Apple announces the HomePod Mini 2, but it isn’t ready for Siri AI

Section length is still over the cap. I’m cutting repeated facts so each paragraph stays in range.Apple announced the long-awaited HomePod Mini 2 on October 13, 2026, at its Welcome Home event, and priced it at $149. The Verge's report describes a new S10 chip that can power Siri AI, though those AI features will not be available at launch. The speaker adds sound glow, which syncs the LEDs on top with a song’s album art, and it can be a Mac’s default speaker. Up to four can pair with the new Apple TV 4K for surround sound.

This is for people pairing a speaker with a Mac or an Apple TV home theatre, and for owners of the first-generation HomePod Mini checking whether Siri AI reaches that older model. It covers the announcement, chip and audio changes, who can use the assistant, how preorders and pairing work, and what is missing when the speaker ships.

Apple the HomePod Mini 2: the announcement

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy published the account at 1:00 PM UTC on October 13, 2026. She is a senior reviewer with over twenty years of experience covering smart home, IoT, and connected tech, and she has written previously for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, BBC, and US News. The HomePod Mini 2 comes in pink, green, a new shade of blue, white, and black. The new colors match a few of the current iMacs. Tuohy saw the pink pairing and called it very pretty. The first-generation HomePod Mini launched six years ago today.

Apple announced the speaker with a suite of home products: the HomeView smart display at $299, the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K at $299, and a new collection of smart home devices developed in collaboration with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric starting at $199. The Mini 2 costs $20 more than the original, which is being discontinued. Tuohy noted that, like everything else this year, it is more expensive. Preorders open today, October 13, and it will ship on October 30.

What actually changed with Apple the HomePod Mini 2

The biggest upgrade inside is the S10 chip, which debuted in the Apple Watch Series 10 in 2024, to enable Siri AI and smarter, more conversational responses. The Mini 2 will not ship with Siri AI. Apple says it arrives in a later software update, in English, in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and India. Enabling the upgrade requires an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, an iPhone 15 Pro or newer. Apple confirmed Siri AI will not come to existing HomePod Minis.

Apple moved the Mini from the S5 chip to the S10 and added Wi-Fi 6E and BLE 6.0, which should improve speed and responsiveness. The hardware does not look upgraded from the original Mini, and Apple says it offers the same great sound. The new audio features are sound glow, a Mac audio companion, and surround on the new Apple TV 4K. Sound glow matches album-art colors to the top LEDs and works with rain, forest, and ocean soundscapes. In a brightly lit demo, Tuohy found the glow subtle, but the colors changed clearly with the music.

Who should care about Apple the HomePod Mini 2

After the update, the Mini 2 should run the same Siri AI as a compatible iPhone: natural language commands, what Apple calls “broader world knowledge,” and personal context from a calendar and text messages. Ask it to set a reminder to buy flowers for mom’s birthday, and it can check the calendar, find the date, and set the reminder. It can scan text messages for music recommendations and play the song a friend sent. Personal context needs an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone and uses voice recognition to keep that information private.

Anyone in the home can still ask the HomePod questions, play music, and control most smart home devices. Owners of an existing HomePod Mini should not expect this assistant, because Apple is not bringing Siri AI to that older speaker. The $149 model is the one aimed at a Mac or the new Apple TV. Tuohy wrote that buying it now still leaves a disconnect between Siri on the phone and Siri in the home until the software update arrives.

How to try Apple the HomePod Mini 2

Preorders open on October 13, 2026, and the HomePod Mini 2 ships on October 30 at $149, in pink, green, the new shade of blue, white, or black. Siri AI is not on the speaker at delivery. A later software update adds it, and only an iPhone 15 Pro or newer that supports Apple Intelligence can enable that upgrade. Until then, a buyer can use sound glow, set the Mini as a Mac speaker, and pair it with the new Apple TV 4K for surround.

One Mini 2, or two used as a pair, can be the default speakers on a Mac. Audio companion enables a persistent AirPlay setup and optimizes the streaming architecture for low-latency, responsive sound on any model with Wi-Fi 6E or higher. Tuohy saw Angry Birds fruit-flinging stay in sync with splat sounds from two Minis. Up to four Mini 2 speakers pair with the new Apple TV 4K, also announced at $299, for a surround home theatre. Two Minis can join a pair of second-gen full-sized HomePods for fuller sound.

What to watch after Apple the HomePod Mini 2

Apple gave no date for the Siri AI software update. The S10, Wi-Fi 6E, and BLE 6.0 are already in the HomePod Mini 2, and the S5-to-S10 jump should improve speed and responsiveness ahead of the assistant. Existing HomePod Minis are excluded. Apple said Siri AI will not be coming to them, so the model launched six years ago keeps the assistant it has today. A new $149 Mini still leaves phone Siri and home Siri disconnected until the update ships.

Apple says the speakers automatically calibrate with the Apple TV 4K, learn where they are in the room and relative to each other, then tune audio levels to fit the space. Siri AI on that new Apple TV 4K is in beta. Tuohy called the lack of a significant audio upgrade disappointing, and wrote that a smarter Siri should make the Mini more useful at home once it arrives. She wrote that Apple’s smart voice assistant is not quite ready for primetime.