New HomePod Mini Coming Soon With These Features

[kiranmk2]

What would be the point of coming out with a new HomePod with new chips but no Apple Intelligence (if by Apple Intelligence we just mean an upgraded Siri that can answer questions using ChatGPT)?

So they can sell you a Home hub (i.e. iPad glued to a Homepod) next year (or, likely an ne Apple TV 4K) to act as the Apple Intelligence hub for your house.

I'd say it's getting some binned A17 Pro. I cannot see how S9/10/11 will be an upgrade we need compared to S5, if they are going to keep this for future years.

Given the TSMC fab in the US is making A16 chips, it's likely it is also making the S9/10/11 chips since it is based on the same tech, so they have a local supply of chips.

Would be nice if the HomePod Mini could be plugged in to a Mac (USB-C) for wired audio

That's far too logical for Apple to consider...you will use AirPlay 2 and like it!

one of my minis is bricked and showing me the red light of death and the other still works as a speaker but Siri doesn’t respond anymore

these were a cheaper alternative to a sound bar for my TV when used as a stereo so im happy to purchase 2 new ones esp in new colors

So you have two faulty units...and want to buy more rather than switch to another brand that don't break after a few years?

 

[guzhogi]

Does it hook to my existing equipment? No.

Would be nice if it could connect via USB-C or something for power + audio as well. Not sure how well lossless, 24-bit/192 KHz audio sounds on it through wireless. If not USB-C, maybe ethernet with PoE for those houses that have it.

Can it participate in surround sound? No.

Would be cool if it did.

Does it play over-the-air FM? No.

That, and/or SiriusXM, and whatever other countries use.

 

[FlyingDutch]

No Apple Intelligence is a pity. Even if it’s not exactly working fine, it clearly is the future of Apple ecosystem.

 

[AdamHarbour]

All these “sponsored “ by mark / Bloomberg article are becoming one big fairy tail

 

[JulianL]

I’m a little confused, will this one be capable of running the “revamped Siri”?ast I heard they may wait until March 2026 so they could have capabilities for the new Siri

A lot of the processing will be done in the cloud on Apple servers - for instance the rumours about the Google tie-up say that Google is creating a custom version of Gemini that Apple will run on its own servers - so when looking at an individual device type (Watch, iPhone, Apple TV etc) the question really becomes how much of the processing can be done locally before needing to hand off to Apple servers for more complex tasks/request.

I would expect the new HomePod Mini to be able to do some of the simpler processing entirely locally (text to speech transcription, handling simple requests like setting timers & controlling lights etc) but still have access to the fuller set of revamped Siri capabilities by handing off the processing of more complex requests to the Gemini instance (assuming those rumours are true) running on the Apple servers.

There are also a number of people here, including me, who wonder whether the next Apple TV with its rumoured upgrade to a more AI-capable A17 Pro chip (or better) might be able to act as an intermediate layer so that, if a HPM can't handle a request, it can first hand off to an ATV if there is one on the network to see if that has enough local computing power to handle the request instead of needing to immediately go out to the Apple servers. Such a setup would be good for the user (reduced latency, better privacy because more data stays local) and good for Apple (reduces load on its servers).

 

[WarmWinterHat]

No Apple Intelligence is a pity. Even if it’s not exactly working fine, it clearly is the future of Apple ecosystem.

I sure hope not!

 

[subjonas]

The main feature will be the absolute impossibility of pairing it with an older generation device...

If they make any audio-related improvement/change at all, then it wouldn’t make sense to pair with an older device. I’ve never seen a non-identical pair of speakers that wasn’t an abomination.

 

[pbau]

When in Poland with Polish Siri?

 

[tazinlwfl]

So… maybe today? Gone from the store / app… Wait, it’s back. Weird. Both the OG HomePod and Mini were suddenly missing from the app, even my recents / saved were gone. They’re back now, the old versions.

 

[QuarterSwede]

All we get now days is new chip upgrades and nothing to exciting. Until Siri becomes like google gemini I won’t buy another Siri product

I mean, if you’re using it for that, I agree. However, our minis are almost solely used for music. Once the current minis are discounted to sell, I may pick up a few more.

 

[msz95]

When in Poland with Polish Siri?

Maybe on Spring 2026. Maybe …

 

[jonnysods]

I just want it to not act funny when handing off music to the homepod from my phone and then I try to control it from my watch. Seems to get confused and reverts to the phone, then when I try to correct it gets whacky. Thought it would be a little smoother/intuitive!

 

[rexhunt]

And here was I hoping g that today on the iPod anniversary that we’d get a press release announcing new HomePods, new AirTags and new appletv’s

 

[FlyingDutch]

I sure hope not!

View attachment 2578450

It is inevitable. Hopefully Apple will have a working AI soon…

 

[klasma]

Now HEAR ME OUT! What if they gave it Apple Intelligence when you pair it with the next gen Apple TV that’s supposed to get A17 Pro I believe…

The real Apple Intelligence will run in the Private Cloud, not on device, so that doesn’t make a lot of sense.

 

[klasma]

Someone tell me who actually needs or wants one of these and what do they actually do? I can’t see a single use for them that can’t already be done say on your phone?

Your phone can’t be a Home hub.

 

[klasma]

Re: improved latency... Does that mean when using the next HomePod mini as a speaker for gaming, that it will not suck as bad as the current HomePod mini?

My 15 yo son has an M2 Mac mini. He spends the majority of his walking life in Minecraft (via his friend's server). I made the mistake (I did NOT research it at all) of getting him a Homepod mini for xmas last year with the intent that he could use it to improve his audio when gaming. Xmas morning, we got it all connected and immediately learned that the latency was a deal breaker. While he did keep it for music in his room, it was a bit of a bust. Oops.

Wi-Fi 6E latency is still a bit too high for gaming audio, in particular if it has to make two hops via the router. I wouldn’t hold my breath here.

 

[Timpetus]

yeah like God forbid they figured out how to do 5.1 system support. I use two of the minis and two of the larger HomePods and use them in stereo in two different rooms for audio and they are fantastic. It's certainly not going to compare to having five speakers, but the audio is fantastic. What an incredible software update that would be. I remember when they first came out I returned them because they couldn't work in stereo. Now they can just add the other channels it couldn't be easier

I'd love for them to enable full 3D mapping of a room for audio. Use the microphones in my AirPods and have me walk around the room while playing sound from any number of HomePods in that room, then it can recreate the most realistic soundscape possible.

 

[siddavis]

Let's be real, they are updating these to use chips and internals that are more cost effective for them. If there are "benefits" that come along for the ride, they'll tout those even though they might not have any noticeable difference in actual use.

 

[Jolson247]

Do you have “recognize my voice” and “personal content” enabled?

Yes

 

[srbNYC]

Someone tell me who actually needs or wants one of these and what do they actually do? I can’t see a single use for them that can’t already be done say on your phone?

I have two, and I'm very happy with them both. Mostly I use them as remote speakers in my apartment, so my news or music is playing wherever I go, all in sync and each controllable via my iPhone. Sound is excellent for kitchen and bedroom.

Do I wish it had more features and better "intelligence"? Sure, but I don't find myself really missing them, either.

 

[212rikanmofo]

Can we get products with all this satanic AI crap being built-in to almost everything these days? AI is taking over everything, including people's brain. What happened to the days when people had skill and had to think for themselves? These days, people just ask AI bots everything and pretty much trust them the answer they are provided with. AI is being used against us, but sad to see most people are still so blind and ignorant. Never give up convenience for your privacy.

 

[allseeingi’s]

Have 2 set up as stereo pair in our garden room , they’ve been reasonably reliable over the last 2 years and for the most part so has Siri . Not seeing anything I’d upgrade them for …………… yet .

 

[deaglecat]

Stocking stuffers ! yeah.

 

[AmpSkillz]

1. Moving from Wi-Fi 4 to 6 is, first of all is NOT an upgrade...Wifi 6 is standard on everything these days. Remember, the Homepod was released more than 5 years ago!
2. Even going from Wifi4 to 6 is not a selling point in regards to a faster experience. Wifi4 tops out at 600Mb/s which is far, far, faster than 90% of home internet pipes in the USA...and even if the ISP pumps it faster than 600, what percentage of home users have a fast enough router to push 600+? We all love faster tech, but given what the Homepod is doing, even 100Mb/s is plenty fast.
3. Upgraded CPU? Who cares? As long as the darn thing does what it's supposed to (which seems to be back end Q&A in some massive datacenter). So that's not a selling point.
4. Price would be a selling point. Keep it at $99.
5. Flexibility/connectivity to other (older?) Homepods would be nice to read about.
6. Tell me why its AI (or whatever you want to call it) is better than Amazon or Google that have both had monumental success (I still have the original Amazon Echo and it's fantastic answering questions).
7. It would be really cool if it had a battery...maybe it only lasts 2 hours...but enough time to move my Homepod(s) to another room/outdoors for a party (and plug it back into a/c) without forcing it to reboot. I wish the Amazon units had this feature.
8. It would be very nice if I could set up some kind of routine for it to do everyday. For example, wake me up at 7am while tuned to this radio station. Once I disable the alarm, tell me things...did I miss any calls while I slept?...miss any texts? what's the weather going to be today? Do I have any reminders I set up? If yesterday was election day, offer to tell me who won. etc.

You make some fair points, but a few details are off. Wi-Fi 6E isn’t about headline speed, it adds the 6 GHz band (way less congestion), lower latency, better multi-device handling, and WPA3 security. In a busy smart home, that’s a real-world improvement over Wi-Fi 4/5/6 on 2.4/5 GHz. The new chip does matter too, it enables faster Siri responses, faster home hub responsiveness, more on-device processing, and future Apple Intelligence features.

Price and cross-compatibility… totally agree. A battery would be nice but not Apple’s style, And your last point: most of that routine stuff (alarm, news, weather, reminders) is already totally doable with iOS Shortcuts +Home automations, just not as plug-and-play as Alexa yet.

Bottom line: the upgrades are more about reliability, latency, and future-proofing than raw speed.