The tech giant Apple at its October event introduced a fresh lineup of products that includes MacBook Pro models with M1 Pro and M1 Max chipsets, AirPods 3 and a new HomePod mini. The Apple speaker comes in new bold and expressive colours and works seamlessly with the iPhone. It also features Siri Voice assistant for voice control.
The all-new HomePod mini is 3.3 inches tall. The smart speaker by Apple not only comes in white and space grey but it will be available in three bold new shades of yellow, orange, and blue. The company thinks that this will allow users to reflect their personality and style in any space.
The Apple HomePod mini is not only great at providing a better listening experience but comes with Siri smart home capabilities, too.
Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing said, “With new vibrant colours, HomePod mini fits in even more places and delivers amazing sound, the power of Siri, and simple and secure smart home controls, all while protecting your privacy.”
The HomePod mini employs computational audio to deliver a rich and detailed acoustic experience while maintaining peak performance. It is powered by an Apple S5 chip that can run advanced software to analyse the unique characteristics of the music. It also applies complex tuning models to optimise loudness, adjust the dynamic range, and control the movement of the driver and passive radiators, all in real-time.
The full-range driver, premium neodymium magnet, and pair of force-cancelling passive radiators on the HomePods mini allows it to produce deep bass and crisp high frequencies. For an immersive 360-degree audio experience an acoustic waveguide designed by Apple directs the flow of sound down and out the bottom of the speaker.
It can be placed in multiple rooms to play the same music throughout the house, all in perfect sync or a different song in each room. Placing two HomePod mini speakers in the same room creates a stereo pair for an even more immersive experience when listening to music.
When music is playing, a three microphone array listens for Hey Siri and a fourth inward-facing microphone helps cancel out sound from the speaker to improve Siri’s ability to hear voice requests.
HomePod mini is designed to work with Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, thousands of radio stations including the award-winning Apple Music 1 station, and popular music services like Pandora, Deezer, and others, providing entertainment for everyone. The smart speaker also offers more than 90 million songs, all curated by world-class experts and tastemakers; thousands of curated playlists, including hundreds created specifically for the Apple Music Voice Plan; and more than 25,000 exclusive radio episodes and other original content.
By bringing their iPhone close to the device while listening to music or podcasts or taking a phone call, users can seamlessly hand off the audio without missing a beat. With any U1-equipped iPhone, the experience becomes even more magical with visual, audible, and haptic effects that make it feel as if the devices are physically connected as sound flows from one to another.
If nothing is playing on the HomePod mini, personalised listening suggestions will automatically appear on the iPhone when it is near the speaker, and instant controls are available without needing to unlock the iPhone.
Siri can recognise the voices of up to six different household members, tailor music and podcasts to their preferences, and respond to personal requests, like reading their messages, reminders, notes, and calendar appointments, or making and answering phone calls. Not only this it can offer users a personal update for a quick snapshot of their day. Users can ask “Hey Siri, what’s my update?” to hear the latest news, weather, traffic, reminders, and calendar appointments with a single request.
You can simply use voice commands for Siri to turn off the lights, change the temperature, lock the doors, set a scene, or control devices at specific times. Users can send an intercom message from one HomePod mini to another — whether in a different room, a specific zone, or multiple rooms throughout the home — and their voice message will automatically play on the designated HomePod mini. This functionality also works with iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, and CarPlay, so everyone in the household can get Intercom notifications and send as well.
In terms of privacy and security, information is sent to Apple servers only after Hey Siri is recognised locally on the device or when the user activates Siri by touch. Requests are not associated with the user’s Apple ID, nor is personal information used for Apple’s advertising sold to third parties. The device collaborated with the iPhone to fulfil requests for messages and notes on the device without disclosing that information to the company.
Apple HomePod mini price in India and availability
The Apple HomePod mini price in India has been set at Rs 9,990. It will be available in yellow, orange, blue, white and space grey colours.
The smart speaker can be purchased through the Apple online store or via Apple Authorised Resellers (prices may vary) from next month onwards that is in November.
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