The HomePod and HomePod Mini are both receiving a rare discount


With most of the Apple news this week revolving around the new M3 MacBook Air and Apple’s ongoing app store kerfuffles in the EU, it’s not surprising that Best Buy’s current promos on the HomePod Mini and second-gen HomePod have slipped under the radar. That’s a shame, however, given the smart speakers are on sale for $79.99 ($20 off) and $269.99 ($30 off), respectively, which doesn’t happen often.
If you’re deciding between Apple’s latest Siri-based smart speakers, there are a few things to consider. The latest HomePod is essentially a rehash of the original model from 2018, only this time, it comes with support for spatial audio, the new Matter standard, and temperature and humidity sensing. The pint-size HomePod Mini, meanwhile, packs the same features and smart home prowess, though, understandably, it doesn’t prioritize sound quality as much as the full-size model, even if it does sound quite good for its size and put out more bass than similar smart speakers of its stature.
Sound quality aside, the biggest selling point of both speakers is their deep integration with the rest of Apple’s ecosystem (and Apple Home). You can easily hand off music from an iPhone to either, and because they work in tandem with iOS, you can ask both the HomePod and the Mini to place a phone call, read messages, hit you with calendar invites, or even locate family members via Apple’s Find My feature.
I could work from literally anywhere, but I’m usually confined to my desk because of the speed and convenience my multi-monitor setup adds to my workflow. Sure, I could solve that with one of the dreamy dual-screen laptops making waves, but I can’t responsibly justify the splurge, and I’m a MacBook guy when it comes to laptops. A portable monitor like the Asus ZenScreen MB166C can get the job done much cheaper, however, especially since it’s on sale at Amazon for $98.19 (about $41 off).
The 15.6-inch ZenScreen is a USB-C monitor with an IPS full HD display that’s bright enough to use in sunlight and offers nice viewing angles. It accepts power and can transmit 60Hz video over the same cable thanks to DisplayPort Alt, which is almost mandatory for frustration-free deployment. I’ve tested a few of these basic monitors, but none were as sleek or satisfying to view as Asus’ 1080p option. At 0.46 inches, it’s thin enough to slip into the same compartment as my laptop, at least when using roomier bags, and it ships with a handy protective sleeve. Plus, if you’re one of the few people who would find it useful to mount one on a tripod, there’s a quarter-inch thread on its underside to do so.
Brandon Widder contributed to this post.
With most of the Apple news this week revolving around the new M3 MacBook Air and Apple’s ongoing app store kerfuffles in the EU, it’s not surprising that Best Buy’s current promos on the HomePod Mini and second-gen HomePod have slipped under the radar. That’s a shame, however, given the…
Recent Posts
- FTC Chair praises Justice Thomas as ‘the most important judge of the last 100 years’ for Black History Month
- HP acquires Humane Ai and gives the AI pin a humane death
- DOGE can keep accessing government data for now, judge rules
- Humane’s AI Pin: all the news about the dead AI-powered wearable
- In a test, 2000 people were shown deepfake content, and only two of them managed to get a perfect score
Archives
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- September 2018
- October 2017
- December 2011
- August 2010