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Apple

Apple's HomePod Mini Has a Secret Sensor Waiting To Be Switched On (bloomberg.com) 53

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
Apple's HomePod mini speaker launched last November with new features such as a home intercom system. But one part of the device has remained secret: a sensor that measures temperature and humidity. From a report: The Cupertino, California-based technology giant never disclosed this component and the device currently lacks consumer-facing features that use it. The company has internally discussed using the sensor to determine a room's temperature and humidity so internet-connected thermostats can adjust different parts of a home based on current conditions, according to people familiar with the situation. The hardware could also let the HomePod mini automatically trigger other actions, say turning a fan on or off, depending on the temperature.
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Apple's HomePod Mini Has a Secret Sensor Waiting To Be Switched On More

Apple's HomePod Mini Has a Secret Sensor Waiting To Be Switched On

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  • This is going to be vendor lock-in all over again.

    • Re:No thanks (Score:5, Funny)

      by Freischutz ( 4776131 ) on Monday March 22, 2021 @10:33AM (#61185406)

      This is going to be vendor lock-in all over again.

      No, it's way worse than that. Apple is planning to leverage temperature and humidity measurements to enslave humanity.

      • Oh contraire! I just spent quite a few bucks outfitting my new home with HomeKit enabled devices and sensors. The difference between works with Alexa/Google and HomeKit is that the HomeKit devices must use Apple devices like a HomePod, iPad, or AppleTV as a gateway. They can not rely on cloud services provided by each manufacturer for HomeKit functions. This means the useful life will exceed the viability of the manufacturer or their wish that you upgrade.

        Some people have conspiracy theories about Apple

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ghoul ( 157158 )
        If you have ever worked for a subcontractor or vendor of Apple you would know they achieved that long time ago. Apples new goal is to change the laws of Physics

  • When I saw the subject line, I was intrigued, when I actually saw that the "Secret Sensor" was a thermometer and hygrometer I was genuinely let down.

    C'mon people, when we're talking about "Secret Sensors" in 2021 it should be amazing, like having the ability to detect cancer in the people in the room, or which ones have a genetic anomaly that will give them great powers like the ability to fly.

    Temperature and humidity, Apple you can do better than that.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I guess the issue is that there was an undisclosed sensor that people brought into their homes, i.e. it's a potential privacy issue. Admittedly the privacy implications of a thermometer and humidity sensor are somewhat limited but still, other companies have been called out for this kind of thing.

      These sensors cost pennies so were probably thrown in "just in case" they were useful in the future. Should have been disclosed even if they were not used.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ghoul ( 157158 )
        Temp and humidity is enough to figure out if you are getting hot and heavy. Than Amazon can use AI and past purchase history to figure out you are out of condoms and send a drone to your window sill with a fresh pack of condoms autocharged to your credit card on file.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ghoul ( 157158 )
      The issue is what else is undisclosed? Is there a mind control wave emitter built in which they will switch on once they figure out the coding?
    • what they are not telling you... is that its also an amplifier for the reality distortion field still generated by steve jobs... after he as a genius god returned to the great apple store in the heavens, his distortion field lost some of its strength

  • Headline Writer Reaches Unprecedented Hype Level (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Koen Lefever ( 2543028 ) on Monday March 22, 2021 @10:27AM (#61185380)
    - blank -
  • I have to wonder how well a temp/humidity sensor inside of a warm electronic device is going to work?

  • Honestly sounds like government forced addition of "sensors" for intelligence services.

    Kind of like the hidden microphone in Nest thermostats.

    Now like the hidden sensor in Apple's similar device....

    Two different companies both hiding sensors...

    Nice NSA Letter you have there. Shame if your obvious actions were to make it obvious.

    • Re:Like Nest's hidden sensors? (Score:4, Funny)

      by Moridineas ( 213502 ) on Monday March 22, 2021 @10:43AM (#61185454) Journal

      The day the feds could covertly detect the humidity in my house is truly the day the Republic died.

      In all seriousness, the thing already has an always-on microphone. How much worse can it get?

      • In all seriousness, the thing already has an always-on microphone. How much worse can it get?

        The original HomePod has _six_ microphones which are always turned on when it plays sound, to compare the sound it is transmitting and the sound it receives on the microphones and adjust its sound accordingly. That's how you get something similar to stereo from a single speaker. Anything received for this purpose is thrown away immediately. On the other hand, it also uses this to subtract what it's playing itself from whatever other sounds are around, so it could listen even while playing loud music.

        Like

        • I have a Homepod, and it has an excellent microphone. Too good sometimes--sometimes the Homepod in a far away room will respond rather than the one closer to me.

          I generally DO trust Apple, but I also don't trust devices with microphones even with security precautions in place.

      • In all seriousness, the thing already has an always-on microphone. How much worse can it get?

        I wouldn't say no to always-on cute anime waifu, but I'll have to wait for amazing AR or holograms for that.

      • Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic, to Democracy!

    • Re:Like Nest's hidden sensors? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Monday March 22, 2021 @11:21AM (#61185574)
      The difference is I do not know why a thermostat should have a microphone, but there are use cases for electronic devices having a temperature sensor. It seems every major component of my PC has at least one temperature sensor. MB: 3, SSD 1,CPU 1, GPU 1, etc. A humidity sensor has less of a use case in general, but if the device is sensitive to humidity (and some electronics are sensitive to high humidity), it is not earth shattering to have one.

    • Kind of like the hidden microphone in Nest thermostats.

      There are no microphones in Nest Thermostats. [afrotech.com]

  • Or for something actually useful (Score:3)

    by holophrastic ( 221104 ) on Monday March 22, 2021 @10:40AM (#61185442)

    It never ceases to amaze me how people choose the least valuable uses for the most valuable features.

    I don't need my one device to turn on my other device. Thanks. If I want a fan that turns on when the room is hot, I'll get a fan with a sensor.

    I do have a pair of homepod minis (well-known boring story that abbreviates to: I have a wife). I would absolutely love a temperature sensor, for the life-saving utility it could have.

    Sometimes, it's very very very hot outside, like in the summer.

    Sometimes, we go away for the entire day, like to a friend's backyard pool-party two-hours away.

    Sometimes, the air conditioning breaks, or doesn't work, or stops working, because it's a machine.

    Sometimes all three happen at the same time, and for the exact same reason.

    Always I have three pets, sitting at home, who shouldn't die from heat-stroke.

    Would be great if the secret sensor would tell me that my pets are dying.

  • I'm ok with them sampling temp/humid but I draw the line when they start sampling barometric pressure like the bme280 can do. And man if they go with the 680 they can start sampling farts.

  • Did you know that an iPhone 13 will have a secret anal probe, that is intended to give Digital Rectal Exams at home (working in conjunction with a new Apple watch that will be able to take ECG).

  • Everyone knows The Aliens need a climate that's 10 degrees warmer before they can take over the world and suck all the water from our oceans. Once the Earth is warm enough, they'll pop out of the ground or land their spaceships in the courtyards of the world's governments to announce their arrival. They'll distribute a Covid cure praised the world over, until we realize that it actually sterilizes the world's population and humanity is toast.

    Anyhooo.. they need to know when the earth is warm enough, and t

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tsa ( 15680 )

      Yeah, aliens are like chicadas. What is the next prime after three billion? The must have buried themselves three billion years ago when the Earth had cooled down enough after its fiery birth. Now it's time for them to reappear and procreate like crazy.

    • They'll distribute a Covid cure praised the world over, until we realize that it actually sterilizes the world's population and humanity is toast.

      Stargate already did it! (S04E16) [wikipedia.org]. /SouthPark (S06E07) [wikipedia.org]

  • "Feds use data from Home Pod along with electric providers to seek out illegal growing operations. The interior humidity and higher than normal temperatures allowed police to pin point local operations...."

    "The green police have been busy this week following up on leads provided by temperature measurements made by Apple's Home Pods. The greenys have been targeting those who use more natural resources by not keeping their thermostat within the guidelines established by the ."

    "Those with Home Pods have been b

  • Possibly solved (Score:2, Informative)

    by gnasher719 ( 869701 )
    The HomePod uses the same processor as an iPhone 6s. And the iPhone 6s has a temperature sensor. It measures the temperature inside the phone. So if you leave your iPhone in the sun on a hot summer day and it heats up, the sensor detects it, turns the phone off, and refuses to let you turn it on until you cooled down the phone.

    You wouldn't remove that sensor and have different chips for the HomePod, so the HomePod has the same temperature sensor. No idea if it is connected to it - maybe it's unconnected

    • Re:Possibly solved (Score:4, Informative)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Monday March 22, 2021 @11:37AM (#61185624) Homepage Journal

      This is a separate combined temperature/humidity sensor, on the end of a short cable and positioned so that it isn't warmed by the HomePod too much, i.e. it is measuring the ambient temperature in the room.

      They actually added it deliberately, at a cost. The sensor is tens of cents (or more if they want better than +/- 2C / 10% accuracy) and the cable assembly probably the same. There is some additional manufacturing cost for fitting it too. Maybe a Euro in total.

  • Wouldn't smart thermostats need those sensors in the first place?

    • Wouldn't smart thermostats need those sensors in the first place?

      Besides AC systems that have a special dehumidify mode, or support integrated humidifiers, any smart thermostat/plain AC combo could use a hygrometer to just run in normal cooling mode to dehumidify past your cooling point, so IDK about need, but I bet it's hard to find a smart thermostat without one.

      Multi-zone AC systems have multiple thermostats though, and in any kind of setup you could average more than one sensor throughout the house, or you could do something like using a sensor in a different room ba

  • so internet-connected thermostats can adjust different parts of a home based on current conditions,

    Not that I'm stupid enough to have one of these security nightmares in my place, but no way would I want anyone else, let alone a piece of lousy programming, determining how to adjust the conditions in my place. Unless I specifically had a setting which says to do X when Y happens, how I want the conditions of my place is up to me.

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