The HomePod mini pressed the key. After the end of sales of the original model which did not reach the objectives despite a price drop, the 99 dollars of the small speaker made them put not one but several at home. I myself have one in my living room and another in my bedroom, allowing the music to reach every corner of my house.
Now, there is a question that more than one person has asked me: Can a HomePod be placed in the bathroom?
On its official website, Apple specifies that the HomePod mini is designed to be placed in the rooms of your home. But the bathroom is a room in which, through showers, a lot of humidity tends to concentrate. There is no particular precision on this subject, but we can read this in the technical specifications of the speaker:
Environmental requirements: Relative humidity: 5 to 90% non-condensing
The key words are “non-condensing”. In a bathroom where a family showers every day, the humidity typically reaches 100% and water can soak curtains, walls and other surfaces. Including that of the HomePod, whose outer mesh is porous. Result: that condensed water can seep inside the enclosure and cause damage
Does that mean we can’t put our HomePod mini on the speaker? You can power it, but you bear the risk that due to this humidity and condensation, you end up damaging it. And keep in mind that Apple does not cover this type of damage under warranty.
The conclusion I would draw is that at best, only place the HomePod mini in a bathroom if you ensure generous ventilation that prevents all the moisture from a shower from being able to disperse quickly. And that’s always a risk, so I would insist that you place it away from any source of water.
Personally, for my shower gigs, I have a waterproof UE Wonderboom ready for bathroom conditions. Perhaps in the future we’ll see a version of the HomePod similar to this solution: battery-powered and showerproof. It can be a good companion for the rest of the HomePod mini that you have scattered around the rest of your house.
