1.   Try searching by:
    1. Category (Best $100 Headphones, Best 50 Inch TVs, …)
    2. Brand (Sony, Samsung, LG, Bose, …)
    3. Model (S405, QC 35 II, …)
    4. Etc...
Get insider access
Get insider access
Preferred store
Notice: Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Best
Bluetooth Portable Outdoor Bose Loud Home Shower Parties Alexa Small JBL Brands Budget And Cheap Bluetooth For Bass Waterproof Bluetooth Golf Bluetooth For Sound Smart iPhone Karaoke
Tools
Compare Table Review List Review Index Graph Custom Ratings
Popular
JBL Boombox 3 JBL Charge 5 JBL Authentics 500 JBL Flip 6 Bose SoundLink Max Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3 Sonos Move 2 Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 JBL PartyBox Stage 320 Sonos Era 100 JBL PartyBox 310 Sony SRS-XB100 Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 4 JBL PartyBox Club 120 Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM Sonos Era 300 Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM JBL Xtreme 4 Bose SoundLink Flex
164
Speakers bought and tested
Supported by you via insider access, and when you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Driven by data, run by a passionate team of engineers, testers, technical writers, developers, and more.
We are hiring!
  1. Home
  2. Speaker
  3. Compare
Notice: Big Spring Sale Deal: The Amazon Echo Pop has dropped by 25% on Amazon.com. See all Speaker Big Spring Sale deals.
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Bose Home Speaker 500 vs Apple HomePod mini

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose Home Speaker 500
Apple HomePod mini

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 28, 2024 07:50 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Feb 03, 2025 02:20 PM

SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Bose Home Speaker 500 Picture
Apple HomePod mini Picture
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
Yes
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
No
Bluetooth
No
Wi-Fi
Yes
Speakerphone
Yes
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
No
  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. Apple

Variants

  • Home Speaker 500 (Luxe Silver)
  • Home Speaker 500 (Triple Black)
  • HomePod mini (Blue)
  • HomePod mini (Midnight)
  • HomePod mini (Orange)
  • HomePod mini (Space Gray)
  • HomePod mini (White)
  • HomePod mini (Yellow)

Review

See Bose Home Speaker 500 Review
See Apple HomePod mini Review
0 
0 

Our Verdict

Bose Home Speaker 500

Apple HomePod mini

The Bose Home Speaker 500 is a better speaker than the Apple HomePod mini overall. The Bose is a stereo Bluetooth speaker that can get louder and produce a more extended low-bass than the Apple. It also offers outstanding voice assistant support with Alexa and Google Assistant built-in and has no trouble understanding your commands. However, Apple comes with built-in Siri, which some Apple users may prefer. It also has better directivity, resulting in a more open-sounding soundstage.

0 

Check Price

Luxe Silver
Home Speaker 500
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Blue
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Triple Black
Home Speaker 500
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Midnight
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Orange
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Space Gray
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
 
White
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Yellow
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.3
6.4

Soundstage 
 

8.7
7.3

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.9
6.5

Dynamics 
 

7.2
5.9

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
No

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Style Photo
Apple HomePod mini Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show text

Portability 
 

4.3
5.8

Dimensions Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Dimensions Photo
Apple HomePod mini Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

226 in³ (3,702 cm³)
48 in³ (790 cm³)

Weight 
 

4.9 lbs (2.2 kg)
0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC Only
AC Only

One-Hand Carry 
 

No
Yes
Show text

Build Quality 
 

6.7
6.4

Build Quality Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Build Quality Photo
Apple HomePod mini Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Good

Water Resistance 
 

No
No

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

No
No
Show text

Controls 
 

8.0
8.0

Controls Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Controls Photo
Apple HomePod mini Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bose Home Speaker 500 Controls Photo 2
Apple HomePod mini Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Tactile)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
Yes (Tactile)

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Tactile)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes
Yes (Tactile)

Microphone On/Off 
 

Yes (Tactile)
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show text

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Bose Home Speaker 500 In The Box Photo
Apple HomePod mini In The Box Photo
Show text
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.9
6.5

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.62
-0.41

Std. Err. 
 

3.50 dB
3.49 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

55.0 Hz
70.3 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

17.0 kHz
17.7 kHz
Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

8.7
7.3

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

2.41 dB
1.30 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)
Show text

Dynamics 
 

7.2
5.9

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

90.5 dB SPL
76.7 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

2.19 dB
1.36 dB
Show text
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power Saving 
 

No
No

Charging Port 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Battery Powered 
 

No
No
Show text

Voice Assistant 
 

10
9.1

Alexa 
 

Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)
No

Google Assistant 
 

Built-in (Wi-Fi Only)
No

Speakerphone 
 

No
Yes

Siri 
 

No
Built-in

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

Yes
Yes

Microphone Mute 
 

Yes
Yes

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
Excellent

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Excellent
Decent
Show text

App 
 

7.7
6.6

App Picture  

Bose Home Speaker 500 App Picture
Apple HomePod mini App Picture

App Name 
 

Bose Music
Apple Home

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
No

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
No

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

No
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
Yes
Show text
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

Yes
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

Yes
No
Show text

Bluetooth 
 

8.2
0.0

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
No

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2
No Bluetooth

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

57 ms
N/A

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

88 ms
N/A

Bluetooth Range 
 

195.2 ft (59.5 m)
N/A

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No
Show text

Wi-Fi 
 

8.1
8.2

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Unspecified
Wi-Fi 4

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz & 5GHz
2.4GHz & 5GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
Yes

AirPlay Latency 
 

45 ms
11 ms

Google Chromecast 
 

Yes
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show text

Check Price

Luxe Silver
Home Speaker 500
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Blue
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Triple Black
Home Speaker 500
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Midnight
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Orange
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Space Gray
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
 
White
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Yellow
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Back to Top

Bose Home Speaker 500

Apple HomePod mini

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Bose Home Speaker 500 vs Apple HomePod mini: Main Discussion

What do you think of these products? Let us know below.


Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.

Follow Discussion0 followingSee All Soundbars & Speakers DiscussionsCopy link
0 
PreviewBack to editorFormat guide
No comments yet, refresh to see new ones
We make money directly from you via insider access (which gives you access to extra features) and when you buy a product after clicking a link to a retailer. Learn more about how we work.
We buy our own products, just like you, mostly from the United States. When a product is discontinued or no longer popular, we sell the review units locally. You can see what products we currently have for sale here.
© 2025 9298-5266 Quebec Inc. All Rights Reserved. Visit our corporate site.