HomePod mini Launches in Austria and Ireland, Coming to New Zealand Later This Month

Tuesday June 15, 2021 2:23 am PDT by Sami Fathi

Apple last month announced that the HomePod mini would be made available in several new countries in June. Now, less than a month later, the ‌HomePod mini‌ has officially launched in Austria and Ireland, and is listed as "available in June" in New Zealand, suggesting availability in the next couple of weeks.

The ‌HomePod mini‌ is the follow-up to the original HomePod released in 2018. The full-sized ‌HomePod‌ failed to become a mainstream hit, leading to its discontinuation. The $99 ‌HomePod mini‌ features a significantly smaller design than the original ‌HomePod‌ but offers the same functionality enabled by Siri.

The ‌HomePod mini‌ first launched in October of 2020 in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Spain, and the UK. Both the ‌HomePod‌ and ‌HomePod mini‌ will gain support for Apple Music's recently launched lossless audio feature via a software update later this year. Additionally, the ‌HomePod mini‌ will be able to be set as the default output speaker for Apple TV 4K starting later this year.

Related Roundup: HomePod mini

Buyer's Guide: HomePod Mini (Neutral)

Top Rated Comments

mungo2k

30 months ago

Does anyone know why the rollout is slow around the world? Is it technical or legal? A Siri-language issue? 3 years after the original HomePod release, you still cannot officially buy it in rich, Apple-loving countries like Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, or in other large European countries like Portugal, Italy, Poland, Belgium etc.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

PilotWoo

I sold my Homepod MINI. Disappointed with the sound quality, it didn't play nice on a mesh Wifi network, and Siri was as useless as it is on any other Apple device.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Apple Dave

It’s still unavailable for purchase on the New Zealand Apple Store.

genovelle

The sound of the original HomePod wasn't bad enough, so Apple had to try again...
This time they succeeded!
I remember when most people had HiFi in their homes... Uncompressed CD sound on big stereo speakers! TWO of them!!!

How about vinyl?

LimpHamster

Wonder the same, why would it take so long for apple to launch the HomePod in other countries? It is really disappointing. There are more examples of such slow roll-outs, like the swipe to type feature in iOS which is not available in parts of Europe, I suppose the live text feature wont be available in like a decay too :)

MauiPa

Well, all random dude snark aside. Professional testers have rated the HomePod as sounding great. (I wold agree). The mini also sounds fantastic. I have a pair set up in a room with a HomePod, you can play on all three speakers, set the volume so that it splits the sound field in the middle and then move between the HomePod and mini, the tone and musical characteristics are pretty much identical, except for a heavier bass sound on the HomePod, but not unpleasantly so.

Read All Comments