Apple announces the HomePod Mini 2, but it isn’t ready for Siri AI at launch

Apple is announcing the long-awaited HomePod Mini 2 with a new chip that can power Siri AI — but support for those new AI features won’t be available at launch. The speaker is also getting a new sound glow feature that syncs its LED lights with a song’s album art, and it can now be your Mac’s default speaker. Up to four can also pair with the new Apple TV 4K for surround sound. And like everything this year, it’s more expensive, too.

The HomePod Mini 2 comes in pink, green, and a new shade of blue, along with white and black. It costs $149, $20 more than its predecessor, which is being discontinued. Preorders open today, October 13th, and it will ship on October 30th. Apple announced the smart speaker alongside a suite of new products for the home, including the new HomeView smart display ($299), the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K ($299), and a new collection of smart home devices developed in collaboration with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric starting at $199.

The biggest upgrade inside the HomePod Mini 2 is the S10 chip, which debuted in the Apple Watch Series 10 in 2024. Here, it will enable Siri AI and bring smarter, more conversational responses to the speaker. However, the Mini 2 won’t ship with Siri AI at launch; instead, Apple says it will arrive in a later software update. It will be available in English in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and India. You’ll need an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone — an iPhone 15 Pro or newer — to enable the upgrade.

Once upgraded, you’ll get the same Siri AI as on compatible iPhones, capable of understanding natural language commands and accessing what Apple calls “broader world knowledge,” as well as your personal context, such as your calendar and text messages. Apple’s examples include: if you ask Siri to set a reminder to buy flowers for mom’s birthday, it can check your calendar, identify when mom’s birthday is, and set the reminder. It can also scan your text messages for music recommendations so you can ask it to play that song your friend sent.

Personal context will be available only on the Mini if you have an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone, and will rely on voice recognition to keep your personal information private, but anyone in the home can talk to the HomePod to ask questions, play music, and control most smart home devices. Apple confirmed that Siri AI will not be coming to existing HomePod Minis.

The speakers don’t appear to have been upgraded from the original Mini, with Apple saying they offer the same great sound, but they do get three new audio features: sound glow, audio companion capability for your Mac, and surround sound support on the new Apple TV 4K.

Sound glow matches the colors of a song’s album art with the LEDs on top of the speaker. I saw a demo in a brightly lit room, and it was subtle, but the colors clearly changed in sync with the music. It also works with Apple’s ambient soundscapes, such as rain, forest, and ocean sounds.

The Mini 2 can now serve as your Mac’s default speaker and work as a surround-sound pair with the new Apple TV 4K, also announced today for $299. The new colors match a few of the current iMacs; I saw the pink pairing, and it was very pretty. Apple says the Mini uses a new audio companion feature that enables a persistent AirPlay setup and optimizes the streaming architecture for low-latency, responsive sound. It works on any model that supports Wi-Fi 6E or higher. I saw a demo of Angry Birds and the fruit-flinging on screen synced seamlessly with the splat sounds emanating from two Minis.

You’ll be able to pair up to four of the Mini 2 speakers with the new Apple TV 4K for a surround sound home theatre setup. Two Minis can also work with a pair of the second-gen full-sized HomePods for fuller sound. Apple says the speakers automatically calibrate with the Apple TV 4K to understand where they are in the room and relative to each other, then tune the audio levels to fit the space.

The first-generation HomePod Mini launched six years ago today, so a full upgrade was long overdue. The jump from the S5 chip the OG Mini ran on to the S10, and the bump up to Wi-Fi 6E and BLE 6.0, should also improve speed and responsiveness.

It’s disappointing that the Mini hasn’t gotten a significant audio upgrade, but the addition of a smarter Siri, when it arrives, should make the speaker more useful at home. However, it’s surprising that Apple launched this without Siri AI, meaning even if you spend $149 on a new Mini, you’ll still have a disconnect between Siri on your phone and Siri in your home. Combined with the fact that Siri AI is in beta on the new Apple TV 4K, it sounds like Apple’s smart voice assistant isn’t quite ready for primetime after all.

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