Apple has silently hiked the price of HomePod Mini smart speaker in India by Rs 1,000 after launching the new second-generation HomePod. The HomePod Mini was launched globally in 2020. In 2021, Cupertino diversified the product with new colour option, though the price remained the same. The HomePod Mini was launched in India at a price of Rs 9,900. Now, it costs Rs 10,900. The HomePod Gen 2 price in India is set at Rs 32,900.

The price hike news is accompanied by another important development. The HomePod Mini apparently has the same temperature and humidity sensors as the new HomePod, but so far, they’ve remained dormant. Apple plans to turn them on through a future software update. This means that going forward, the HomePod Mini – like the HomePod Gen 2— will be able to trigger smart home automations depending on your environmnent. Say for instance, switching on the fan when it gets too hot.  

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It’s surprising that Apple has never really spoken publicly about the said feature even though it does seem quite useful on first look. These sensors are one of the key USPs of the new flagship HomePod but the relatively budget HomePod –also— having them is a big deal, one that makes it an even more value purchase for prospective buyers. The HomePod Gen 2 can additionally listen for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and notify users on their iPhone when it detects them.

The HomePod Mini already supports Thread wireless protocol. The standard essentially allows devices to connect to it over longer distances while also using less power relative to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The HomePod Gen 2 also has this in addition to Matter support.

Speaking of core hardware, the HomePod Mini is an orb-shaped smart speaker that responds to Siri voice commands. It has a single full-range driver and dual passive radiators and a total of four microphones. Like the bigger HomePod, the Mini also features computational audio and can do 360-degree sound.

Also Read | Apple launches HomePod second-generation Siri smart speaker with S7 chip, Matter support: Top features, price in India and more