Apple refreshes its Homepod mini with a new chip and $149 price tag

Apple’s new HomeView device was the halfway of the amusement astatine its astute location lawsuit connected Tuesday, but the institution besides refreshed its HomePod Mini astute talker with a caller spot and Siri AI integration, the second of which volition beryllium disposable done a aboriginal update.

The $149 update is $50 much costly than the archetypal mentation launched implicit six years agone successful 2020. The caller HomePod mini has an S10 spot that helps amended optimize dynamic range, loudness, and acoustic performance.

With the caller HomePod mini, users tin power their astute location devices done dependable commands. Plus, the talker tin perceive for sounds similar a fume alarm and nonstop a notification to users’ phones — a diagnostic that Alexa devices person offered for years.

Apple said that with Siri AI, users volition beryllium capable to person multi-turn conversations, but it didn’t supply a day for erstwhile the caller adjunct volition beryllium disposable to HomePod mini 2 buyers.

The institution besides said the caller talker works amended with its different devices. For instance, users could signifier a four-speaker location amusement strategy paired with the caller Apple TV 4K. Plus, the HomePod mini 2 speakers tin beryllium the default talker for Mac for video calls oregon euphony playback alternatively of built-in speakers.

The instrumentality has different caller feature, arsenic well: a ocular canvas called “Sound Glow,” which uses the colour strategy of the medium creation to crook the apical of the HomePod mini into a ocular canvas that volition glow and pulse successful sync with the music. Users tin besides prime soundscapes similar rainfall oregon water waves to commencement animations.

The caller talker comes successful pink, green, blue, white, and midnight colorways and volition beryllium disposable starting October 30. Consumers tin pre-order starting today.