Anyone who bought the new HomePod mini 2 hoping to chat with a smarter Siri on day one went home disappointed. The speaker reached customers on October 30, 2026, at $149 in the US. The AI assistant it was sold on did not come with it.
Apple unveiled the speaker on October 13 at a launch event in New York, and the fine print gave the game away. A footnote on the company’s own page says Siri AI is “coming in a future software update.” 9to5Mac noticed it the same morning. Only an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone or iPad unlocks the features that use personal context, and The Verge adds that the phone must be an iPhone 15 Pro or a later model.
What is new inside
The big change is the S10 chip, a processor Apple first put in its 2024 Series 10 watch. The first mini ran the older S5. Wireless gets a lift as well: Wi-Fi 6E replaces Wi-Fi 4, and Bluetooth 6 replaces Bluetooth 5. Apple says the chip enables “advanced computational audio,” but it never said outright that the mini 2 sounds better than the original, and The Verge noted that the speakers do not appear to have been upgraded. The new model has three microphones for Siri, one fewer than before.
The additions are mostly about the room around it. A feature called sound glow makes the top of the speaker light up and pulse with a song’s album art. The Verge’s reviewer saw it in a bright room and called the effect subtle, though the colours did change in time with the music. Older minis get sound glow too. A Mac can now treat the speaker as its default output, and as many as four mini 2 units can team up with the latest Apple TV 4K to form a surround setup. Two can also sit beside a pair of full-size second-generation HomePods.
Price and colours
The mini 2 costs $149, which is $20 more than its predecessor at the time of the announcement. MacRumors points out that the first mini began at $99 and rose to $129 after a price rise in June. It comes in white, midnight, pink, green and a new blue. For households in the region watching the cost of smart speakers climb, that is a steady upward drift.
Siri AI promises more natural conversation and, once set up with a phone, access to a person’s calendar and messages. In Apple’s own example, you ask for a reminder to get flowers for mom’s birthday, and Siri looks up the date on the calendar by itself. It will not come to the original HomePod mini. The first rollout is in English only, covering India, Singapore, South Africa, Canada, the UK, the US, Australia and New Zealand.
The timing looks awkward. HomeView and the latest Apple TV 4K both ship on November 13 with Siri AI included, which leaves the speaker two weeks ahead and without it.
Sources
- Apple announces the HomePod Mini 2, but it isn't ready for Siri AI at launch – The Verge
- HomePod Mini 2 Launches Today: All the New Features – MacRumors
- Apple confirms HomePod mini 2 won't have Siri AI at launch – 9to5Mac
