Apple refreshes HomePod mini with an S10 chip and $149 price

Apple’s new HomeView device was the center of attention at its smart home event on Tuesday, but the company also refreshed its HomePod mini smart speaker, which now carries an S10 chip and Siri AI integration — though the latter will only arrive through a future update. The $149 update costs $50 more than the original version launched over six years ago in 2020, and the S10 chip is meant to improve dynamic range, loudness, and acoustic performance.

With the new HomePod mini, users can control their smart home devices through voice commands, and the speaker can listen for sounds like a smoke alarm and send a notification to users’ phones, a feature Alexa devices have offered for years. Apple said that with Siri AI, users will be able to have multi-turn conversations, but it did not give a date for when the new assistant will reach HomePod mini 2 buyers.

The company also said the new speaker works better with its other devices: users could form a four-speaker home entertainment system by pairing it with the new Apple TV 4K, and the HomePod mini 2 can serve as the default speaker for Mac video calls or music playback instead of a Mac’s built-in speakers.

The device has one more new feature: a visual canvas called “Sound Glow,” which uses the color scheme of an album’s artwork to turn the top of the HomePod mini into a visual display that glows and pulses in sync with the music; users can also choose soundscapes like rain or ocean waves to trigger animations. The new speaker comes in pink, green, blue, white, and midnight colorways and will be available starting October 30, with preorders open starting today.

Why it matters

Tying the HomePod mini refresh to the same Siri AI rollout as the new Apple TV and HomeView shows Apple is trying to make its smart home lineup feel like one coordinated system rather than a set of standalone gadgets.