Apple Announced the HomePod Mini Four Years Ago Today
Apple announced the HomePod mini smart speaker four years ago today at its "Hi, Speed" special event.

The low-cost smart speaker was announced alongside the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max in October 2020. The HomePod mini is Apple's first compact smart speaker, offering high-quality audio, Siri voice control, and smart home integration via HomeKit.
Priced at $99, it stands in contrast to the full-size HomePod, which sells for $299 and is focused on delivering bigger, better sound thanks to more advanced audio hardware such as multiple tweeters and woofers. While both models share Siri integration and smart home capabilities, the HomePod mini is considerably smaller, powered by the Apple S5 chip, lacks spatial awareness, and comes in a wider range of color options.
In October 2021, Apple introduced three new colors—Blue, Yellow, and Orange—to its lineup, adding vibrancy to the previously monochrome options of Space Gray and White. audioOS 14.3, released shortly after its launch, added support for 18W power adapters. With audioOS 16.3, Apple activated previously undisclosed temperature and humidity sensors within the HomePod mini. Although these sensors had been identified by teardowns shortly after launch, Apple waited to enable them alongside the release of the second-generation full-sized HomePod. On July 15, 2024, Apple refreshed the HomePod mini yet again by discontinuing the Space Gray variant and replacing it with a Midnight color option to match the full-size HomePod.
Despite its age, the HomePod mini remains on sale with the same hardware it debuted with four years ago. However, Apple is believed to be working on a second-generation version that could debut in the near future.
Popular Stories
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve).
The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers.
Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.
When the...
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26.
The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now.
It...
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer.
That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years.
iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models:
iPhone 16e
iPhone...
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever.
Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta.
Widgets Top or Bottom
In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements.
While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way.
By the time the ...
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier.
Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player.
With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....