Apple’s newest smart speaker, the HomePod mini, has a sensor to detect temperature and humidity. Thus far, this has not been active and Apple made no mention of such a capability when the product launched. Temperature measurements from inside a device could serve multiple purposes, but a deeper dive may shed some light on what is in store for this tiny but powerful speaker.

Apple unveiled the original HomePod in 2017 and the well-balanced, high-quality sound and nice size woofer delivered strong, room-filling music while doubling as a smart speaker with Apple’s personal assistant, Siri. Most agree it is a nice speaker, and while Siri isn’t the best voice assistant, it has gotten better over the years. At the end of 2020, Apple released the HomePod mini, a much smaller speaker that still delivers high-fidelity, with a bit lower volume and less powerful bass. The HomePod mini cost a third that of the full-size HomePod and has proven much more successful. Apple then discontinued the HomePod recently, whether to make way for a new version or to simply focus on the HomePod mini is unclear.

Related: How To Set Up An Apple HomePod Or HomePod mini

Bloomberg worked with technology teardown specialist iFixit to uncover some of the details of the HomePod mini’s temperature and humidity sensor, supposedly manufactured by Texas Instruments with the model number HDC2010. The sensor detects relative humidity and can read temperatures ranging from -40 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. This wide range means it could be used to monitor temperatures within electronic devices to check for overheating, but this would be unlikely for the HomePod mini, which should not experience heavy computing that would push the limits of its Apple S5 processor, which is also used in the Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch SE.

HomePod mini Sensor Uses

The placement of the sensor is telling, positioned just inside the outer casing and near the power cord, meaning its purpose seems more likely to be for measuring room temperature and humidity than checking for overheating components. This usage would align well with the HomePod mini’s ability to interact with HomeKit devices. HomeKit is Apple’s smart home protocol and it can connect to compatible thermostats, fans, air conditioners, window shades, and other devices. By checking temperature within the room, a future version of the HomePod mini software might be able to intelligently open or close window shades to take advantage of or shield from the warmth from the sun.

While some HomeKit devices contain temperature sensors already, they may not be located in the same room as the HomePod mini. Ideally, central air conditioning and heating should provide equal temperature throughout a house, but in practice, there tend to be warmer and cooler rooms, sometimes depending on the time of day. Room temperature and humidity measurements from the Texas Instruments sensor might someday allow the HomePod mini to customize the operation of central heating and cooling for a particular room or activate local devices to adjust for the most comfort. Since Apple’s smart speaker contains microphones, perhaps it could sense which rooms are occupied and adjust air conditioning accordingly. The temperature and humidity sensor in the HomePod mini is so far inactive but could be woken up at some point to extend the capabilities of Apple’s smart speaker to offer an enhanced HomeKit experience.

Next: HomePod mini Gains New Ultra Wideband Features

Source: Bloomberg