Apple’s HomePod Mini 2 launches without its promised AI Siri features

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The Verge · 1 day ago

Apple has announced the HomePod Mini 2, whose new chip is intended to support more conversational, AI-powered Siri. Those features will not be ready at launch, so the speaker’s headline upgrade depends on a later software update and a compatible iPhone.

The Mini 2 costs $149, which is $20 more than the original, and comes in five colours. Pre-orders opened on 13 October, with shipping due to begin on 30 October. Its S10 chip will enable Siri AI in a later update for users with an iPhone 15 Pro or newer in eight English-speaking markets; existing HomePod Minis will not receive the feature. New sound glow lighting, use as a Mac’s default speaker and surround sound pairing with the new Apple TV 4K are also included.

HomePod Mini 2 costs $149, up $20.
Its promised AI Siri features will arrive later.
Siri AI requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer.

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The HomePod Mini is Apple's small smart speaker that uses voice assistant Siri to play music, answer questions and control other smart home devices. Apple has announced a second generation of the speaker which was supposed to feature a more advanced, AI-powered version of Siri capable of handling more complex requests and natural conversations.

However, the advanced AI features will not be available when the HomePod Mini 2 launches later this month. Instead, Apple says these capabilities will arrive through a software update at a later date, and only if you also have a compatible iPhone or iPad. The new speaker costs $149, up $20 from the original model.

This is significant because the AI upgrade was the central reason Apple gave for releasing a new generation of the speaker and charging more than the original model. Additionally, existing HomePod Mini owners will not receive these new AI features even once they arrive, meaning they cannot update their current speaker to match the new capabilities.

Both sides, in good faith

The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.

The case for

Apple could reasonably contend that releasing AI-powered Siri only when fully refined, rather than rushing incomplete technology to market, prioritises user experience and quality. The HomePod Mini 2 itself offers meaningful improvements in LED lighting reflecting album art, Mac speaker support, and surround sound pairing, which justify the modest £20 price increase, and the iPhone requirement ensures Apple's security and privacy standards.

The case against

Critics would fairly contend that prominently marketing AI features as a headline upgrade whilst making them unavailable at purchase and price increase amounts to charging consumers for promises rather than products. Combined with the price rise and older devices' permanent exclusion from future AI features, this pressures consumers into upgrading hardware to eventually access capabilities that ought to have been available at launch.

Full account

Apple has announced the HomePod Mini 2, its first update to the small smart speaker in nearly six years. It costs $149, $20 more than the outgoing model, and is available to pre-order from 13 October ahead of its 30 October release. Buyers can choose pink, green, blue, white or black. Its most consequential change is an S10 chip intended to support a more capable Siri, but those AI features will arrive through a later software update rather than with the speaker itself. Apple has not given a date for that update.

When it becomes available, the upgraded Siri is expected to handle more conversational requests and draw on information such as a user’s calendar and messages. The Verge reports that accessing this personal context will require an Apple Intelligence compatible iPhone, beginning with the iPhone 15 Pro, and that voice recognition will be used to distinguish users. Other people in the household will still be able to make general requests, play music and control many smart home devices. Apple says the AI update will initially support English in eight countries, including the UK and US, and will not come to the original HomePod Mini.

The features available at launch centre on how the speaker works with music, Macs and television. Its top lights can reflect the colours of the artwork for the track playing. It can also act as a Mac’s default speaker, provided the computer supports Wi-Fi 6E. Up to four Mini 2 speakers can be used with the new Apple TV 4K for surround sound. The Verge says Apple describes the speaker’s underlying sound as comparable to the original Mini, making these new ways of using it more significant than any claimed improvement in audio quality.

The launch forms part of a wider set of Apple home product announcements, which The Verge says includes a HomeView smart display, a fourth-generation Apple TV 4K and devices developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. For anyone considering the Mini 2 chiefly for its promised Siri abilities, the distinction is immediate: the new hardware goes on sale this month, while the software that may make it a substantially more useful voice assistant remains to be delivered.

Where outlets differ

The Verge gives greater weight to the missing AI features, including the iPhone requirement, initial language availability and Apple’s decision to exclude the original Mini. Source 2 mentions the future Siri update but concentrates on the launch date and features available with the new speaker.

The Verge also discusses the wider home product launch and reports that Apple has made no substantial claim of improved speaker sound. Source 2 focuses on the Mini 2’s chip, lighting, Mac compatibility and surround sound.

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Originally published by The Verge as “Apple announces the HomePod Mini 2, but it isn’t ready for Siri AI at launch”.