Apple last year launched the HomePod Mini smart speaker in October, alongside the company?s iPhone 12 series. After months of the speaker?s existence in the market, it has now been found out that the Apple HomePod Mini has a secret sensor that measures temperature and humidity, a report in Bloomberg has revealed. Apple never announced the feature and the HomePod Mini currently lakcs consumer-facing features that use it. The company has internally discussed using the sensor to determine a room?s temperature and humidity so internet-connected thermostats can adjust different parts of a home based on the conditions, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter. The report said that the hardware can also allow the HomePod Mini to automatically trigger other actions like turning a fan on or off.
This feature, if activated by Apple, will be a feature that has not been focused on by rival brands like Google and Amazon. Amazon?s latest Echo smart speaker also comes with a temperature sensor, while Google?s Nest sells sensors that can be placed around a house and connected to its thermostats to adjust the temperature of each room. The new capabilities would also work well to Apple?s HomeKit, that controls thermostats, lights, locks, plugs, and other devices, the Bloomberg report points out. There are over 40 thermostats featured on Apple?s website that are compatible with HomeKit. The Bloomberg report said that the sensor on the Apple HomePod Mini measures 1.5mm x 1.5mm and is placed in the bottom edge of the HomePod Mini?s plastic, fabric-wrapped case near its power cable. The sensor?s placement was also confirmed by teardown experts at iFixit, who took apart one of the speakers after an enquiry from Bloomberg.
The sensor on the Apple HomePod Mini is made by Texas Instruments Inc. and is called the HDC2010 Humidity and Temperature Digital Sensor, Bloomberg further cited an component analysis firm as saying. The sensor is placed relatively far from the Apple HomePod Mini?s internal components, meaning that it is, indeed to measure the room temperature instead of the temperature of the device?s electronics.
Apple recently discontinued its bigger HomePod smart speaker, leaving the HomePod Mini the only smart speaker offering from the Cupertino-based giant. This, according to reports, could be due to the success of the HomePod Mini, as compared to the original HomePod speaker. Apple says that the original HomePod will sell till the stocks last.
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