The Best Apple Speaker of 2023: Reviews

Table of Contents
Intro
Review Updates
Best Speaker
Comparison
Page Updates
Conclusion
Discussions

Apple is a tech brand known for making phones, laptops, watches, and tablets, though they've also made some speakers. Generally, their speakers have built-in Siri capabilities, making them suitable for home use. We've tested two Apple speakers: the Apple HomePod and the Apple HomePod mini. However, since the Apple HomePod has been discontinued, the manufacturer currently only has the Apple HomePod mini on the market.

Updates

12/15/2022 Apple HomePod mini updated
12/14/2021 Apple HomePod updated

Best Apple Speakers

Best Apple Speaker

Apple HomePod mini

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Music

6.4

Videos/Movies

5.6

Podcasts

6.4

Voice Assistant

8.5

Outdoors

4.4

Battery Powered
No

Speakerphone
Yes

Voice Assistant
Yes

Bluetooth
No

Wi-Fi
Yes

See all our test results

The Apple HomePod mini is currently Apple's only speaker on the market since they discontinued the original Apple HomePod. This small spherical smart speaker comes with Siri built-in and is designed for use at home. You can activate Siri with your voice, and it can register your commands from far away or in noisier rooms. Its mid-range is balanced, so vocals and lead instruments sound clear and present in the mix, making this speaker good for dialogue-heavy audio content like audiobooks and podcasts. However, higher-pitched voices and instruments sound dull at times. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it has fantastic directivity, resulting in a wide and spacious-sounding soundstage. You can use its Apple Home App to pair it with another compatible speaker to create a stereo pair. Also, you can use it to connect to multiple other speakers when you want your audio to fill a large room without increasing its volume.

Like most speakers its size, it lacks thump in the low-bass range, and there isn't a graphic EQ or presets to customize its sound to your liking. Also, while it supports Bluetooth, it's only for audio handoff, which lets you transfer your music from your phone to the speaker by tapping your iPhone atop the speaker, so you can't pair your audio source to the speaker via Bluetooth. That said, while it doesn't get very loud, it's still loud enough to use in a small bedroom or on your desk. There's also little compression at max volume, so your audio remains clean and clear-sounding when you max out its volume.

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Compared to other brands

Compatible with Apple AirPlay. Generally, Apple speakers support Apple AirPlay, so you can pair your iPhone to the speaker to wirelessly play audio content. The speaker and your iPhone both need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network to use Apple AirPlay.
Built-in voice assistant. Apple speakers typically come with a built-in Siri voice assistant. Siri can usually understand you even if you're far away, though the Apple HomePod performs a bit better in noisier environments than the HomePod mini.
Good soundstage. The Apple speakers we've tested have incredible directivity thanks to their 360-degree design, resulting in soundstages perceived as open and spacious. They have to downmix stereo content into mono, resulting in a less immersive-sounding soundstage.

Can't easily stream audio content over Bluetooth. While you can use Bluetooth for audio handoff, which lets you transfer audio from your iPhone to the speaker, Apple speakers don't support Bluetooth pairing for playing audio content. If the speaker and your iOS device are on the same Wi-Fi, you can stream audio content using this configuration.
No EQs. The Apple speakers we've tested don't have an EQ to let you tweak their sound profile. They have fairly balanced sound profiles out-of-the-box, though.
Wired design. You need to plug the Apple speakers we've tested into a power source for use, so they're more suitable as home speakers than portable speakers.
Not impact or water-resistant. Since the Apple speakers we've tested are generally for home use, they aren't impact-resistant or water-resistant. They typically aren't rated for dust resistance either.

Apple speakers are designed for home use, with a wired design and built-in Siri voice assistant. However, they don't come with an EQ and are hard to pair with devices over Bluetooth.

Recent Updates

Oct 14, 2022: Removed the Apple HomePod from the Notable Mentions and made small adjustments to overall text for accuracy.
Jun 16, 2022: Minor updates to text for consistency.
Feb 17, 2022: Verified product availability, and updated text for clarity.
Oct 20, 2021: Moved the Apple HomePod to the Notable Mentions since it's been discontinued. Updated the text for consistency.
Jun 22, 2021: Verified text accuracy and product availability. There have been no changes in our recommendations.

Conclusion

Apple speakers generally have a Siri voice assistant built-in and need to be plugged into a power source to use them. They're compatible with Apple AirPlay for streaming audio content from an iPhone, but you can't easily pair them with devices via Bluetooth. Typically, they're not water or impact-resistant since they're designed for home use.