Apple HomePod mini 2 ships without Siri AI, review finds

Apple began pre-orders Tuesday for the HomePod mini 2, its first update to the small smart speaker since 2020, but the $149 device will not include the promised Siri AI assistant at launch. The speaker arrives Friday, October 30 in white, pink, green, blue, and midnight, and costs $199.99 in Canada. Apple announced the product on October 13 alongside the Apple Home Collection, HomeView display, and fourth-generation Apple TV 4K.

SoundGuys reported on Friday that the HomePod mini 2 is easy to set up and has improved connectivity but falls short on intelligence. The new S10 chip replaces the older S5, and the speaker moves from Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6. It can act as a Mac's default speaker for Macs with Wi-Fi 6E or later, and four units can form a surround setup with the new Apple TV 4K. SoundGuys noted that a brief delay occurs when pausing video over Mac audio, but audio and video stay in sync during playback.

For sound, the review found surprisingly strong bass, clear mids, and sometimes loud treble, but Apple provides no equalizer, even though it introduced custom EQ for AirPods with iOS 27. The new Sound Glow light panel on top will also come to the original HomePod mini and second-generation HomePod through a software update.

The biggest gap is Siri AI. At launch, Apple said Siri AI would come later through a software update, but gave no date; until then, the speaker runs the current Siri. SoundGuys said the current Siri can control lights, play music, and set timers, but for more complex requests it tells users to ask Siri on an iPhone. In a test, a 2017 Google Home Mini answered a baking substitution question that the HomePod mini 2 could not. When Siri AI does arrive, it will be available only in English in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, India, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa, and requests that rely on personal context will need an iPhone or iPad with Apple Intelligence. The new Apple TV 4K and HomeView smart display ship with Siri AI on November 13, according to SoundGuys.

The HomePod mini 2 costs $149, which is $50 more than the original's 2020 launch price and $20 more than Apple's earlier 2026 price for the original. For buyers wanting a smarter assistant now, SoundGuys pointed to the $99.99 Google Home Speaker with Gemini built in, though advanced Gemini features require a Google Home Premium subscription after a six-month free trial.

Apple's broader home push also includes the HomeView, a $299 display with a 7-inch Liquid Retina screen, and a Home Collection of cameras, thermostats, sensors, doorbell, and lock made with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. The HomeView can be pre-ordered in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, priced at $429 CAD. Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster estimates the HomeView will sell about four million units and add $1.5 billion to Apple's fiscal 2027 revenue, roughly 1%, but he said the product "misses the mark" relative to the larger opportunity in personalized generative AI bots.