Master your HomePod mini

Apple’s smart speaker is smarter than you know — find out how right here

REQUIRES

A HomePod mini, a recent Apple device

YOU WILL LEARN

How to use Siri and other commands to do fun things with your HomePod mini

IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes

THE $99 HOMEPOD mini is a tiny ball of audio prowess, topped with Siri assistant smarts. You can control it from an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac running the latest versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS and you can issue instructions using your voice — see the “Use Siri on HomePod mini” (right).

The HomePod mini is versatile too. You can use it solo (perfect for a bedroom, study, or kitchen), use multiple HomePod minis in multiple rooms (thanks to AirPlay 2), and you can even use two

HomePod minis as a stereo pair — perfect for listening to your favorite sounds in your living room. Plus, because it supports HomeKit and Thread, it can be used as a controller for your smart home, as well.

It’s important to note the things the HomePod mini can’t do — you can’t plug it in to a Mac via its USB–C cable to use it as a desktop speaker, for example, and it doesn’t yet support lossless audio or spatial audio with Dolby Atmos (although a future software update should fix that). ROB MEAD–GREEN