The HomePod mini could be Apple’s secret weapon for expanding HomeKit

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: it’s not just another avenue for Apple to put Apple Music or Siri into your home. It’s a way for Apple to vastly expand its HomeKit ecosystem to a much wider audience than ever before. The cheapest gateway yet to Apple’s smart home setup Sure, the HomePod mini will probably sound good — given that it’s 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... Continue reading…