Apple Unveils HomePod mini 2, but Siri AI Isn’t Ready at Launch

The long-awaited HomePod mini 2 arrives with a new chip that can power Siri AI, but support for the new AI features won’t be available at launch. The speaker also gains Sound Glow, which syncs its LEDs to a song’s album art, and can now […]

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The new speaker can sync its lights to your album art and pair with the new Apple TV and HomePods for a home theater setup.

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All news from Apple's "Welcome home" event

He is a senior referee with more than twenty years of experience. He covers smart homes, IoT and connected technologies and has previously written for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, BBC and US News.

Apple is introducing the long-awaited HomePod Mini 2 with a new chip that can boost Siri's AI — but support for these new AI features won't be available at launch. The speaker also has a new Sound Glow feature that syncs its LED lights with the song's album art, and can now be your Mac's default speaker. Up to four devices can also be paired with the new Apple TV 4K for surround sound. And like everything this year, it's more expensive.

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 discontinued predecessor. Pre-orders begin today, October 13th and will ship on October 30th. Apple introduced the smart speaker alongside a series of new products for the home, including the new HomeView smart display ($299), the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K ($299) and a new line of smart home devices starting at $199 in collaboration with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric.

The biggest upgrade in the HomePod Mini 2 is the S10 chip, which was introduced in 2024 in the Apple Watch Series 10. Here, artificial intelligence enables Siri, bringing smarter and more conversational responses to the speaker. However, the Mini 2 will not come with Siri AI at launch. Instead, Apple says it will arrive in a future software update. It will be available in English in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and India. To enable the upgrade, you need an iPhone with Apple Intelligence — an iPhone 15 Pro or later.

After the upgrade, you'll get the same Siri AI on compatible iPhones, which can understand natural language commands and access what Apple calls "broader global knowledge," as well as your personal context, such as your calendar and text messages. Examples from Apple include: If you ask Siri to set a reminder to buy flowers for mom's birthday, she can check your calendar, figure out 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 a song your friend sent you.

Personal Context will only be available on the Mini if you have an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone, and it relies on voice recognition to keep your personal information private, but anyone in the home can talk to the HomePod and ask questions, play music, and control most smart home devices. Apple has 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 deliver the same great sound, but get three new audio features: Sound Shine, Audio Companion for your Mac, and support for surround sound on the new Apple TV 4K.

The sound glow matches the colors of a song's album with the LEDs above the speaker. I saw a demo in a brightly lit room, and it was subtle, but the colors clearly shifted in sync with the music. It also works with Apple ambient sounds like rain, forest and ocean sounds.

Some HomePod Mini 2 colors match the current iMac line. You can pair two speakers as your Mac's default speakers. Image: Apple

The Mini 2 can now act as your Mac's default speaker and work as a surround sound pairing with the new Apple TV 4K, also announced today for $299. The new colors match a number of current iMacs. I saw the pink pair and it was very pretty. Apple says the Mini uses a new audio companion feature that enables continuous AirPlay playback and optimizes the streaming architecture for responsive, low-latency audio. Works on any model that supports Wi-Fi 6E or higher. I saw a demo of angry birds and flying fruit on the screen, which were seamlessly synchronized with the sounds coming from the two Minis.

You can pair up to four Mini 2 speakers with the new Apple TV 4K for a surround sound home theater setup. The two Minis can also work with a pair of full-sized second-generation HomePods for a fuller sound. Apple says the speakers automatically calibrate with Apple TV 4K to understand where they are in the room and relative to each other, then adjust sound levels to suit the space.

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

It's disappointing that the Mini didn't get a significant audio upgrade, but the addition of a smarter Siri, when it arrives, should make the speaker more useful around the house. Surprisingly, however, Apple launched this without Siri AI, which means that even if you spend $149 on a new Mini, you'll still be torn between Siri on your phone and Siri in your home. Coupled with the fact that Siri AI is still in beta on the new Apple TV 4K, it looks like Apple's intelligent voice assistant is by no means ready for prime time.

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