Using two HomePods mini with a Mac - Top-10 questions answered.
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- I've used two HomePod mini as a stereo pair with my MacBook for a few weeks. And I thought it would be easier do share my experience via Q&A session. Feel free to jump to the question that bothers you the most or watch all of them!
A followup video one year later: • HomePod mini with a Ma...
00:00 - Intro
00:33 - Can a HomePod mini be powered from a MacBook?
01:27 - Can you set up a HomePod from a Mac?
02:32 - Can we link two HomePod minis into a stereo-group?
03:38 - Can we ungroup the HomePod minis?
04:22 - How good is HomePod mini with Apple Music and Apple TV?
04:51 - How good is it for Spotify and watching UA-cam?
06:10 - Can we still use two HomePod minis as a stereo pair outside Apple’s apps?
08:00 - Is it good for VLC and QuickTime?
09:05 - Is it good for Skype or Zoom?
09:36 - Would I recommend HomePod mini to be used with a Mac? - Наука та технологія
A year later I've decided to give the HomePod mini another chance...
ua-cam.com/video/ampUO6S3294/v-deo.html
Great video! I was seriously considering getting the HomePod as speakers for my MacBook Pro, but you sir, have effectively convinced me otherwise. Loved the video being broken down into chapters, too! Shows you value your viewers time. You just earned a subscriber. Keep it up!
Great video. Really helpful and really well made. Thanks.
Thank you for the advice, well worth the view.
Thank you for answering all the questions!
Amazing video.. such organised way of giving information and no extra talking
Thank you very much, you answered all my questions
Thanks for your review. Was planning on buying them as speakers for my MacBook but have changed my mind. Thanks for the review.
great info! thank you!
Cheers, Alex! Your "work-around solution" has indeed worked for my single Apple HomePod Mini now over AirPlay on the MBP. Nb: I think AirPlay takes a little time to show up on the MBP after you install and sync everything, but then it works on the iPhone and MBP. As you well noted in this video, I did experience some minor delays and an oddity of controlling the music volume over the Music app and not on the MBP. Still and yet, it works ... for now! Of course, Siri works just fine, albeit Music plays some song tracks on its own, so find the Infinity icon and shut it off. Danke dir!
Finally what I was looking for great job. Thank You you save me so much time
Damn man! I almost bought 2 to use as wireless speakers for my Macbook. You just saved me a huge headache. Thanks man!
So to buy or not ?
Thanks for review!
Very useful, thanks for the honest opinion.
Fantastic video, my dude. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Joshua!
Many thanks for your tips 👍👏
Excellent video
Very helpful and thanks for posting this video! I probably will return my homepod mini as well. Sad that it does not support video conferencing apps and simply cannot be used a reliable audio output as a pair.
Thats for the video that was exactly what I was looking for ;) I have the Ikea Sonos and all the same issues with using it from my mac. Now I know the HomePod mini is not a better replacement for that :/
Nice Alex. Love your video
Hi, Roger! Thanks a lot and great to see you here!
thanks, I have a pair of home pod minis and they work great on my iPads. I've just tried using them with my new MacBook Air with the same results you described. So, thanks for confirming I'm not crazy. I see below maybe an update will help.
I’ve sent my homepods back but yeah, let’s hope the update will fix it. It’s a shame it doesn’t work properly out of the box.
@@GeeksTable yes
I had bought one misunderstanding what it was actually for. I thought I could use one as a speaker for my Mac but it doesn't operate that way. When I tried working on some video editing, and I was getting those long delays, I thought something was wrong and I returned it. The rep at the Apple store explained why it does that and how it works. But I still returned it because it wasn't what I needed. I wish it had a Bluetooth option in it so I could sync it. But I guess that's not the idea behind them.
Wow thanks a lot, i would buy those in stereo pair but after your vid dont want to 👌🏻
Awesome review. I was considering buying it for my home office MacBook as a substitute for buying expensive headphones but with the audio delays you highlighted, it's a deal breaker for me
Thanks a lot. I wanted It for videoconferences with zoom… just for Job…. However with your video I won’t waste my money. Thanks
Thank you
Thank you so much ! i have a question when i'm trying to do the same, there is no option which says Airplay. please advice.
thank you
I wanted to just state an update here real quick. I bought these thinking it was going to be a gigantic lag fest, but it no longer is. I am not sure if it's the most recent HomePod mini update, or maybe the most recent MacOS update. That said, it definitely does NOT lag anymore within any video/music apps/safari/chrome/etc. (yes I set the audio input to the stereo HomePod mini set I created). The ONLY lag I got was in any video app (e.g FaceTime, Adobe Connect, WebEx, etc.). Definitely present in video conferencing apps. Otherwise, I am not getting any delay whatsoever across any other apps. It seems like this was fixed.
Thanks for sharing this! I guess the latest software fixed the delay for the music. Sadly though it’s still present in the video conferencing apps since some of us planned to buy it as an addition to Mac mini.
For me I use a M1 MacBook Pro and HomePod mini as a speaker, as of September 26, 2022, there's still a 2-3 second lag on sound. Is it possible that Monterey reintroduced this issue?
You just saved me $200. Thanks!
thanks
Really thanks 🙏🏻 for this video you saved me 200€ ❤️
thanks for the detailed review. the delays and the inability to use stereo pair with non-Apple apps are big dealbreakers. so so bad! I'm taking the HomePod Minis off my Christmas list.
man, this video saved me money. I wanted to buy it as I have a lot of Mac products, especially for my m1 Mac mini which does not have good audio. I don't like that there's delay. :(
is there still a delay on mac when watching youtube videos? Im thinking of buying one but having second thoughts because of the audio lag you guys are talking about.
Hey, apple just released macOS 11.3 beta, and it supports stero HomePod mini as your default output device, can you test this feature out for us? many thanks!
yes please
does it still sound great with only 1 homepod mini? my acer speaker just broke and im planning on getting 2 homepod mini for my mac mini
Is there a way to control the HomePods volume from the volume keys of the Mac??, I airplay Apple Music from my Mac, but I can only adjust de volume in the Music app, the volume keys of the keyboard won't change de sound of the music
Airplay is not an option in my left menu when I open Audio MIDI setup. Do you know how I can bring it in? I am running the latest OS on a 5K 2019 27" iMac.
Be sure that your Apple Music app is launched and configured to output via the homepod stereo pair.
For me i think there Will be no problem
I have the iPad 9 and the iPhone 13 ( don’t have a Mac yet)
I have order a pair last tuesday they arrive on next monday
I use Apple Music as well
I sold my 2 homepods mini exactly for these reasons, UA-cam delays and the automatic connection to the standard mac mini speaker instead of connecting to my homepods.
I moved to a Sony XB33 and and all the homepods issues are gone !
Bad move Apple.
Does the AudioMidi setup option have delays as well? as you're not using 3rd party apps. the entire audio from the mac is going to the home pod stereo pair.
It may have delays for non-apple apps
Can the HomePod work if plugged into a desktop Mac (i.e Mac mini)?
It didn't work for me.
Are you able to power the homepod mini via a PD battery bank (with more than 20W) for using outside at a pic nic with Apple Music on your iPhone when the world stops ending?
Theoretically you can, but the power bank should match the specs of the 20W charger (including the charging voltage). The banks that I have do support PD but do not have enough voltage for powering the HomePod mini.
What about with the songs inside computer that are played with iTunes?
They also have delay?
Yup, no difference.
I think it's important to mention that even though there's a 2 second delay, it's only for pause and play. I will be fully sync with video, meaning lips will be moving at same time as sound comes out.
Just a question, hope you answer. Can you use it as a regular speaker on Ipad? Like I am playing mobile games (e.g. Mobile legend) can it be used as a speaker for that mobile game played on ipad
Yes, it has Airplay 2, so you can stream the sound from your iPad to the HomePod mini.
can't believe that it does not work with 18W that's odd. I have one and it does not get warm at all
Thanks, maybe you can tell us where the big homepods should be placed for true Atom sound. Front, side, or rear channels
I wish I had big homepods, but that’s a lot of money :)
I got both used! 110 for one and 175 for the other. Keep searching
You need to put it around 25cm from the wall and around 1 meter away from each other (so yes, in frontal of your tv) it sound nice, better than most cheap soundbars but the atmos is kind of weak, you need it to have a quite high volume to notice it and from just Netflix or iTunes movies at the moment (Prime, HBO, UA-cam and Disney+ are still not compatible with atmos with homepods). I’d say if you have something like a sonos beam or some soundbar at that quality dont both en with the homepods, even with the atmos is not on the same lvl, let alone something of higher quality like a sonos arc or so
I have a 2012 macbook (so it doesn't have the "home" app). I have 2 homeds mini, paired with the iphone, but the mac sees 2 different homepods mini (with the same name "bedroom") and so I can select only 1. is it possible to fix this?
As far as I remember 2012 MacBooks have a version of Bluetooth that doesn’t support dual audio connection. You may search for a transceiver that would connect to your MacBook via audio jack and then would connect to both HomePods via its own Bluetooth module.
Can this be used for teams , WebEx and conferences?
It can, but the voice delay will be ~2 sec. Also you can’t use it’s internal microphone, only the speaker will work. So I wouldn’t recommend.
This is exactly what I needed to know... not buying it then :( P.S. Apple needs to fix all those issues first!
can you use the microphone on the homepod mini for conference calls on the mac?
Nope, you may use the HomePod mini’s mic to say “hey Siri, answer this call”, but then it will use the mic from your Mac.
@@GeeksTable I attached it to my mac mini and not seeing the option to use the homepod mini in the microphone (input) option. What a bummer since my mac mini does not have a in-built microphone.
I have the Homepod Mini set as my Sound output. However, every time my computer goes to sleep it goes back to Internal Speakers sound output. Do you have a workaround for this?
Unlike other speakers HomePod mini can be a standalone smart speaker. So once it looses the connection with your Mac it switches to its standard mode - standalone speaker. So it’s not a bug but an expected behaviour.
You might want to google “macOS automator script to switch output audio” or find an app to do so, so once your Mac is awake again, the script (or app) would look through the sources and connect to your HomePod mini.
@@GeeksTable Thanks, I will give that a try.
Can we use homepod mini to take calls on Teams or Google meet? Does it use homepod mini’s mic?
Nope, it’s mic is for “hey siri” only. And the speaker has a 2 sec delay with the Teams video.
@@GeeksTable thank you for your reply! I guess Apple thought of it before ppl that it can be replaced with headphones in that way, so they made sure its not allowed! Typical 🍎
What would you suggest to use with a Mac ?
I’m still with internal speakers. Two of my friends use Bose Companion 2 Series III and Edifier Luna Eclipse. Both satisfied. But of course it doesn’t look as cool as HomePod mini.
Huge shame about zoom. Had hoped to use it to boost speaker power on MacBook.
I have a problem, my MacBook Air 2020 connect perfectly with Apple Music and Apple TV, but when i use AirPlay on UA-cam my MacBook Air get stunted 🤔 Could you help me please? Why can not use AirPlay on UA-cam? Thank you
Thank you a Lot, i dont speak english but your video get help me, because i think my internet was slow, i will Pay more for a better conection of internet, but now i know that the problem is the HomePod mini, you get save my money thank you!
You’re welcome! Let’s hope that new iOS/macOS (coming this Autumn) will make HomePod mini work better.
My 18W iPhone 11 Pro works with my HomePod mini. Not sure why it didn’t work for you.
Wow, that’s interesting. I’ve tried a bunch of chargers and only modern 20W ones worked for me. Thanks for the info!
I don't recommend the HomePods from Apple. I continually loose connection. I worked with support, got a replacement and same issue. Issues with connection with both Mac Pro and Mac mini.
As long as they don't "just work" with a Mac, they're a no-go for me.
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It's crazy how this can't be connected straight through the macbook... Apple needs to fix this.
dont have the skip the code option and dont know how to unhook from iphone which it wanted to connect to
how about 3? 2minis and one homepod pro =)?
That wont work but why the hack !!?
You don't need two. One is fine.
Number 8 doesn’t work on my Mac mini m1
Sad to hear. Maybe it somehow connected with the Bluetooth issues that M1 Mac minis had recently?
I am pretty aggravated by the HomePod m ini. It is the first Apple device I have ever purchased that is going right back. I got it because I was told it was a good speaker for the new Mac Studio. Even the guy with the Apple logo on his shirt receommended it as perfect to use as a speaker for the Mac Studio. NONSENSE. While it is a nice-looking product, and the sound is phenomenal when used to play much from my pone. It is absolute TRASH as a speaker for your computer. The 3 second delay is INSANE, and so incredibly un-apple, that I am shocked. Now I get that pile may not be technically selling it as a speaker for your computer... but then they should probably not have their 'experts' guiding you to get it for that purpose.
Apple once known with their simplicity, but this HM is a nightmare.
2 years later still a 3sec delay..
Doesn’t seem worth it anymore. Bummer I was hoping to use these.
Same did I. I might try it again once the new macOS is out.
@@GeeksTable If there’s any new results please share. (:
No delay at all ??? Seriously ???
Stupidly bought a HomePod without seeing this video. I have a Mac Mini, iPhone etc, so thought, how bad could it be? Answer: VERY. I honestly can't believe Apple actually released this. My $10 JBL bluetooth speaker does everything and without all the setup hassle. For HomePod, I had to completely disable my Wifi security settings for it to actually function! Want a speaker? Buy a speaker for half the price and it will *just work*, unlike this rubbish.
It will be delayed all the time
Yup. Sadly an AirPlay 2 limitation.
Why does it have this delay? In 2024, is it still here? I mean, It is just a speaker. Why don't it do its job correctly especially with Apple devices?
It seems that this is the way AirPlay 2 works. I assume it uses this delay to put everything in sync, so it’s unlikely that it will be removed unless Apple changes the protocol.
@@GeeksTable I hope, they will fix it up on next generation airplay, because this issue unacceptable…
I am just considering refunding or not...Can not stand the delay.
I’d try to buy it again this September when the new iOS and macOS are out. If it’s not fixed, then better to go with something else.
@@GeeksTable Look forward to your sharding video then. ;-)
Biggest waste time you open up home you make a home, that’s just a blank blurry picture. Nothing to do with nothing add. What happened to Apple being simple im better off with windows.
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I really wish I watched this video first. I regret buying mine. It’s terrible. Huge waste if money. Half the time they don’t connect.
Not worth it.
don't buy HomePod has more poblems you can do nothing !!
video is way too long. this shouldn't be more than 3 minutes man.
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Is it possible to do the first setting Home Pod setup with 13-inch MacBook Air with M1 chip. I have no iPad and iPhone
Unfortunately, you have to have an iPad/iPhone to do the first setup.