Hands-on with the Apple HomePod Mini’s new temperature sensing feature

The sort of new HomePod got all the attention this week, but the HomePod Mini also gets some new features. With the release of iOS 16.3 (possibly later this month), the Mini will get all the same smart home features as the new, larger HomePod 2nd gen. The differences between the two Apple speaker siblings are primarily in size and sound capabilities. From new tricks that sense temperature and humidity, to the ability to find family members and set automations with just your voice, these new features should make the HomePod Mini a little more useful around the house.

Both HomePods will also get voice recognition later this year, letting you hear smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. I’ve seen a preview of this, and it seems like a handy integration, allowing you to talk to anyone in your home directly through his HomePod from your lock screen notifications. But my favorite new feature is the Siri feature. won’t — This is what they will talk to you about every time you ask them to turn off the lights. I want my voice assistant to say as little as possible.

After updating your device to iOS 16.3 and HomePod software version 16.3, you’ll automatically see the new features. This is expected to be available later this month. However, the release candidate for iOS 16.3 beta went live on Wednesday, so I downloaded it for an early look at some of these new features. Here are some first impressions.

We’ve known for some time that the HomePod Mini has temperature and humidity sensors, but they’ve been dormant since launch. HomePod software version 16.3 can start monitoring room temperature and humidity when the chip receives a wake-up call and updates the HomePod Mini.

See measurements at a glance in the Home app on iOS and iPad OS devices updated to 16.3. The easiest way is to tap the climate shortcut at the top of your home screen. This shows readings from all the temperature and humidity sensors in your home.

The app also displays measurements at the top of the room where the speaker is placed. If there are multiple temperature sensors in the room, the average of them will be displayed. Tap Readings to access individual sensor readings and settings.

Here you can change the name of the sensor. Oddly enough, the HomePod sensors showed up with different default names on each of his two hers HomePod Minis that I have. On the one hand, it came as a humidity and temperature sensor, and on the other hand, it came as the more popular HomePod Sensor136480.

From this settings page you can create automations to do things like trigger other smart home devices when the temperature or humidity goes above or below certain thresholds. You can also create scenes and automations using sensors from the automation tab of the app.

Like most Apple Home automations, time (anytime, day, night, or specific times) and/or people (when someone is home, when I’m home, when nobody’s home, or at any time) to set parameters. I am not at home).

We have successfully automated the mini split unit heating in the bedroom to turn on when the heat is below 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and turn on the air conditioning when it is above 76 degrees Fahrenheit.

I also tested the HomePod Mini’s readings against the Aqara Indoor Air Quality Monitor, and they were consistently close, always changing by 1 degree in temperature and around 2% in humidity.

Apple warns that the sensor is optimized for ambient temperatures around 69 degrees Fahrenheit to 86 degrees Fahrenheit and does not guarantee accuracy when the speaker is playing loud music for an extended period of time. (I haven’t tested this yet.)

Other potential automations the sensor could use include lowering smart shades if the temperature rises in the afternoon when the sun can add radiant heat to the room, or plugging in a smart plug when the temperature rises. including turning on the installed fan or activating a compatible one. Smart humidifier when the humidity drops below a certain point.

One thing I’d like to be able to do that I couldn’t do is set up notifications to be sent when the temperature or humidity changes significantly. This is useful in nurseries, for example.

Currently, the HomePod speaker doesn’t show up in these other apps, so it seems that you can only set automations with the Apple Home’s sensors, not with third-party HomeKit apps like Eve, Home Plus, Controller, etc. It could mean no exposure to the substance, but that has not been confirmed.

You can also ask Siri about the temperature and humidity in your room. If there are multiple sensors in the room, respond with a specific reading or average value from the sensors.

HomePod Mini can now track family, friends, and items connected to Find My via AirTags or Find My-enabled devices. “Hey Siri, where are you? [insert name of a family member or friend or item]?”

Apple’s Find My feature seems a little spotty. I always struggle to find my daughter with an Apple Watch instead of an iPhone. However, when I tested this feature on my son’s girlfriend’s iPhone 13, it was easy to locate my son and returned the distance and location to nearby addresses. I also tested the AirTag connected to my backpack and it responded accurately.

You can now use Siri on HomePod Mini to set up regular Apple Home automations. I tried to create something that would lock the front door at 9pm every night, but I had a bit of trouble at first. Language must be very precise. I didn’t like “every night,” so I had to say “every day.” But finally got it working with this language:

“Hey Siri, set an automation to lock my front door at 9pm every day.”

Siri sent a confirmation reply.

Personally, I’m not sure how much I’ll use this feature, but I do know that it’s a harbinger of what Siri might suggest to set up automation, similar to Amazon Alexa’s intuition feature. increase.

Siri is my favorite voice assistant for smart home control. Mainly because they don’t put as much effort into the conversation as their competitors do. But lately it has become more verbose. This update slightly fixes the sometimes long action confirmation following smart home commands by replacing it with only soft girlfriend messages. Ding Ding.

This applies to actions involving devices that aren’t in the same room as the HomePod (Siri is already playing only confirmation tones) or devices that don’t show any visual change (such as heaters).

Now, when I ask Siri on the HomePod Mini to turn off the lights, such as the kitchen, when I’m in my bedroom, instead of audibly confirming that the lights are off, I hear a small sound indicating my will. can only be heard. done.

However, if something goes wrong, it says “I tried, but some devices did not respond”.

Finally, Apple says it has remastered the HomePod Mini’s ambient sounds, including ocean, white noise, fireplaces, and rain. These noises can now be added to scenes, automations and alarms.

I tested this with a bedtime scene that turns off the lights, locks the door, adjusts the thermostat, and I was able to add the sound of the ocean playing on my HomePod to it. I was able to set the volume that plays when the scene is activated, but I couldn’t set the time to turn it off. This is what I would like you to add.

All in all, these new features bring some much-needed features to the HomePod line (all of which are also coming to the new HomePod). It’s catching up to Amazon’s Echo devices in terms of features. They also act as motion sensors and can respond with a whisper when you speak softly. provided by Rarely helpful and often asked to spend money.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuhy/The Verge