Who’s Smarter Than a HomePod Mini?
According to Bloomberg, Apple’s HomePod Mini has a (currently dormant) temperature and humidity sensor living in its casing. Although the sensor isn’t currently usable, Apple has internally discussed allowing the sensor to provide information to other HomeKit smart home devices…say a thermostat or fan, to trigger actions like temperature adjustments.
The NPD Take:
- Having environmental sensors embedded within a speaker that you might already own (instead of having to purchase, install, and look at separate sensors in your home…like you might with a Nest Temperature Sensor) would be very convenient. It would also be a good step in positioning the HomePod Mini as a central piece of the smart home portfolio.
FitBit and Tile Partner Up
A new partnership between Fitbit (Google) and Tile will now let Fitbit Inspire 2 owners to locate those devices with Tile’s Bluetooth tracking. The feature does require the Tile app and a Tile account, but works for free. That said, a Tile Premium subscription will add smart alerts and other extras (did you leave home without your Fitbit?!). Fitbit hasn’t confirmed whether this feature will also come to other Fitbit models.
The NPD Take:
- This could be the year of the item tracker…at least for new introductions (maybe not for sales) with Samsung’s SmartTag launch…and the possible Apple AirTags launch. This is Tile’s first wearables application, though they have partnerships with PC manufacturers and headphone companies. This partnership is a nice value add for Inspire 2 owners…though it is doubtful that it would inspire many to upgrade to a premium Tile subscription to benefit Tile.