Secret Sensor found in the HomePod mini. What can it do ?
A newly discovered sensor predicts an exciting future for Apple’s smart home strategy
A previously unannounced sensor has been discovered in the shell of the HomePod mini. The sensor itself measures humidity and temperature!
The sensor was not listed when Apple launched the HomePod mini last year and was discovered almost by mistake. It has just been sitting there quietly, waiting for the next step in Apple’s smart home strategy (maybe it gets announced in the Apple event on April 20th 2021, called “Spring Loaded”).
The sensors inclusion hints at exciting new possibilities. Temperature and humidity serve as ideal triggers for automations in smart homes, and could integrate with other smart devices like termostates and humidifiers. All set up in your “Home” app.
The inclusion of the sensor, even in its inactive state, hints at Apple’s long term thinking and at exciting possibilities for the Apple Smart Home of the future.
This strategy has been rumoured since the launch of HomePod mini at just $99, which made it more affordable than other similar products. Apple clearly wants to stay ahead of competitors like Google and Amazon and is pivoting their commercial strategy towards services instead of just products. With the added sensor expanding the HomePod mini’s versatility it would be able to act as gateway for Apple to sell more diverse services to its customer base.
It is still to be seen if the humidity and temperature control will be the same kind of killer app that iTunes and Siri has been for the company in the past.
Why put a dormant sensor in the HomePod mini ?
Strategy: the walled garden needs more flowers!
The walled garden strategy worked fine when Apple made their revenue from selling scarce and expensive physical products, but consumer preferences have changed.
Google, Amazon and other producers have caught up so Apple has had to change their strategy — instead of making one-off revenue from a physical product sale, they will sell services which provide a steady stream of monthly revenue. That’s also why we see the HomePod mini at a more approachable price ($99) — because the potential services that can come with it will bolster the final revenue. Now the HomePod mini is becoming the entry door to buying services.
Investment: The HDC2010 Humidity and Temperature Digital Sensor is made by Texas Instruments and it’s tiny at just 1.5 x1.5 mm. With a production cost of just over $1 the chip is small, cheap and convenient for Apple to use. Also, Texas Instruments is a reliable producer and credible brand, so it makes sense Apple would have them as a preferred supplier.
The sensor is placed next to the outside fabric of the HomePod mini, which confirms that the original objective is to measure the temperature and humidity at the surface of the HomePod. The HomePod is likewise clad in a woven fabric that both works as a speaker but allows for easier air flow. Thus making it easier for the sensor to measure the temperature and humidity surrounding it.
Benefits: customers can be delighted by getting a new bonus feature a year later, when their HomePod can tell them the temperature and humidity in the room (especially important when we’re all stuck at home).
Overall, Apple can give their HomePod Mini users a surprise feature and add more smart devices. The more devices, the more services can be created from those.
Imagine future subscription services where users can pay $5/month to have Apple (with help from the HomePod) handle the temperature in their house, tell them if there’s any anomalies and adding “scenes” of temperature.
Imagine the same can be combined with a smart and connected humidifier, where it will release lavender perfume just before you walk into the room.
So when you come home after a long day, your smart home smells like a lavender field and is warmed up “just right”.
It is curious to note how all publications made the almost identically-worded discovery on March 22, which made the “secret” sound more like an unofficial press release. At the time of the writing of this article Apple has just announced their upcoming event called “Spring Loaded.” The company’s spring unveilings are traditionally dedicated to iPads and iMacs, but the timing of the “sensor discover” seems to indicate that it could also feature the HomePod and its associated services for the smart home of the future.
We shall see.
At the time of the writing of this article, Apple just announced their April event, called “Spring Loaded” which is traditionally dedicated to iPads and iMacs.
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