B&H Lists HomePod Mini as Discontinued Amid Refresh Rumors

[MacRumors]

Apple product retailer B&H is listing all HomePod mini models as discontinued, and no longer offering them for sale. Some other retailers are also listing the HomePod mini as out of stock or on backorder, which suggests that an update isn't too far off.

Adorama lists the HomePod mini as backordered, and select colors are out of stock at Target. Walmart doesn't have any stock that's not from resellers, Staples has no HomePod minis available online, and at least one color is sold out from Verizon. The Midnight color option is unavailable for shipping from Best Buy, though other colors are in stock. Apple is still selling all colors of the speaker, with options available for both immediate shipping and pick up.

Apple is rumored to be working on a new version of the HomePod mini, and Bloomberg said it could come as soon as this month. It's possible that the waning stock at third-party retailers is a sign that we'll get a new version of the HomePod mini before the end of 2025.

Apple held an event in September and did a series of product releases in October, casting some doubt that a new model is still on the immediate horizon.

The next HomePod mini is expected to have an upgraded S-series chip inside and Apple's N1 networking chip, but there are no design changes rumored except for refreshed color options.

Article Link: B&H Lists HomePod Mini as Discontinued Amid Refresh Rumors

 

[MacUserFella]

Shaving off all my hair if the HomePod mini 2 and new Apple TV don’t release tomorrow

 

[abatabia]

They can keep them. My HomePods have been so problematic (endless WiFi issues, etc) I’ll never buy another one.

 

[adl1010]

A new Apple TV 4K is all I ask for. Surely it’s time now???

 

[Astuces iOS]

Wow finally !

 

[ikramerica]

They can keep them. My HomePods have been so problematic (endless WiFi issues, etc) I’ll never buy another one.

They are utter disappointments as products.

They fail as an intercom. They fail as a connected speaker because they are so inflexible. They populate my iphone’s speakerphone app with no way of removing them. Automated alarms and messages are too quiet and have no customizable alert tones.

They have turned out to be worthless to me.

I guess they play music okay, but they are in my kids rooms and don’t even have a line in for physical connections to music devices.

 

[tomtad]

iPhone Air incoming

 

[ebika]

The only reason I got a HomePod Mini was to serve as a HomeKit home hub after they killed the ability for me to use an old iPad for that. I have to say, it's pretty freaking useless otherwise. Other than the hub feature (which I do use and I'm glad something can act as a hub), most other usage is Siri being an absolute imbecile or accidental activations. There's very little chance I'm going to buy a HomePod Mini 2 from Apple.

 

[Rychiar]

well still glad I sold all mine September then

 

[DocMultimedia]

Finally! I want the new ATV and the mini. Hopefully before Thanksgiving.

 

[Shin-Ra]

Release the 4Kraken!

 

[Stuipdboy1000]

As far as I can tell my local Apple Store hasn’t had any new HomePod minis delivered in over a week, the availability date for out of stock models slips at the end of every day with current availability showing as the 12th November.

Also the Apple Park Visitor Center is showing out of stock models as ‘Currently Unavailable’ without a restock date shown which is strange for a flagship store.

Stock for Apple TV 4K still seems ok everywhere.

 

[SirROM]

As far as I can tell my local Apple Store hasn’t had any new HomePod minis delivered in over a week, the availability date for out of stock models slips at the end of every day with current availability showing as the 12th November.

Also the Apple Park Visitor Center is showing out of stock models as ‘Currently Unavailable’ without a restock date shown which is strange for a flagship store.

Stock for Apple TV 4K still seems ok everywhere.

My guess: new AppleTV and minis tomorrow or Wednesday, perhaps available day of or Friday. Current AppleTV gets a significant price drop to ~$80 ($60?) as the low end offering and the new version maybe priced at $150-$160 with all the bells and whistles.

 

[ipedro]

Finally! I want the new ATV and the mini. Hopefully before Thanksgiving.

I'm getting the impression that they're the same device.

The powerful chip they have to put in a HomePod mini to enable the upcoming new Siri would be overkill for just a speaker.

Instead, what if HomePod mini runs the full homeOS that can AirPlay the UI to any TV in the house? Every TV from every major brand in the last 5-7 years has had built in AirPlay — you don't need a box under your TV. HomePods scattered around your home could play to any TV.

I've long thought this might be the strategy and Apple TV+ getting renamed to Apple TV sealed the deal for me. It was confusing already, why take up that name if they weren't planning on reinventing the product with a new name?

 

[SirROM]

I'm getting the impression that they're the same device.

View attachment 2578123

The powerful chip they have to put in a HomePod mini to enable the upcoming new Siri would be overkill for just a speaker.

Instead, what if HomePod mini runs the full homeOS that can AirPlay the UI to any TV in the house? Every TV from every major brand in the last 5-7 years has had built in AirPlay — you don't need a box under your TV. HomePods scattered around your home could play to any TV.

I've long thought this might be the strategy and Apple TV+ getting renamed to Apple TV sealed the deal for me. It was confusing already, why take up that name if they weren't planning on reinventing the product with a new name?

I like that idea 😁

 

[SBlue1]

Yes please.

 

[zedsdead]

It would be cool if the new ones can be used as surround sound speakers paired to stereo hompods.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I'm getting the impression that they're the same device.

View attachment 2578123

The powerful chip they have to put in a HomePod mini to enable the upcoming new Siri would be overkill for just a speaker.

Instead, what if HomePod mini runs the full homeOS that can AirPlay the UI to any TV in the house? Every TV from every major brand in the last 5-7 years has had built in AirPlay — you don't need a box under your TV. HomePods scattered around your home could play to any TV.

I've long thought this might be the strategy and Apple TV+ getting renamed to Apple TV sealed the deal for me. It was confusing already, why take up that name if they weren't planning on reinventing the product with a new name?

Not going to lie, that would be awesome.
Unfortunately, it’s not true.
The iOS 26 beta code revealed the existence of both products, and they are absolutely separate.
New HomePod Mini is based off the S10 chip, a bump from the S5 in the first generation.
The new Apple TV uses the A17Pro.
Definitely not the same device.
Also, it’s very unlikely that the new Siri needs very much RAM at all, that will berunning off of an Apple server using LLMs built by both them and Google.
Amount of requests handled on device is likely to be very, very slim.

 

[efktd]

I used to have frequent connection issues with my HomePods when I was using a Linksys mesh network. Ever since switching to Ubiquiti with hardwired APs, everything has been flawless.

 

[stiligFox]

I liked my HomePod mini when I had it and I really like my HomePod 2nd Gen, but I don't expect a lot out of them. Audio from my iPhone or Mac is pretty dang nice in my bedroom and I use it for little Siri tasks to control my HomeKit devices.

So I don't use it for all the grand things Apple says I could, but I have to say my experience has been pretty flawless.

But dang Apple, would it have killed you to include an aux in? Even the iPod HiFi had an aux AND optical in port...

 

[verdi1987]

They can keep them. My HomePods have been so problematic (endless WiFi issues, etc) I’ll never buy another one.

They are useless as a smart speaker. Siri just tells you to search on your phone for anything but the most basic of questions. I have four of them—two of which I never even opened.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

They are useless as a smart speaker. Siri just tells you to search on your phone for anything but the most basic of questions. I have four of them—two of which I never even opened.

Mine is just a temp/humidity sensor in the office now. I don’t think I’ve played music on it, or asked it anything, in months.

Edit: Oh yea, it’s also a HomeKit hub.

 

[JamesMay82]

Do HomePods play with iTunes purchased music or is it Apple Music only? And then to play purchased and ripped it’s just through your phone or iPad etc?

I’ve always wanted one but I’m not a fan of streaming

 

[SF7]

They are utter disappointments as products.

They fail as an intercom. They fail as a connected speaker because they are so inflexible. They populate my iphone’s speakerphone app with no way of removing them. Automated alarms and messages are too quiet and have no customizable alert tones.

They have turned out to be worthless to me.

I guess they play music okay, but they are in my kids rooms and don’t even have a line in for physical connections to music devices.

Disagree.

 

[SF7]

Apple product retailer B&H is listing all HomePod mini models as discontinued, and no longer offering them for sale. Some other retailers are also listing the HomePod mini as out of stock or on backorder, which suggests that an update isn't too far off.

Adorama lists the HomePod mini as backordered, and select colors are out of stock at Target. Walmart doesn't have any stock that's not from resellers, Staples has no HomePod minis available online, and at least one color is sold out from Verizon. The Midnight color option is unavailable for shipping from Best Buy, though other colors are in stock. Apple is still selling all colors of the speaker, with options available for both immediate shipping and pick up.

Apple is rumored to be working on a new version of the HomePod mini, and Bloomberg said it could come as soon as this month. It's possible that the waning stock at third-party retailers is a sign that we'll get a new version of the HomePod mini before the end of 2025.

Apple held an event in September and did a series of product releases in October, casting some doubt that a new model is still on the immediate horizon.

The next HomePod mini is expected to have an upgraded S-series chip inside and Apple's N1 networking chip, but there are no design changes rumored except for refreshed color options.

Article Link: B&H Lists HomePod Mini as Discontinued Amid Refresh Rumors

I’m really looking forward to the HomePod Mini 2. I use my current one every day. AppleTV 4K update would be great, also.
I think the S10 chip will allow Apple to have the interim Siri running locally on it and then next Gen Siri of iOS 26.4 will run through the Private Cloud Compute.