Apple unveils HomePod mini in Midnight Colorway
Apple's new midnight colored HomePod mini joins a crowded smart speaker market dominated by Amazon's Alexa.
On July 15, 2024, Apple introduced a new color option for its popular smart speaker, the HomePod mini. The new midnight color joins the existing range of yellow, orange, blue, and white.
The HomePod mini is a compact smart speaker measuring just 3.3 inches tall. Despite its small size, Apple claims it delivers room-filling audio. The speaker is wrapped in a seamless, acoustically transparent mesh fabric, which is now made from 100% recycled material according to Apple. A backlit touch surface illuminates the top of the speaker.
HomePod mini users can access a music library of over 100 million songs with Apple Music. The speaker can also be used to create a stereo pair or integrate with a multi-room audio system. For an immersive entertainment experience, users can combine the HomePod mini with Apple TV 4K to create a home theater system.
Beyond music streaming, the HomePod mini features Siri, Apple's intelligent assistant. Users can interact with Siri to control smart home devices, set reminders, check the weather, and more. Siri can also be used to access information and search for music by artist, song, genre, and other criteria.
The introduction of the new midnight color comes just ahead of Amazon's Prime Day shopping event, which is scheduled for July 16 and 17, 2024. Some analysts predict that Prime Day will generate $12.4 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) for Amazon, up 12% year-over-year [1]. The introduction of a new color option for the HomePod mini may be part of Apple's strategy to compete with Amazon during this major sales event.
Here's a quick recap of the key features of the Apple HomePod mini in midnight:
- New midnight color option
- 100% recycled mesh fabric exterior
- 3.3 inches tall
- Room-filling audio (according to Apple)
- Access to over 100 million songs with Apple Music
- Stereo and multi-room audio pairing
- Works with Apple TV 4K for home theater experience
- Integrates with Siri for smart home control and information retrieval
While the Apple HomePod mini offers a new color option and feature set, it faces stiff competition in the smart speaker market. According to Statista's Consumer Insights survey conducted from April 2023 to March 2024, the Amazon Echo smart speaker with Alexa voice assistant dominates the U.S. market, with nearly two-thirds of smart speaker owners choosing Amazon (65% according to the survey). Google Home and Apple's HomePod trailed behind at 24% and 18% respectively.
However, with over 70% of U.S.adults not currently owning a smart speaker, there is significant potential for growth in the market. This suggests that Apple and other smart speaker manufacturers may have ample opportunity to attract new customers, even if they struggle to overtake Amazon's current market lead.
The HomePod mini in midnight color is available to order for $99 (U.S.) from Apple's website and the Apple Store app. The new color will be available in stores starting July 17, 2024 in the U.S., Canada, China mainland, Singapore and 28 other countries and regions. It will also be available through Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers (prices may vary).
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