Apple introduced the HomePod Mini 2 on October 13th, 2026, a smart speaker built around a new chip intended to power Siri AI features that will not be available when the device ships. The $149 speaker is $20 more than the model it replaces, which Apple is discontinuing. Preorders opened the day of the announcement, with shipping set for October 30th. Apple announced the speaker at its Welcome Home event alongside the HomeView smart display at $299, the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K at $299, and a set of smart home devices developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric starting at $199.
The central hardware change is the S10 chip, which first appeared in the Apple Watch Series 10 in 2024. Apple says the chip will enable Siri AI and more conversational responses, but the feature is slated to arrive through a later software update rather than at launch. Siri AI will be offered in English in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and India. Enabling it requires an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, meaning an iPhone 15 Pro or newer.
Once active, Siri AI on the speaker is designed to handle natural language requests and draw on broader world knowledge along with personal context such as calendar entries and text messages. Apple's examples include asking Siri to set a reminder to buy flowers for a mother's birthday, which the assistant can schedule after checking the calendar, or asking it to play a song a friend sent by text. Personal context depends on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone and uses voice recognition to keep that information private, while anyone in a household can still ask questions, play music, and control most smart home devices. Apple confirmed Siri AI will not come to existing HomePod Minis.
Apple says the speakers carry over the same sound quality as the original, which launched six years ago to the day, but adds three audio capabilities. Sound glow matches the LED lights on top of the speaker to a song's album art and also works with ambient soundscapes such as rain, forest, and ocean. The Mini 2 can serve as a Mac's default speaker through an audio companion feature that supports a persistent AirPlay setup and a low-latency streaming architecture, and it works on any model supporting Wi-Fi 6E or higher. The speaker also pairs with the new Apple TV 4K for surround sound, with up to four Minis, or two Minis alongside a pair of second-generation full-sized HomePods. Apple says the speakers calibrate automatically with the Apple TV 4K to determine their positions in a room and tune audio levels.
The Mini 2 comes in pink, green, and a new shade of blue, plus white and black, and moves up from the S5 chip in the first-generation model to the S10, along with Wi-Fi 6E and BLE 6.0. Apple says Siri AI remains in beta on the new Apple TV 4K, leaving a gap between the assistant on iPhone and the assistant in the home for buyers of the new speaker.
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