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Apple recently released the HomePod mini, a new $ 99 version of the original HomePod that’s smaller, cuter, and most importantly, competitively priced. At $ 99, the HomePod mini can better compete with affordable smart speakers from companies like Google and Amazon.
The HomePod mini has been praised for its high quality sound for its price, so we thought we would compare it to Google’s Nest Audio and Amazon’s Echo to see how it stacks up in terms of sound quality, design and fit. intelligence. In the video and photos below, the HomePod mini is the white speaker, the Amazon Echo is the black speaker, and the Google Nest Audio is the larger gray speaker.
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First off, the Nest Audio is priced at $ 99.99 and the Amazon Echo has an MSRP of $ 99.99, but it’s currently on sale for $ 70, so all three speakers are available at roughly the same price. We may not see the HomePod mini price drop to Echo’s level anytime soon given that it’s just released, so Amazon has a price advantage.
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The Nest and Echo are larger than the “HomePod mini,” but all three have a similar mesh fabric design. The Nest Audio has a tall, flat design, while the Echo and “HomePod mini” have a round shape.
The Echo has easy-to-use physical buttons, while the Nest Audio has capacitive touch controls that aren’t exactly intuitive when you first start using it. The HomePod mini has a small touch area at the top that supports touch gestures and lets you know when Siri has been activated.
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There is no built-in microphone mute feature on the ‘HomePod mini’, while the Nest and Echo both have mute switches so you can prevent them from overhearing conversations. if you wish it. The Echo has a 3.5mm headphone jack that can connect to other devices, something the HomePod mini and the Nest lack.
When it comes to power, the HomePod mini is the only one in the bunch that has a USB-C connector and a separate AC adapter, meaning it can theoretically be powered by a battery with a USB port. -VS.
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When it comes to sound quality, there isn’t as much of a difference as you might think and all three sound almost identical. At similar volumes, the HomePod mini has a more balanced sound with nothing blown out, but the Echo and Nest offer more bass (maybe a little too much) and can reach higher volumes due to their larger sizes. . The audio equipment inside each speaker is listed below.
- Amazon Echo: 76mm woofer and two 20mm tweeters.
- Nest Audio: 75mm woofer and 19mm tweeter.
- HomePod mini: full range driver and two passive radiators.
The Nest Audio and the Amazon Echo trump the “HomePod mini” if you’re looking for volume, as they can fill a room better with sound. You can pair two mini HomePod ramps together to increase the volume, but it requires an additional investment of $ 99. Even with a much smaller form factor, the HomePod mini isn’t too far removed from the larger speakers, and the sound of the HomePod mini continues to be impressive for such a small device.
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All speakers are considered smart speakers and work with Siri (HomePod mini), Google Assistant (Nest Audio), and Alexa (Amazon Echo). The speakers can be used to control smart home devices, answer questions, make calls, get updates, check calendars, etc., so for the most part, whatever speaker it will do what most people want in a smart speaker.
The “HomePod mini” is limited to controlling HomeKit-enabled devices, and it’s not as open or compatible with as many devices as the Amazon Echo or Google Nest. If you don’t have a large HomeKit setup, the smart home features of the HomePod mini will be unnecessary.
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Alexa and Google Assistant can do more than Siri and have long been considered to be better at answering queries and getting things done than Siri. Alexa in particular is great for custom home automation workflows, but Apple’s Siri is more privacy-focused, which is worth considering. If you just want basic smart features, one of the three speakers works fine.
Amazon’s Echo works with almost all music services, including Apple Music and Spotify, while Nest Audio works with Spotify, YouTube Music, Pandora, and Deezer. The “HomePod mini” is designed to work primarily with “Apple Music”, but Apple has implemented support for third-party music services. Spotify doesn’t work natively on the HomePod mini at the moment, but that feature might be coming, and Amazon Music and iHeartRadio are adding support.
At present, the HomePod mini works with Pandora as a third party music app, and other music services need to be streamed through AirPods to the speaker using an iOS device.
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Overall, these speakers are all quite similar in terms of sound and performance. The choice between them depends mainly on the preference of the ecosystem. If you already have Alexa-enabled devices, Amazon Echo is a better choice. Likewise, if you’re using the Google Assistant, it makes sense to choose a Nest Audio. For members of the Apple ecosystem, especially those who use Apple Music and have HomeKit configurations, the HomePod mini is an ideal choice.
Which smart speaker do you prefer? Let us know in the comments.
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