Apple announced HomePod mini 2, available to pre-order today and shipping Friday, October 30, priced at $149. The compact speaker is powered by an S10 chip and a new architecture built on Apple Foundation Models, and Apple says Siri AI will arrive in a future software update to provide more conversational, context-aware responses. HomePod mini 2 recognizes up to six household voices and can tap into a paired Apple Intelligence, enabled iPhone or iPad to access personal context for tasks such as finding a song from a text, setting calendar-tied reminders, or locating a recipe from an email. The speaker offers room-filling 360-degree sound by itself, stereo pairing and multiroom audio, and when paired with the new Apple TV 4K supports a four-speaker surround configuration Apple calls its most immersive home theater setup yet. HomePod mini 2 comes in five colors, pink, green, blue, white, and midnight, and introduces a Sound Glow visualizer that synchronizes lighting with music playback. Apple also highlights secure home control and automations via voice across connected accessories.
