siri could recognise up to six different household members by voice to personalise responses for each.