Apple's HomePod mini 2 reaches customers on Friday, October 30, according to the pre-order details Apple set out when it announced the speaker on October 13. The smart speaker costs $149.
The new model keeps the compact design of the original but moves to Apple's S10 chip, which replaces the S5. As 9to5Mac reports, Apple says the chip analyzes music in real time to tune dynamic range, loudness and acoustic performance. The speaker comes in green, pink, blue, midnight and white.
The headline hardware addition is Sound Glow, a light on the top of the speaker. It pulses with bass and treble and takes its colors from the album artwork of whatever is playing. Ambient soundscapes such as rain trigger their own animations, and Apple describes the top surface as a "visual canvas."
The HomePod mini 2 also takes part in a new surround setup. Paired with the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, two HomePod mini 2 speakers and two full-size HomePod 2 speakers can form a four-speaker system. Apple says the devices detect where each speaker sits and calibrate timing and levels automatically. The Apple TV 4K itself is scheduled to ship on November 13.
Buyers hoping for Apple's upgraded Siri AI on day one should temper expectations. Apple has said Siri AI will come to the speaker in a future software update, so it may not be available at launch. The speaker ships running HomePod software 27.2.
Price is also worth noting. The original HomePod mini launched in November 2020 at $99, and Apple raised it to $129 earlier in 2026, so the new model is $20 above the most recent price of its predecessor.
The HomePod mini 2 is one of several home products from the October 13 announcement. The HomeView hub and the new Apple TV 4K, both $299, follow on November 13. Anyone who pre-ordered the speaker should see it arrive or become available for pickup this Friday.
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