Apple had an iPhone event today. Here are some quick thoughts...
- While I would love to get the new iPhone mini, the software features, camera upgrades, and battery life in the 12 Pro Max are too tempting.
- Love the new flat edge sides inspired by the iPad Pro and the blue color.
- Mag Safe! I love that Apple is re-using this name and I am kind of excited that they are making a leather wallet attachment for the back of an iPhone. It looks like the exact amount of minimal I have been looking for in a new wallet, plus magnets!
- HomePod Mini. As a home automation nerd, this was my favorite announcement. The price ($99 is aggressively cheap for Apple) and features finally have convinced me that it is worth owning more than one HomePod.
- HomePod software. Features like intercom, CarPlay integration, and more are going to be huge winners in our household. My wife and I have tried to use the walkie-talkie feature on our Apple Watches with little success but this looks to solve the problem of communicating around the house in a nice way.
At some point, I will have to reconcile my HomePod excitement with the fact that we still have a bunch of Sonos speakers in the house. I prefer the Sonos system for a number of reasons and would think of any possible HomePod mini purchases as "Siri" purchases more than I would smart home speaker purchases. I hope to write more about smart home audio soon.
You can watch the Apple Event here.