Apple’s HomePod mini speaker has a temperature and humidity sensor that is not yet known, Bloomberg reports. The sensor’s exact location has been confirmed by iFixit and it looks like it’s placed away from the internal components of the speaker so it can measure the external temperature. The exact sensor used is a 1.5 x 1.5 mm HDC2010 digital humidity and temperature sensor from Texas Instruments.
Although the sensor is currently not used by HomePod mini owners Bloomberg, Apple has discussed internally to allow the sensor to provide information to other smart devices such as thermostats or fans. It can give smart heating equipment more information about how hot a room is, or enable the speaker to activate a device such as a fan if it feels like a room has reached a certain temperature. The functionality can work via HomeKit, Apple’s smart home ecosystem, which currently integrates with dozens of Internet-connected thermostats.
Amazon has previously included temperature sensors in Echo speakers such as its 2020 model, where the sensor can be used to activate other devices via Alexa routines. Meanwhile, Google sells standalone sensors via its Nest sub-brand, and its Nest Hub announced last week also includes a similar built-in sensor to monitor the temperature of your room while you sleep.
Although Apple declined to comment Bloomberg to his report (and did not respond immediately) The edge request for comment), it has been included with hardware at least once in a device that was only officially activated months later. The 2008 iPod touch includes a Bluetooth chip, Bloomberg comments, but it could only be connected to Bluetooth devices the year after its release. The hope is that a similar software update is on the way for the HomePod mini. For those who keep up, the big new HomePod firmware tends to release in the fall of each year.