Even though you won’t be able to purchase an Apple Homepod, the Homepod mini is here to fill the gap. It is a smaller and cheaper version but still has a lot to offer. This article will guide you on how to make the best out of this small device.
Learn the usual Siri commands
With Siri, you can do a lot. Controlling the Homepod using Siri isn’t an uphill task either. You can play your favorite album and top tracks from your favorite artist seamlessly. You can play and pause a song and get Siri to answer some funny questions.
There are some uncommon tasks too that the Homepod can do for you. You can get it to control the volume of the playback. E.g., you can say, “decrease the volume by 20%.” You can also skip a song by some seconds or skip it entirely. That is why it is crucial to learn the essential Siri commands to use your Homepod Mini efficiently.
Build a stereo pair
By any chance, if you have purchases two Homepod Minis, you can pair them together to form a stereo pair. Open the Home app on your iPhone. Then, touch and hold any of the Homepod Minis. Navigate to the settings cog, then select the “Create Stereo Pair.” The screen will display some instructions that you have to follow to complete the task.
The pair will then act as an individual speaker and produce better results than a single speaker would.
Switch audio playback between your devices
Whenever you feel like playing your music on a different device, the Homepod Mini has got you covered. You can switch playback without missing a beat from your Homepod Mini to your iPhone and vice versa.
To enable this feature, go to the ‘General’ tab in Settings. Subsequently, tap on ‘Airplay and Handoff’ and then switch on the ‘Transfer to Homepod’ toggle. This feature is pretty helpful in some scenarios.
For instance, you might be listening to a documentary on the train on your phone. As you reach home, you might want to listen to it on the Homepod. This feature might come in handy then.
Let multiple users have control.
If you’re not living alone and want to grant control of the Homepod, it is possible to do so. The Homepod Mini is family-friendly. Siri can distinguish between users and alter its responses in accordance with the speaker.
Open the Home app on your iPhone to add any new users. Go to ‘home settings’ and select the ‘invite’ option. The invited users then accept the prompt that they received on their devices. They can go through the voice recognition process to get the task done.
Disable the listening history
Sometimes, a guest is using our Homepod mini, or we’re trying out some new music. You don’t want the mentioned listening activity to affect your music recommendations in Apple Music in such cases. There is a solution to tackle this problem.
Navigate to the Home App and hold the Homepod Mini icon. Disable the ‘Update Listening History’ toggle. Now, Apple won’t record your listening history. You can keep it permanently disabled or temporarily, depending upon your preferences.
Search for songs using lyrics
Although this feature was offered by Apple Music and Siri earlier, it is still a handy one. You can use it in a lot of situations and places. Just say, “Hey Siri, play the song that goes XYZ,” where XYZ is the lyrics of the mystery song, and Siri won’t disappoint you. In case you get interested in the song, Siri can add it to your liked songs and playlists. This feature can help when you don’t remember the song’s name but remember a part of the lyrics.
