One of the features of Apple’s new HomePod mini 2 speakers is being able to use them as your Mac’s default speakers, but it seems to be failing to work as advertised for a number of users, with some owners already returning them, based on the latest MacRumors forum reports. OG HomePod minis in a stereo pair on a Mac (don’t try this at home)
The new HomePod mini 2 can be used as a default speaker on all Mac models with Wi-Fi 6E or later , according to Apple. A single HomePod can be used alone, or a pair can be twinned for stereo sound. The same setup never reliably worked with the first-generation HomePod mini, with latency and dropout issues common. Apple introduced the stated new feature with HomePod Software 27. 2 , and it’s meant to work over "a responsive and persistent AirPlay connection," or a wireless point-to-point link that’s designed to survive restarts and sleep. (That’s different to ordinary AirPlay, which the previous-generation HomePod uses). For the HomePod mini 2, the feature requires macOS 27. 2. It’s also supposed to work with the second-generation HomePod using the same software and the aforementioned Wi-Fi 6E requirement. So far, new HomePod mini 2 owners are reporting two separate problems. For some, the option to enable the persistent connection never appears at all – even on hardware that meets Apple’s stated requirements. For others, the connection works at first, but the Mac then falls back to its built-in or monitor speakers after sleep, a restart, or sometimes even after a single notification sound. Jennifer Pattison Tuohy was first to note the first problem in her review for The Verge . On a Mac mini M4 – meeting Apple’s Wi-Fi 6E requirement – the persistent-output option never showed up, and the speakers behaved like ordinary AirPlay devices, along with audio artifacts, dropouts, and output switching after a restart or whenever Siri was activated on a HomePod…
