After the overpriced first-gen HomePod predictably failed to gain a foothold in a global smart speaker market dominated by ultra-affordable Amazon Echo and Google Nest devices, Apple did the unthinkable in 2020, releasing a diminutive Siri-powered gadget for your home at only $99.99.
The HomePod mini quickly (and predictably) became hugely popular around the world, but after three and a half years, we’re not convinced that’s the case today. As such, it’s become surprisingly easy in recent months to score cool discounts at retailers like Best Buy.
The latest price cut is the coolest of them all, allowing you to pay just $69.99 for your favorite of five different colorways until Sunday… or while supplies last. That’s 30 percent less than usual, which handily beats Best Buy’s previous 20 percent markdowns, making the HomePod mini $30 cheaper than a full-size Echo (4th Gen) and $20 costlier than a shrunken-down Echo Dot (5th Gen).
Of course, the choice between these three devices (and any other member of the Amazon Echo family you might be looking at) mainly comes down to your preferred voice assistant. If you find Alexa’s skills more impressive and useful than Siri’s smarts, something tells us no HomePod mini discount will ever seal the deal in favor of Apple’s compact smart speaker.
Hardcore Siri fans, on the other hand, will undoubtedly appreciate the opportunity to spend less money than ever before on a product that can stream music (in surprisingly good quality), answer questions using knowledge from the web, set alarms and timers, deliver weather reports, and even measure the temperature and humidity around you.
You never have to lift a finger to control this little guy, mind you, and if you buy more than one unit now (or already own one), you can use Apple’s stereo pair functionality to vastly improve your living room music listening experience without spending a fortune.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian’s passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for ‘adequate’ over ‘overpriced’.