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  1. Home
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Apple HomePod mini vs Sonos Roam/Roam SL

Which Speaker Is Better?

    Top
    Main Differences
    Design
      PicturesStylePortabilityBuild QualityControlsIn The Box
    Sound
      Frequency Response AccuracyRaw Frequency ResponseSoundstageDynamics
    Active Features
      BatteryVoice AssistantApp
    Connectivity
      WiredBluetoothWi-Fi
    Comments

Products

Apple HomePod mini
Sonos Roam/Roam SL

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Apr 15, 2025 08:02 PM

SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 11, 2024 07:27 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Apple HomePod mini Picture
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Picture
Bluetooth
No
Wi-Fi
Yes
Speakerphone
Yes
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
No
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
Yes
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
Yes
  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. Apple

Our Verdict

Apple HomePod mini

Sonos Roam/Roam SL

The Sonos Roam/Roam SL is a better speaker than the Apple HomePod mini. The Sonos is more portable and better built, and it also gets louder. Its voice assistant performance is also better with its Roam variant, and it supports Bluetooth. However, the Apple speaker has superior soundstage performance.

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Variants

  • HomePod mini (Blue)
  • HomePod mini (Midnight)
  • HomePod mini (Orange)
  • HomePod mini (Space Gray)
  • HomePod mini (White)
  • HomePod mini (Yellow)
  • Roam (Lunar White)
  • Roam SL (Lunar White)
  • Roam (Olive)
  • Roam (Shadow Black)
  • Roam SL (Shadow Black)
  • Roam (Sunset)
  • Roam (Wave)

Review

See Apple HomePod mini Review
See Sonos Roam/Roam SL Review
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Check Price

Blue
HomePod mini
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Lunar White
Roam
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Midnight
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Lunar White
Roam SL
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Orange
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Olive
Roam
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Space Gray
HomePod mini
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Shadow Black
Roam
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Shadow Black
Roam SL
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Yellow
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Sunset
Roam
SEARCH
Amazon.com
 
Wave
Roam
SEARCH
Amazon.com

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.4
6.3

Soundstage 
 

7.3
6.1

EQ 
 

No
Bass/Treble

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.5
6.7

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Apple HomePod mini Style Photo
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

5.8
9.4

Dimensions Photo  

Apple HomePod mini Dimensions Photo
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

48 in³ (790 cm³)
39 in³ (632 cm³)

Weight 
 

0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)
0.9 lbs (0.4 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC Only
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

6.4
8.5

Build Quality Photo  

Apple HomePod mini Build Quality Photo
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

No
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Yes (IK rating unspecified)

Floats In Water 
 

No
Unspecified
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.0
8.0

Controls Photo  

Apple HomePod mini Controls Photo
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Apple HomePod mini Controls Photo 2
Sonos Roam/Roam SL Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

Yes (Tactile)
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
Yes (Physical)

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Apple HomePod mini In The Box Photo
Sonos Roam/Roam SL In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.5
6.7

Frequency Response Graph  

See details
See details
 Compare in Graph Tool

Slope 
 

-0.41
-0.06

Std. Err. 
 

3.49 dB
3.58 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

70.3 Hz
62.6 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

17.7 kHz
18.0 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details
See details
 Compare in Graph Tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

7.3
6.1

Directivity Graph  

See details
See details
 Compare in Graph Tool

Directivity Index 
 

1.30 dB
3.49 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

5.9
5.4

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details
See details
 Compare in Graph Tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

76.7 dB SPL
83.8 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

1.36 dB
4.26 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
5.4

Battery Life 
 

N/A
5.1 hrs

Charge Time 
 

N/A
3.4 hrs

Power Saving 
 

No
Yes

Charging Port 
 

No Battery
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

9.1
9.4

Alexa 
 

No
Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)

Google Assistant 
 

No
Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)

Speakerphone 
 

Yes
No

Siri 
 

Built-in
No

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

Yes
Yes

Microphone Mute 
 

Yes
Yes

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
Excellent

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Decent
Great
Show Text 

App 
 

6.6
9.3

App Picture  

Apple HomePod mini App Picture
Sonos Roam/Roam SL App Picture

App Name 
 

Apple Home
Sonos S2

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

No
Yes

EQ 
 

No
Bass/Treble

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
7.3

Bluetooth 
 

No
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
5.0

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

N/A
117 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

N/A
201 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

N/A
334.6 ft (102.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

8.2
8.3

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Wi-Fi 4
Wi-Fi 5

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz & 5GHz
2.4GHz & 5GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
Yes

AirPlay Latency 
 

11 ms
-2 ms

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Check Price

Blue
HomePod mini
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Lunar White
Roam
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Midnight
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Lunar White
Roam SL
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Orange
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Olive
Roam
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Space Gray
HomePod mini
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Shadow Black
Roam
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Shadow Black
Roam SL
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Yellow
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Sunset
Roam
SEARCH
Amazon.com
 
Wave
Roam
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Back to Top

Apple HomePod mini

Sonos Roam/Roam SL

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Apple HomePod mini vs Sonos Roam/Roam SL: Main Discussion

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