speaker
Spoot: Spotted Early keeps speaker in one place: 3 stories so far. The section currently leads with “CMF's milk-carton speakers make minimalism look deliciously loud”, “Apple's HomeView is a chimera of nostalgia, and that's exactly the point”, and “The HomePod Mini 2 finally exists, preorders are open, and Spoot already has a tab open”. There's something quietly unhinged about a speaker shaped like a milk carton, and I mean that as the highest compliment. The iMac G4's floating display was always the best thing Apple ever put on a desk, and HomeView finally brings that energy to the wall. Spoot: Spotted Early New things, caught while they're still new and a little weird. Spoot finds fresh gadgets, clever inventions, crowdfunding campaigns,… The list below is every speaker story on Spoot: Spotted Early, newest first.
CMF's milk-carton speakers make minimalism look deliciously loud
There's something quietly unhinged about a speaker shaped like a milk carton, and I mean that as the highest compliment. CMF's first portable speakers come in two sizes, and they've turned the most mundane object in your fridge into a minimalist statement that's somehow both playful and precise. Four colorways, and honestly, collecting all of them feels less like excess and more like a personality trait. The design does the heavy lifting here: it's familiar enough to make you smile, clean enough to disappear into a shelf. You don't need to read a spec sheet to get it. You just need to have ever poured a glass of cereal.
Apple's HomeView is a chimera of nostalgia, and that's exactly the point
The iMac G4's floating display was always the best thing Apple ever put on a desk, and HomeView finally brings that energy to the wall. A 7-inch smart display that borrows the iPad's touchscreen, the Apple Watch's familiar faces, and a HomePod's speaker base? That's a chimera worth taking seriously. It's nostalgic, sure, but nostalgia isn't a flaw when the original design was this good. The real question is whether it earns its spot as the center of the connected home, or just becomes another screen demanding attention. I'm gently skeptical, but also already checking where it fits. If you want the full picture of Apple's smart home push, our piece on how John Ternus is making Apple weird again pairs nicely with this one. Stay spooty.
The HomePod Mini 2 finally exists, preorders are open, and Spoot already has a tab open
Apple didn't forget about the HomePod Mini. After nearly six years, the Mini 2 is real, preorders are open at $149, and it lands October 30th. Inside is the S10 chip from the Apple Watch Series 10, a small, clever piece of silicon that now has to power a speaker. It will eventually get Siri AI through a future update, which means the voice assistant might finally become someone you actually want to talk to. You can build a four-speaker surround system with the new Apple TV 4K, or use them as wireless computer speakers if your Mac supports Wi-Fi 6E. That's a lot of connectivity for a little puck. If Apple's recent weirdness has your attention, you should also read why John Ternus is making Apple weird again.