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Apple unveils HomePod mini 2, now capable of home cinema experience
Oct 13, 2026 — 10:29 AM ET
- Apple has announced the HomePod mini 2, featuring Apple S10 silicon for real-time acoustic tuning and a new “Sound Glow” top panel that animates to music frequency and album artwork colors. A future Siri AI update will also enable multi-turn voice features for up to six users.
- Users can pair up to four HomePod mini 2 speakers with a 4th-generation Apple TV 4K for calibrated multi-channel surround sound. They can also set the HomePod mini 2 as default Mac speakers.
- Priced at $149 ($50 more than the original), pre-orders are open today, with retail availability opening October 30.
Apple has officially announced the HomePod mini 2, bringing an overdue hardware refresh to its smart speaker lineup. While the original Apple HomePod mini carved out a niche with its surprisingly loud acoustics and deep ecosystem integrations, its successor doubles down on computational chops, conversational smarts, and revamped home-theater features.
The biggest internal leap in the Apple HomePod mini 2 comes courtesy of the Apple S10 chip. The new silicon (also used in the Apple Watch Series 10 and 11, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3) enables real-time acoustic tuning to maximize dynamic range and loudness.
The new HomePod mini 2 also supports an expanded home cinema experience: users can now pair up to four HomePod mini 2 speakers with a 4th-generation Apple TV 4K for calibrated, multi-channel surround sound. In addition, the speaker can now act as a seamless default output for Macs.
Visually, the petite fabric sphere looks virtually unchanged at a glance, but the interactive top surface gets a notable upgrade called “Sound Glow.” Rather than a static gradient, the top panel pulses and animates to track frequency response, bouncing dynamically with bass and treble notes, while matching the color palette of the album artwork currently playing.
Smart features receive an overhaul with Siri AI, scheduled to arrive in a post-launch software update. Built on Apple’s Foundation Models, the upgraded assistant handles multi-turn conversations, broad web queries, and contextual tasks across apps on a user’s iPhone or iPad. It can recognize up to six voices per household to surface individual reminders and media libraries, handling requests through on-device processing or Private Cloud Compute.
Apple HomePod mini 2 pricing and availability
The Apple HomePod mini 2 is priced at $149, marking a notable $50 increase over the original model’s $99 launch price.
Pre-orders are live now in the US, with general retail availability starting Friday, October 30. The speaker comes in five colors: pink, green, blue, white, and midnight.
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