HomePod Mini 2 at $149: S10 Chip, Same Design, Siri AI to Come Later
Apple debuted the HomePod Mini 2 at $149. Preorders are open now through Apple, and it launches Friday, October 30th. The Verge
The timing matches prior reporting that the speaker was scheduled to be unveiled on Tuesday, October 13. The price is higher than before. The HomePod mini had increased in price from $99 to $129 in June. 9to5Mac
The main hardware change is silicon. HomePod Mini 2 includes the S10 chip, the system-on-a-chip (processor plus supporting functions on one chip) that debuted in the Apple Watch Series 10. Apple has not detailed clock speeds or core counts for the speaker version. The switch moves the Mini off its original processor to newer watch-class silicon that uses less power and gives off less heat, a good fit for a small case left on all day.
Siri AI support will follow in a future update. Apple has not specified the date or version number. The Mini 2 ships without it enabled.
Sound hardware is unchanged. The new HomePod mini will retain its current design. Reuters The enclosure uses a two-tone seamless mesh exterior with a color-matched woven power cord. It is available in five colors, including Green. Apple
Inside is an Apple-designed full-range driver with a neodymium magnet, paired with Apple-designed force-cancelling passive radiators for bass. In plain terms, one powered speaker covers middle and high sounds while opposed unpowered cones cancel shaking and stretch low sounds without a larger box, like extra skins on a drum that move with the beat.
The change is on top. HomePod mini 2 has a backlit tinted touch surface on top. The LEDs can arrange to mimic the album artwork for the music being played. It acts as a light display, not a screen. No resolution or color depth was disclosed.
For use with other devices, it can join a four-speaker surround system with the new Apple TV 4K. It can also serve as speakers for a Mac computer that supports Wi-Fi 6E, the Wi-Fi standard that can use the 6 GHz band. Macs without 6E support are excluded.
As a home hub, HomePod mini 2 supports HomeKit Secure Video to analyze feeds from supported video cameras. For privacy, Siri requests on HomePod mini are tied to a random identifier, not the user's Apple Account.
The broader context here sits apart from the specifications above. In my view, Apple is treating the small speaker as lasting home infrastructure rather than an accessory. Watch silicon, camera-feed analysis, randomized Siri identifiers, and multi-speaker TV and Mac output all point that way, toward a device left powered on for years to handle local media and sensor work while handling identity carefully.
Looking at what this means for buyers, the delayed Siri AI update is the point to watch. For home users the effect is small. For developers building Shortcuts, HomeKit automations, or voice-driven workflows around the new capability, the careful path is to judge the Mini 2 on what it does at launch, not on what a later update may add. If that update lands cleanly, the S10 headroom and installed base become useful. Until then, $149 buys improved compute, expanded output roles, and the same shape, with AI as a pending option.
