Apple’s new HomeView device was the center of the show at its Smart Home event on Tuesday, but the company also refreshed its HomePod Mini smart speaker with a new chip and Siri AI integration, the latter of which will be available through an upcoming update.
The $149 update is $50 more expensive than the original version that launched six years ago in 2020. The new HomePod Mini has an S10 chip that helps to optimize dynamic range, loudness and acoustic performance.
With the new HomePod mini, users can control their smart home devices via voice commands. Plus, the speaker can listen for sounds like a smoke detector and send a notification to users’ phones — a feature that 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 specify a date for when the new assistant will be available to HomePod mini 2 buyers.
The company also said that the new speaker works better with its other devices. For example, users can form a four-speaker home entertainment system with the new Apple TV 4K. Plus, the HomePod mini 2 speakers can be the default speaker for Mac for video calls or music playback instead of built-in speakers.
The device also has another new feature: a visual canvas called “Sound Glow,” which uses the color scheme of the album art to turn the top of the HomePod Mini into a visual canvas that glows and pulses in sync with the music. Users can also select soundscapes such as rain or ocean waves to trigger animations.
The new speaker comes in pink, green, blue, white and midnight colors and will be available from October 30. Consumers can pre-order starting today.
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