My Biggest Apple Regret - The HomePod Mini Review

Apple are renowned marketers, they could sell you rain. However, there was one purchase that I dub my biggest Apple regret, the HomePod Mini. This device left a sour taste in my mouth with his lacklustre assistant Siri, lack of audio controls, and poor sound. But why do I still have it? Well, you'll have to watch the video to find out.
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[@edcipriani8873]

Great video. I think you covered several reasons why the HomePod Mini works for you. For me, I am not as tech advanced as you, I just want a great sounding wireless speaker, even if it doesn't have a microphone. We go with what works for us.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

Thank you for being possibly one of the most mature commenters on this video. You see where I’m coming from, understand it, but don’t push it to the side because it doesn’t align with your opinions.

[@edcipriani8873]

@@ChrisWilmshurst - It's just common sense, everyone has their own go-to or go-for that works for them. I go for a wireless speaker that can connect with all the devices in the household, Even though I have an iPhone and iPad, we only use Windows laptops in the household and my better half uses a Pixel. My go-to for good sound lately is either a Marshall Emberton or a Bose Flex.

[@Celisar1]

I love the HomePod mini! I bought one spontaneously and was blown away by the sound quality in such a small device. I is even good with classic and voices. Since I have good hearing I never krank it up to full volume. It is so good, especially in stereo, that I bought 2 for several rooms. One of my favourite apple devices.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

Thanks for sharing!

[@Knowledge_Wisdom_Truth]

This is all BUNK, every comment I read. If I can hear it on my phone, I want to hear it on that speaker. If it’s not from an Apple media app, it doesn’t play it… not cool at all. Makes the product not flexible and who cares about the rest. Sent it back after the first day of dickin’ around with it, big thumbs down 👎

[@eraldway]

The HomePod is the best Apple purchase I have made. My only mistake was not buying two of the to create a stereo pair.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

I'm glad it worked out for you!

[@LikelyLagging]

Youre crazy...... i have thousands of dollars of tech and smart home stuff in my house. The mini is one of my favorite things i own by far. Even over my echo studios and full size homepod. I use 4 of them as 2 pairs of front and side stereo paired speakers for my apple tv and it cannot be beat for the price. If you put on a mount and face the bottom towards the wall it amplifies the sound greatly. highly recommend trying a different setup. This video just seem like click bait bullshit tbh

[@Steve-tf1wv]

This is definitely the first time I've ever seen anyone say the HomePod mini has too much bass. ;)

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

Many people who review it probably didn’t live in an apartment with thin walls and hard floors

[@sahmadi6659]

Because he got paid from competitors to ruin this product.

[@BigBoss-kq8mb]

i would never use that reduce bass option. I ****ing loveeee the bass.

[@Harrylin581]

It doesn’t work as a MacBook speaker. Too mich audio lag. So I’m returning it tomorrow, just got it today. Too bad

[@bfmainisnunu8064]

I’ve got 4 minis, soon to have 6. Absolutely terrible as an assistant outside of timers but that’s not why I got them, great for HomeKit and all home audio for a reasonably low cost.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

Do you take advantage of features like stereo pairing and intercom? What colours did you get?

[@sharksbean]

I use these as a home stereo pair for the tv in the living room, and for the size it sounds great.

[@jayp7936]

HomePod mini is the absolute most terrible apple product ive ever bought, waste of money, wouldn't even pay 20 dollars for it

[@amoonchild3386]

I’ve had nothing but problems with mine I have 2 stereo pairs that just keep disconnecting stop playing unpair all the time randomly switch off they are an utter nightmare and I bought 4 I have chronic tinnitus and playing white noise all the time is the only way to hear properly yet Apple won’t do anything about it and just keep saying wait for another update this is a joke people do not buy these they are utterly terrible especially using stereo pairs they constant unbridge then won’t reconnect everyday I’m troubleshooting at least 2 hours to get them working again very poor product and everyone I bought smells of damp I did tell Apple this they were not interested at all half the features dont work it’s so slow with home kit to I’ve had problems from day 1 but Apple kept dragging it out until my warranty ended now won’t do anything about it shocking !

[@_imteeyaz]

Totally agree with the HomeKit stuff, that’s what I use mine for mainly! As an Assistant Siri defo lags behind Google but for smarthome stuff I find it to be noticeably faster, just added two more of these at home!

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

HomeKit is the reason I keep it. I used Alexa and it was incredibly slow with smart routines in comparison!

[@SuperCarsFromTheHood]

I have a google mini whatever I don’t use it cuz it listens to everything I do and reply when nobody calls for it. I unplugged it, I only to use on my smart tv. I prefer Siri it minds it’s business and doesn’t try to sell me shit.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

I sometimes get the odd ghost response from my HomePod. It does happen from time to time.

[@krypton1142]

my homepod pisses me off man, especially because it was an impulse purchase that i didnt even need, i just had a giftcard and spent another £60 on it. it disconnects all the time, its so shit

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

We all impulse buy! Fingers crossed the connection issues fix themself with an update or maybe a home WiFi upgrade, if not, I say sell it!

[@cutieapplepie]

Fantastic editing, Great Video work! and then you absolutely potato bombed it with that audio quality. Sounding like you plugged an aux port into a potatoe and used that as a microphone

[@johnhallmarkiii5585]

Mine never worked from one day to the next. I’ve had to factory reset several times. I’m recycling it.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

Send it back to Apple!

[@refused1]

They're an amazing speaker, I have two and just order 17 more

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

🤣🤣

[@MichaelsTechTalk]

Great video Chris! Totally agree, the only thing for me the HomePod is useful for is Homekit and using as an Apple TV speaker.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

Do you use the single HomePod for Apple TV or do you have a stereo setup?

[@MichaelsTechTalk]

@@ChrisWilmshurst Mostly single use, but sometimes i fancy a bit of stereo i change it up a bit.

[@lal2235]

lol I love my homepod mini, not a tech head, just is great quality, nice looking, great sounding, and it plays whatever music I want.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

Hey, I don’t hate it. In fact with the latest update released a few days ago it’s unlocked it’s built in temperature and humidity sensors. It just could be so much more for the price in my opinion

[@slob5041]

They should’ve called it just a Siri

[@jaym4290]

Lets say im someone that knows much more than any other person (thats as much i can say) i use Apple products for +10 years and…. This is the only Apple product i regret buying. Everything and more this man says is correct unfortunately

[@Haziq-t6h]

Would you recommend google nest speaker over the homepod mini (im a full on apple ecosystem user with a windows pc)

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

If you’re already in the ecosystem I’d go with a HomePod, however.. the nest has a better voice assistant

[@MrDtae33]

I love my HomePod mini speakers

[@slob5041]

Apple rain drop

[@bb57nyc]

I got the homepod mini with the transfer feature to use as the dedicated speaker to listen to podcasts and audiobooks from my iphone SE 3rd gen. I hold the phone over the homepod mini, it shows it is pairing on the screen, but nothing happens. The only way I can get it to work is to turn off my phone and unplug the mini. I have to do this every time. I think the sound is great and I love the look, but it drives me crazy.

[@dacemaric9677]

hahaha expect from mini to work like big homepod.... For 99$ this is rly best what you get, and 95% job mini will complete :) Dont be so judge bcs clickbait videos are shiit :)))

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

Don’t be such a fan boy. The Alexa and google alternatives sound better and have smarter assistants. It’s not clickbait. I am a huge apple fan but it’s overpriced and isn’t really a good smart speaker.

[@thepill7195]

i love the mini. I have one in each room, they make my life so much easier.

[@yooo5977]

i bought 2 initially, just ordered 4 more, it's that great :p idk what you do with yours. siri works well for me, using with music all the time, including other family members. alerts, timers, music, tv, intercom & homekit.

[@sahmadi6659]

He just got paid from competitors to say bad about this product. It’s so obvious, but he is failing because he doesn’t know about marketing psychology.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

You’re an absolute idiot if you believe that. You do realise 90% of my tech and content on this channel is apple and related to apple in various ways. It’s ok to criticise products, that’s how companies make better products. You don’t have to be a blind sheep to realise that. Now I understand It’s ok if you’ve never tried another product in the same category before as you are probably ignorant to anything out of the apple ecosystem, but there is far more out there than what apple makes and I hate to break it to you, not everything apple makes is worthy of the price markup and can be bettered by other products in many ways.

[@claudeoreilly3981]

HomePod mini is so broken. 10 second delay whenever I play a song, Glitches out randomly, literally can’t fast forward this video with it connected to my phone. Any wireless speaker is better tbh.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

That might be a wifi issue, but ultimately if it’s not working for you I’d send it back/sell it and stick with what works

[@Blueboat21]

What was the intro song??

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

Hi, sorry for the slow reply., It is 'There must be a way out of here' by Bonnie Grace, available from Epidemic Sound (link in description)

[@Blueboat21]

@@ChrisWilmshurst thank you!

[@bigbufobufo]

I use the Apple TV as my home hub instead and I think it’s a better value than buying a home pod mini

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

I’m going to be mentioning that soon in an upcoming video! But I agree!

[@emiel333]

Hi Chris. Thanks for sharing your opinion on using the HomePod mini. Is it really that bass heavy that if you crank up the volume your neighbors will complain?

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

It’s not ridiculously bass heavy, but for the space I was in and the surroundings, it did give off more than I expected.

[@ongshaohui3263]

Oh, come on it’s just a basic smart speaker and helping hand, if u are for looking towards good extreme smart speaker ur pocket will just burn a hole. I’ve 15 of them in my house and all of them are just doing extremely great.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

The Amazon Alexa and google home are ‘ basic smart speakers’ which are far smarter than these and also 1/3rd of the price. It’s not unreasonable to expect Siri to have improved over the years it’s been out and a decent quality product, especially if it is going to be 3 times the price of the google alternative. The HomePod mini is only good as a smart hub.

[@jeremiahbrown2339]

I agree with you Siri can be a little better. I only really use her for small tasks and that’s honestly good enough for me on a day to day basis

[@baselv8680]

Can you use it as hub for non apple home kit accessories?

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

No, unfortunately. Other hubs (like Philips hue) work with it, but you can’t for example use the HomePod to command Philips hue without the hue hub.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

I see a lot of controversies with this video and I'm happy that this has brought so much conversation and discussion about the HomePod mini. To clarify if you're new to this channel. I own a LOT of Apple products and I do so as a fan of the brand, however, as this video suggests, this is the one product I regretted due to its poor performance as its intended use case (a smart speaker) and lack of features compared to cheaper alternatives that in some cases are 3 times cheaper. Thanks for watching the video!

[@javtimestwo]

The HomePod is ideal for anybody in the Apple ecosystem. Not only is the speaker terrific in terms of the sound quality but it also is a gateway to the HomeKit. With the latest updates the mini is even better than before. Plus, the new colors blow away the competition.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

But Siri still sucks and it’s three times the price of the competitors which have better smart functions? Don’t forget, I’m heavily in the apple eco system so I have a bias towards using it, but Siri still sucks! Thanks for watching the video though and sharing your experiences 💪

[@javtimestwo]

@@ChrisWilmshurst very difficult for anybody to respond when someone describes as item like you just did. of course there are faults are none of the smart assistants are perfect in this price point(under $100) but they have have strengths and weaknesses. Are you a proponent of the privacy factor that Apple has compared to the others? That seems to count for something, no? Anyway, this is a fun topic to debate and I appreciate your video and opinion.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

@@javtimestwo Don't get me wrong. I still use the HomePod mini (more so now that the temperature/humidity sensor has been turned on) and I'm looking forward to Matter integration in the future.. You're right that they all have strengths and weaknesses, and I think Apple marketed this wrong. It should have been advertised along the lines of the 'perfect apple speaker with siri' rather than a smart speaker. and the privacy thing has been debated a lot, I don't personally trust any of the three big brands, but Apple are known to be the better half of this. I regret buying it when I did, but regret doesn't mean I want to send it back. I hope I made that clear in the video? And I'm always up for a friendly debate and for someone to take the time to share their opinions in a grown up way!

[@javtimestwo]

@@ChrisWilmshurst I appreciate the honesty and the back n forth. Always great to have a spirited conversation about an item that you are an expert on and I'm trying to learn about. I agree that I also do not trust the big 3 either in terms of privacy but if i was forced to choose I would choose Apple as slightly more secure in that department. You did make it clear that you have regrets but would never send it back. I'm sure many of us have purchased something that qualifies in that category. Apple is known for sound quality and despite being small in size the Mini does sound great and IMO, it should better than the competition. The 3 new colors also make the Mini a bit more appealing instead of having the standard gray, black or white tones that are very tired. I would like to think more updates will come to the Mini this year or maybe in the near future like the humidity & temperature sensor that was just announced. Keep up the great work with your channel! 🤝

These comments fake homepod is the worst Apple product ever made

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

I wouldnt call them fake. theres a lot of apple die hard fans out there who do like to spread their opinion on anything critical.

[@caiomigueldeoliveira5108]

Sad for you, don’t share the same opinion to be honest… great product so far will definitely buy more

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

That’s the joys of being sensible grownups. We don’t have to agree on anything and respect each other for it. Thanks for watching

[@jeremiahbrown2339]

lol us Apple users can be very defensive when it comes to apply products! I love my home pod minis and can’t wait to buy the new ones later this year. Different strokes for differdifferent folks!

[@A.I.Silicate]

I love the HomePod speakers! This review is overly critical. I have a Amazon Alexa speaker which works well but prefer the HomePod speakers for sound quality and uses. They are totally worth getting, especially if you have HomeKit.

[@Mischawright]

Buying a Telsa was my best purchase. No regrets, no going back to ICE.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

Think you’re on the wrong video pal.

[@Thabang_G]

Terrible review! This speaker is great.

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@crapple5759]

If you pay the ever-increasing AppleMusicTAX recurring fees, then the HomePodMini almost does what it ought to do...but I have zero interest in Apple's musical hegemony, nor in paying *subscription* fees just to make my gizmos work. I've got PILES of Apple junk, but this drive to nickel & dime us is pushing me to give up on decades of Apple, and start building my own technosystem. The last straw being because they took away homepod volume control if you don't pay the tax--I'm pretty sure it worked before, but ever since cancelling Music I get "that media in your scene is not available" when the ONLY control is to change the volume (not play media, not stop media, nothing about media, just set the damn volume!) $143/yr just to have scriptable volume control in scenes??? Way to shoot yourself in the head, Apple. >:-( Also, it's just plain spiteful that they only let you play your iTunes music (which they availed themselves of when building Music.service by scraping all the hard built tags in my library!) if you pay the ~$150/yr graft for Music.service. Oh, right... "progress!" 🧻