What to Expect From the HomePod Mini 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year

[MacFarmer]

it should be homepod mini C. C for cheap, and come with 50$ price tag. Heck, even 50 is too much for siri. They actually should pay us for buying it without aux in!

 

[joecomo]

I have two HomePod minis that I use exclusively for Siri - if I want music, I ask the Sonos system. The HomePod minis get asked many times a day to turn lights on/off (via scenes, "Hey Siri, set ambience"), to set timers, and to add reminders - it's extraordinarily convenient to be able to say "Hey Siri, remind me (tonight / tomorrow / in an hour) to do (XYZ)" in the midst of whatever else, without having to pick up and unlock my phone - it helps me to avoid losing track of ideas or things I need to do.

Siri is not great, but she's useful. She gets what I say right about 90% of the time (in part because I've learned how to phrase things to increase the likelihood of things working). I wish that were 100%, but I'll take 90% for now.

that is about my experience - I have two issues with Siri:

1. the activation word is bad - very often, we have undesired activations. This never happens with Alexa.

2. For several Siri devices in one household, there should be some mechanism to avoid "double hearing" - potentially using all the sound infos from all devices for better accuracy. (unfortunately non of the competition can do it)

 

[Jason2000]

that is about my experience - I have two issues with Siri:

1. the activation word is bad - very often, we have undesired activations. This never happens with Alexa.

2. For several Siri devices in one household, there should be some mechanism to avoid "double hearing" - potentially using all the sound infos from all devices for better accuracy. (unfortunately non of the competition can do it)

We have all 3 smart speaker devices throughout the house. Alexa is the main one we use, but we have a few Nest Hubs that we use for digital slideshows (they excel at that) and a few HomePods. The HomePods are the only ones that get activated by some sound, mostly from the TV. It's very annoying. I don't know if Apple just can't figure it out or if they just don't care to.

 

[Jay Tee]

I do wish they'd enable mesh Wi-Fi networking.

 

[9081094]

I would be disappointed if it didn’t come with WiFi 7. WiFi 7 is backwards compatible and is almost standard on all newly devices. Make it future proof and an optical in so you can use it with a modern tv where Apple TV is included as a software option.

 

[TechnoTiger3000]

Just turn Siri off, everywhere- and all will be great.

No, latency and connectivity issues will absolutely remain a problem.

 

[BeefCake 15]

I don't see a point unless Siri gets more useful, I don't utilize my HomePod much anymore.

 

[wbeasley]

A mini couldn't handle being a center channel - it's more important, and has a bigger job to do, than either the left or right front speakers.

If anything, you'd want a dedicated "Home Center" speaker under the TV, that was a HomePod and a center channel, possibly combined with an Apple TV and a camera (though I personally don't think combining them is a good idea, many seem to want an all-in-one solution), and then HomePods for the left and right, and HomePods or HomePod minis for the surround speakers.

Personally, I'd like to see them just buy Sonos, and combine the two.

A mini would mostly handle voices so lacking bass in the mini wouldnt be an issue.
Most people with hearing issues find boosting treble helps cover their loss.
And even people with good hearing get overwhelmed by too loud surround sounds Netflix and others like to mix in.

I can't believe how bad regular audio is on so many productions these days.
When you hear a good mix these days it feels like a breath of fresh air.
I get they are trying to suit too many devices: tvs with crap speakers, low end faked Atmos bars and higher end stuff and the increasingly rare stand alone receiver and hifi speakers. It's not easy to achieve clarity in all these diverse devices. But a lot of mixes could be opened up and give dialogue and other sounds more space rather than throw it all in and turn on the subtitles.

If you want to see how a bad mix can be, select a different language a some show and see how much clearer it sounds in some alt mixes. Sometimes a stereo dub is way easier to hear voices even if you cant understand the words

 

[ksec]

Why on earth is Apple's new WiFi Chip in 2025 not WiFi 7 is completely beyond me. It doesn't have to be full spec. But it could be the same as iPhone 16 currently, 160Mhz only. You will at least get MLO, 4096 QAM, Much better OFDMA, Multi RU.

And the completing solution has been available since 2022. Competitor shipped them in 2023 and that is why Apple had them for testing in 2023 to be released in iPhone for 2024.

 

[gk_brown]

ummm….then what’s going to run the automations? That’s the whole point to a home hub

I was thinking more about the management of the automation. Much easier on something with a large touchscreen.

But you're right - something would need to execute the scheduled actions. Apple TV could be a good fit for that. But the rumored counter-top HomePod with touchscreen could be even better.

 

[Jamie0003]

I was thinking more about the management of the automation. Much easier on something with a large touchscreen.

But you're right - something would need to execute the scheduled actions. Apple TV could be a good fit for that. But the rumored counter-top HomePod with touchscreen could be even better.

I disagree. Speaking to Siri is way easier than physically walking over to a screen. If that’s your preference fair enough, but it’s not a reason to cripple the homepod