Like the original speaker, HomePod mini is finished with mesh fabric. On top of this device is a small touchscreen display that is designed to display Siri animations as well as volume and playback controls. The new column is now a sphere.

At the heart of the device is the S5 chip, which Apple says enables sophisticated real-time audio processing algorithms to be applied quickly to optimize volume, adjust dynamic range, and more. The new speakers can be combined into groups for synchronous audio playback. It is worth noting that, as previously suggested, HomePod mini is equipped with a U1 chip to accurately determine the location of devices in space.

It is stated that the new speaker will boast 360-degree sound. Despite the fact that the speaker is equipped with only one full-fledged driver, supplemented by three passive radiators, its sound, according to Apple’s promises, will satisfy even discerning music lovers. In addition, the column has four microphones, three of which are designed to interact with Siri, and the fourth is designed to isolate sound from the speaker to improve the quality of command recognition.

During the presentation, it was confirmed that at the end of the year the speaker will receive support for third-party music services, including Pandora, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio. But support for the popular Spotify is not expected.

In addition, HomePod mini will become the centerpiece of Apple’s HomeKit smart home system. Thanks to it, users will be able to control lighting systems, door locks, and more. An interesting feature will be the new Intercom function, which will allow users with several HomePod minis in different rooms of their homes to communicate with each other using smart speakers. Messages will also be available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, but they won’t play instantly on those devices like on HomePod mini.

Separately, the emphasis was made on the fact that the column does not pose a threat to confidentiality and processes all commands locally, without transferring records to Apple’s servers.