How much power does the HomePod mini actually draw?
By: Prayudi Satriyo Nugroho
Tags: Homepod Mini, Smart Home, Apple, Technology, Homekit

Disclaimer: Information on this article was written based on my personal experiment, and certainly was not conducted inside a laboratory condition. I did the experiment because I was curious, and this experiment was not endorsed, paid, or influenced by anybody. Use the information for yourself only (although you are more than welcome to share this articles with your friends). Inputs are welcome.

Devices used:

Apple HomePod mini, Space Gray, Baseus 18W 10,000 mAh/3.7V/37Wh power bank, Satechi USB-C Power Meter Tester, iPad Air 3 (2019) as the Apple Music controller for the HomePod mini.

This article will run you through these tests:

Test 1: Charging an iPad Air 3 at 60% battery, Test 2: HomePod mini on standby (waiting for command/Hey Siri), Test 3: HomePod mini at 30% volume, Test 4: HomePod mini at 50% volume, Test 5: HomePod mini at 70% volume, Test 6: HomePod mini at 85% volume, Test 7: HomePod mini at 100% volume, Conclusion.

Testing Method

Satechi USB-C Power Meter Tester

I am using a Satechi USB-C Power Meter Tester which is available to buy here. This device shows us the Volt and Ampere that are currently running through it, and by using a simple calculation (Volt x Ampere), we can get the Watt.

During each of the tests, I played Black by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi from Apple Music at different volumes.

Accuracy of The Tests

The amounts of Volt and Ampere are not flowing at a persistent rate (you can see it in the video on Test no. 7 below). I tried to take the pictures at the average number of Ampere during each test case for the best reference.

Enough talk, let’s see the results.

Test 1: Charging an iPad Air 3 at 60% battery

iPad Air 3 (at 60% battery) power usage — 11.9V 1.45A (17.26 Watt)

As a sample, I connected my iPad Air 3 to the power bank, and it shows 11.9V and 1.45A, which translate to 17.26 watts. This is in line with the power bank’s rated power of 18 watts.

Test 2: HomePod mini on standby

HomePod mini on standby — 8.96V 0.03A (0.27 watt)

On standby, the HomePod mini uses 0.27 watts of power as it is connected to the network waiting for your command from another device or “Hey Siri” voice command.

Test 3: HomePod mini on 30% volume,

HomePod mini at 30% volume — 8.98V 0.09A (0.81 watt)

While playing the music at 30% volume, the HomePod mini uses 0.81 watts. This volume is perfect for background noise while working.

Test 4: HomePod mini at 50% volume,

HomePod mini at 50% volume — 8.99V 0.13A (1.17 watt)

While playing the music at 50% volume, the HomePod mini uses 1.17 watts. This volume is best when you want to chill and listen to some music.

Test 5: HomePod mini at 70% volume,

HomePod mini at 70% volume — 8.98V 0.25A (2.25 watt)

While playing the music at 70% volume, the HomePod mini uses 2.25 watts.

Test 6: HomePod mini at 85% volume,

HomePod mini on 85% volume — 9V 0.52A (4.68 watt)

While playing the music at 85% volume, the HomePod mini uses 4.68 watts. It is impossible to talk without shouting if there’s a HomePod mini playing music at 85% volume 1 meter (6 feet) away from you.

Test 7: HomePod mini at 100% volume,

HomePod mini at 100% volume — 8.92V 1.03A (9.19 watt)

At full blast, we see that the power usage hits 9.19 watts, and it registers a 17.21 watts of peak usage (8.92V 1.93A). Most of the time, it will use around 6–12 watts.

At this volume, the HomePod mini fills the entire room. It is very loud and I personally never play music at this volume, but I use the HomePod mini (stereo pair) to watch movies at this volume.

Conclusion

The HomePod mini use:

0.27 watts on standby,

on standby, 0.81 watts at 30% volume,

at 30% volume, 1.17 watts at 50% volume,

at 50% volume, 2.25 watts at 70% volume,

at 70% volume, 4.68 watts at 85% volume, and

at 85% volume, and 9.19 watts at 100% volume.

During most of the tests, the HomePod mini does not use all the 18 watts available from the power bank. During daily use, I use it at 30–50% volume which means it pulls around 1 watt from the wall. During standby, it only uses around 0.3 watts, making it a very efficient little device and I don’t need to worry about my electricity bill even if I have 5 of them around the house.

Based on my testing I also found out that my HomePod mini can only work when my power bank supplies it with 9V of power. When I switched it to 5V, the HomePod mini simply refuses to work (the light blinks orange).

Edit: I just found this document by Apple on HomePod mini’s Product Environmental Report, and on the last page they mentioned power usage when playing music at 50% volume, which is around 1.28–1.34 watts.

So, how long can a 10,000 mAh power bank keep a HomePod mini running?

I did a test playing the HomePod mini at 30% volume, and after around 15 hours the power bank still has around 50% of power remaining. That means that it theoretically can power a full day (24 hours) of music listening.

Please note that I did the test in my own home at a temperature of 25° Celsius (77° Fahrenheit). Batteries are known to discharge faster in cold weather.

The final verdict is that technically you can bring a HomePod mini to a camping trip with a power bank!

Thanks for reading!