Siri now speaks Dutch on HomePod (mini): release near?
In iOS 15.2, Apple’s portable speaker finally has support for the Dutch language. This could mean that the official release of the HomePod mini in the Netherlands is coming soon!
Read on after the ad.
HomePod (mini) release near
The HomePod is still not officially sold in the Netherlands, but that seems to be changing soon. In iOS 15.2, a Dutch language option has appeared in the Woning app. This allows the HomePod to talk and answer in Dutch. This would mean that the release of the HomePod (mini) in the Netherlands will not be long in coming.
You need more than just iOS 15.2 to let the HomePod speak Dutch. You must also use a beta profile of the HomePod software to activate Siri in Dutch. To change the language, open the ‘Home’ app. Press and hold your finger on the HomePod (mini) until a new window appears. Tap ‘Language’ under the Siri heading and select the ‘Dutch (Netherlands)’ option.
What is the HomePod (mini)?
Apple released the HomePod over three years ago. Unfortunately, this speaker was never officially released in the Netherlands, but you could still get one through detours. You can read what we thought of it then in our HomePod review.
With the HomePod mini, Apple is taking a different tack. The new speaker is smaller, simpler and above all much less pricey than its bigger brother. You control the speaker via a touch-sensitive part at the top. The device works at lightning speed thanks to the S5 chip, which is also in the Apple Watch SE, for example.
The way the speaker plays sound has become a lot smarter compared to the ‘regular’ HomePod. The device has so-called ‘Computational Audio’. This is a technique that allows the HomePod mini to adjust the sound to the room.
HomePod mini price
Where the original HomePod sold for $349, the mini ‘only’ costs $99. If you want to purchase the compact Apple speaker via a Dutch webshop, you pay about 100 euros for it these days. Want to know more about the HomePod mini? Then read our HomePod mini review!
iOS 15.2 is coming!
Do you already have a HomePod (mini) or are you going to buy one from release? Cool! Then you will soon be able to talk to your speaker in Dutch, but then you must have iOS 15.2 installed.
The iOS 15.2 update also brings several new features. An example is Digital inheritance, with which you arrange your digital inheritance. After your death, an inheritance contact will have access to your iPhone’s data, such as your photos and messages.
When will iOS 15.2 be released?
A ‘Release Candidate’ of iOS 15.2 has now appeared. This means that it usually takes less than a week for the official release to follow. With iOS 14.2 and iOS 15, this was six days. This makes it very likely that we will be able to install iOS 15.2 as early as next week – possibly on Monday, December 13 or Tuesday, December 14. Often the software update is available around 7:00 PM. You install it in the Settings app, via ‘General>Software update’.
Want to stay on top of the latest iPhone features? Sign up for our newsletter!
