Following more than two weeks of pre-orders, the HomePod mini 2 will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores this Friday, October 30.
Siri AI will be one of the HomePod mini 2's key upgrades, but the feature will not be available at launch. Apple said Siri AI support on the speaker will arrive in a future software update, but it did not say when the update will be released.
Siri AI is the more intelligent and personalized version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence that launched on the iPhone 15 Pro and newer in September.
HomePod mini 2 is powered by the Apple Watch Series 10's S10 chip, up from the Apple Watch Series 5's S5 chip in the original HomePod mini. Apple said the S10 chip enables "advanced computational audio," but it did not explicitly confirm if the HomePod mini 2 has improved sound quality compared to the original model.
The speaker now supports faster Wi-Fi 6E, up from Wi-Fi 4.
The new fourth-generation Apple TV 4K can connect to four HomePod mini 2 or full-sized HomePod 2 speakers in front and rear pairs, allowing for surround sound. Many home theater enthusiasts will prefer to use a proper 5.1 surround sound system with a center speaker and a subwoofer, but this basic all-Apple system at least exists now, and Apple says the front two HomePods virtualize the center channel to some extent.
You can mix and match HomePod mini 2 and full-sized HomePod 2 speakers for surround sound, so long as the front and rear pairs match. For example, you could have two full-sized HomePod 2 speakers as the front pair and use two HomePod mini 2 speakers as the rear pair. A related Whole Room Audio feature is offered for parties.
You can set the HomePod mini 2 as the default audio output on Macs with Wi-Fi 6E and later. The full-sized HomePod 2 also supports this capability now — make sure to install the latest HomePod software version 27.2 via Apple's Home app.
There are three Siri microphones in the HomePod mini 2, down from four in the previous model.
With the new Sound Glow feature, the top of the HomePod mini 2 glows and pulses in sync with the music playing. You do not need the new model, though, as a software update extended this feature to the original HomePod mini and the full-sized HomePod 2.
HomePod mini 2 is available in all-new green and pink color options, along with blue, midnight, and white. In the U.S., the speaker is priced at $149. The previous model was initially $99, but Apple increased the price to $129 in June.
