Apple’s HomePod mini smart speaker has an as-yet-undisclosed temperature and humidity sensor in its casing, Bloomberg reports.

The sensor appears to be placed away from the speaker’s internal components so it can measure the external temperature. The exact sensor used is a 1.5 x 1.5mm HDC2010 humidity and temperature digital sensor from Texas Instruments.

Although the sensor isn’t currently usable by HomePod mini owners, Apple has internally discussed allowing the sensor to provide information to other smart home devices like thermostats or fans. This could give smart heating equipment more information about how warm a room is or allow the speaker to trigger a device like a fan if it senses a room has reached a certain temperature. The functionality could work via HomeKit, Apple’s smart home ecosystem, which currently integrates with dozens of Internet-connected thermostats.

The HomePod mini was launched in November, costing US$99 in comparison with the US$300 HomePod original. The Siri-powered smart speaker came with new features, including an intercom and stereo pairing. Earlier this month, Apple said it was discontinuing the original HomePod and focusing its efforts on the HomePod mini.

(SD-Agencies)