Our Verdict
It really comes down to your audio quality demands and budget. The HomePod is a thoroughbred speaker that delivers incredibly pleasing sounds. But, for around a third of the price, you can get the HomePod mini which provides audio that is good enough for most occasions. In fact, buy two, make a stereo pair, then order a luxurious takeaway with the money you save. Music to our ears.
When Apple launched the HomePod in February 2018 it was generally praised as a decent speaker. But with a high price and a lot of competition from Amazon and Google’s smart speakers, the HomePod was at a disadvantage. Then in November 2020 Apple introduced the HomePod mini, which, brought many of the same features as the HomePod at a much lower price.
HomePod mini’s arrival meant that those who wanted an Apple smart speaker no longer needed to pay up to $299/£299, and that may well have been the reason why Apple discontinued the original HomePod in March 2021. Perhaps people don’t care as much about the ultimate sound quality—and those who do probably spend a lot more on true audiophile speakers.
Except Apple clearly does believe that people want an Apple speaker that offers better sound than the HomePod mini, because in January 2023 the company reintroduced the larger HomePod, albeit in a very slightly smaller form and with some slight differences in terms of the technology inside. The 2nd generation HomePod goes on sale on February 3, 2023.
In this comparison we will look at how the 2nd generation HomePod compares to the HomePod mini. We’ll also address some of the differences between the 2023 HomePod and the HomePod Apple introduced in 2018.
HomePod vs HomePod mini: Price
When the HomePod was first released back in 2018, it came with a pretty hefty $349/£319 price tag. Over time this dropped to $299/£279 before the original HomePod was discontinued. Now, with the arrival of the 2023 HomePod, the price is $299/£299.
The HomePod mini, on the other hand, sells for $99/£99 (in the UK the price dropped too £89 for a while before returning to £99). You’ll see the best prices right now below:
$99.00
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The big question is why would you buy a HomePod when you could buy three HomePod mini for the same price?
The main reason to buy the HomePod instead of the HomePod mini is because it produces better sound. As for the other reasons, read on to find out.
To get a good deal on a new HomePod take a look at our round up of the Best HomePod and HomePod mini deals.
HomePod vs HomePod mini: Design
Apple
The 2nd-gen HomePod is almost identical to the original HomePod, with the same mesh exterior, but there are differences. The display on the top is a little larger and instead of the white and Space Gray of the original its either White or Midnight, which is a tad darker than the Space Gray was.
The HomePod mini comes in a selection of five colours, with Space Gray and white joined by blue, yellow and orange. It’s half the height of the standard HomePod and more spherical in shape, but it shares the mesh exterior and display on the top that make it recognisable as a HomePod.
Here’s how the dimensions compare:
- HomePod mini: 3.3 inches high x 3.9 inches wide, 0.76 pounds (84.3 x 97.9mm, 345 grams)
- HomePod 2nd gen: 6.6 inches high x 5.6 inches wide, 5.16 pounds (168 x 142mm, 2.3 kg)
- HomePod 1st gen: 6.8 inches high x 5.6 inches wide, 5.5 pounds (172 x 142 mm, 2.5 kg)
All HomePods have an integrated power cable that shouldn’t be disconnected (unfortunately it was possible to yank out the cable from the original HomePod which could damage the speaker). We’d love Apple to include a battery inside the HomePod, so that it didn’t have to be connected to the wall and could be truly portable, but this hasn’t happened yet.
HomePod vs HomePod mini: Sound
As we have already indicated, the main difference between the two types of HomePod is the audio capabilities.
Inside the 2nd gen HomePod is a speaker array comprised of five beamforming tweeters and a high-excursion woofer with a custom amplifier. The 1st gen HomePod had seven tweeters, it also had more microphones (six in the old model, four in the new).
The larger HomePod also includes a low-frequency calibration EQ microphone which combines with room sensing technology to enable to the HomePod to monitor and analyze the acoustics and adjust sound frequencies and maximize acoustic performance in response to the surrounding environment.
The size of the HomePod mini chassis means it can’t accommodate all of this audio splendour, so it has fewer speakers and microphones than the larger model, but it does offer something Apple calls a “full-range driver” and “dual passive radiators,” that apparently allow for “deep bass and crisp high frequencies”, according to Apple. The sound isn’t as deep as the larger HomePod and it’s particularly lacking in bass, but the mini is still powerful enough to fill a room with sound, especially if you pick up a pair of them and set them up as stereo speakers.
All HomePods can be used as a stereo pair, but you can’t pair different types of HomePod together. So you can’t pair an HomePod mini with a HomePod, and you can’t even pair a HomePod 1st-gen with a HomePod 2nd-gen.
Since the HomePod 15.1 software update, the HomePod and HomePod mini have offered supports for Apple’s Lossless audio compression technology, so you can play music in 16-bit/44.1 kHz (CD quality) to 24-bit/192 kHz. The HomePod also supports Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio, but the HomePod mini doesn’t. Nor does the HomePod mini support Dolby Digital 7.1 or Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound like the larger HomePod. Therefore if you want to use your HomePod as part of a home cinema the standard HomePod might be a better choice. https://www.macworld.com/article/234695/homepod-mini-apple-siri-smart-home-size-speaker-hub-music-intercom-ultra-wideband-price.html
HomePod vs HomePod mini: Specs
It’s not only the number of tweeters and microphones that is different, the HomePod and HomePod mini are powered by different Apple chips.
- Original HomePod Apple’s A8 processor (iPhone 6)
- HomePod mini S5 chip (Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch SE)
- 2nd-gen HomePod S7 (Apple Watch Series 7)
We were surprised to find that the 2nd gen HomePod is powered by an Apple Watch processor, which does feel a bit like a step back from the A8 in the original HomePod. Apple’s opted for a chip suited to a compact design, rather than the power of a more modern iPhone chip, but we assume there is enough power in the Watch chip to justify the move. The difference between the S5 and S7 in the two HomePods Apple sells is apparently a 20% performance improvement, according to Apple.
Also surprising is the fact that the 2nd-gen HomePod supports slower Wi-Fi than the first HomePod, which supported 802.11ac, better known as Wi-Fi 5. The newer HomePod features the aging Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) standard, as does the HomePod mini.
The 2023 HomePod, like the mini and the original HomePod still has Bluetooth 5 instead of 5.3.
The HomePod 2nd-gen and HomePod mini both feature Apple’s U1 chip (which wasn’t in the original HomePod). The U1 allows you to “hand off” music playback from your iPhone (11 or newer) to your HomePod, so you can carry on listening to your music when you leave or enter your home. You can also see media controls without having to unlock your iPhone and get personalized listening suggestions.
We mentioned the cable earlier: due to it being fixed in place it cannot/shouldn’t be pulled out of the back of the HomePod. The cables of the various HomePods are different though: the HomePod mini’s cord doesn’t have a plug like the original HomePod and the HomePod 2nd-gen. Rather, it ships with Apple’s 20W USB-C power adapter. If you lose this then any 20W USB-C charger will suffice, but it does need to be 20W.
| HomePod mini | HomePod (2nd gen) | HomePod (1st gen) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woofers | Full‑range driver | High-excursion woofer | High-excursion woofer |
| Tweeters | Dual force-cancelling passive radiators | Five beamforming tweeter array | Seven beamforming tweeter array |
| Microphones | Four microphone array for Siri | Four microphone array for Siri | Four microphone array for Siri |
| Sound quality | – | Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital surround sound | Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital surround sound |
| Audio tech | – | Room sensing | Room sensing |
| Stereo | Stereo pair capable with another HomePod mini | Stereo pair capable with another HomePod (2nd gen) | Stereo pair capable with another HomePod (1st gen) |
| Multiroom | Multiroom audio | Multiroom audio | Multiroom audio |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11n Wi‑Fi | 802.11n Wi‑Fi | 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Ultra Wideband | Ultra Wideband (U1) | Ultra Wideband (U1) | – |
HomePod vs HomePod mini: Buying advice
There are some good reasons why the 2nd generation HomePod is a better choice than the HomePod mini. If you care a lot about sound quality, or want support for Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio, then the HomePod is the only option. But if, like the vast majority of people, you are only looking for a decent smart speaker to use with Apple Music – or indeed any music service – then the HomePod mini will do the job for a fraction of the price.
To find out more about what you can use the HomePod for read: What can HomePod do?
