The mysteries do not stop happening on the range Home Pod, especially now that the traditional version of the product, the standard-size HomePod, has been completely discontinued without introducing a successor. And it is that the HomePod Mini, despite having a better quality / price ratio, is not a moral substitute for the previous one.
An exploded view of the HomePod Mini has discovered that it hides a temperature and humidity sensor, something Apple doesn't seem to be using. And it is that this type of "limited" capabilities in Apple products are not new, in the same way that we would not be surprised if Apple launched new functionalities through a firmware update.
Sincerely, taking into account that the HomePod Mini can be an accessory center, if we add the fact that it could be informing us in real time of the temperature and humidity of our houseIn order to avoid the use of this type of sensors and acquire them separately, I find it difficult to believe that Apple is hiding it. Has been in Bloomberg, where they have realized this curious detail that has now put us all on notice of how Apple could be thinking of turning the HomePod into an epicenter of home automation in our home, but with reasons, and not only with sound.
If the approximately € 100 of the HomePod Mini They are already interesting given their capabilities, it would be much more so if it were able to identify the temperature and humidity of our house or the room where we place it, allowing us a more effective management of air conditioning in summer or heating in winter. Now what we want to know is why Apple has included these sensors and they are not able to make us enjoy their capabilities. If the HomePod Mini is capable of measuring temperature and humidity, the configuration possibilities would be very interesting, going from being an attractive product to an almost necessary product.
Nor should you go overboard with the final conclusion "going from being an attractive product to an almost necessary product."
It would be an even more attractive product, saving on the purchase of a HomeKit-compatible temperature and humidity sensor that usually costs € 50 or more, or a non-HomeKit-compatible sensor that does not reach € 5 on AliExpress.
But for. nothing an almost necessary product, from my humble opinion.
Let's see if it's true, and with some update they implement those functionalities.