The HomePod mini could be Apples secret weapon for expanding HomeKit
See the original posting on The Verge
Apple is taking another try at building a smart home speaker with the new HomePod mini, a smaller, less expensive version of its original HomePod.
The original HomePod was a product that focused more on being a great speaker, rather than being a great smart speaker. The HomePod mini takes the opposite approach: its not just another avenue for Apple to put Apple Music or Siri into your home. Its a way for Apple to vastly expand its HomeKit ecosystem to a much wider audience than ever before.
Sure, the HomePod mini will probably sound good given that its a $99 speaker going up against the likes of the new Nest Audio and fourth-generation Echo, it has to. And having more avenues to…