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I have a pair of original HomePod mini speakers that I placed high up in our kitchen. They sound phenomenal, although they shouldn’t.
Linked in a stereo pair, I put the minis high up on a pair of vertical shelves that flank our kitchen window. The shelves aren’t much wider than the HomePod minis themselves. The minis sit about 4 inches from the ceiling.
I did this mostly to stop them from cluttering up the countertops. I didn’t have high expectations about the sound, and I‘m really surprised they sound so good — way better than they should, given their size. They really do fill the kitchen with great, rich-sounding audio, especially when blasting Roxy Music at full volume.
According to Apple and the audio experts on Reddit, putting HomePod minis near the ceiling should make them sound terrible.
The small smart speakers are best placed at ear level or lower, and on a large, flat surface, like a kitchen countertop or a side table.
HomePods’ downward-firing drivers use those wide, flat surfaces to amplify the bass. Putting them up high on a narrow shelf should produce thin, reedy audio.
The best place to put them is in the corner of a room, ideally about 4 inches from either wall. The HomePods then analyze the sound bouncing off various surfaces and tune themselves to deliver the best audio possible. If you move them, a built-in accelerometer triggers a fresh retuning.
So I’ve no idea why my kitchen HomePods sound so good. I lucked into it. And now I’ve got serious FOMO about the new ones, which, according to our hands-on testing, deliver even better audio.
Also in today’s newsletter:
Get ready to get touchy-feely about your next MacBook Pro. The new tactile experience isn’t just for elite users: Touch is reportedly coming to the entire MacBook Pro lineup, with one exception.
One of the biggest criticisms about the iPhone Duo was the lack of Face ID. But these three clever tricks make unlocking it with your finger just as good.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: Talking of FOMO, my original Apple Watch Ultra is too old for the latest watchOS software, so I’m hoping a new one will fall off the back of the truck someday soon. Meantime, the latest Apple Watch Ultra 4 in black titanium just dropped to its lowest price ever: $699.99 with a burgundy Trail Loop band. Good grief, that’s a good-looking timepiece. #affiliate
I’m really looking forward to playing around with HomeView, which I have on order. And what’s this, a major unannounced feature that sounds super?
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
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One more thing ...
The older I get, the more I see how much motivations matter. The Zune was crappy because the people at Microsoft don’t really love music or art the way we do. We won because we personally love music.
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