Andrew O'Hara
Apple is finally readying an update to its smart speakers. Here's what's probably coming in 2025 to the new HomePod mini 2 & full-sized HomePod 3.
It's been nearly 5 years since Apple released the original HomePod mini. The one that arguably saved Apple's smart speaker line.
It's not even close to as popular as the Amazon Alexa speakers, but the tepid success of HomePod mini was enough to warrant the reintroduction of the full-size HomePod. Here's what is rumored for the next generation.
HomePod mini 2 & HomePod 3 design
The new HomePod mini 2 is, by all accounts, going to look the same as it does now. Maybe some new color options, if we're lucky.
It will still be roughly baseball-sized with a small glowing screen on the top and the 3D acoustic mesh on the outside. The full-sized HomePod is the one that may see at least one external change.
HomePod 3 may potentially get a new full-color touchscreen on the top, rather than just swirling lights. It could be used to show different playback controls, album artwork, or a thumbnail of someone calling you.
The use cases are speculation, but known leaker Kosutami did share the rumored new screen component, lending additional credibility to some sort of display change.
Updated internals
The biggest upgrades to the new HomePods will be with its internals. Apple is going to give them a boost in processing power, though which chip remains to be seen.
Current HomePod models run on the S5 chip which first debuted in the Apple Watch Series 5. Apple could go to a newer Apple Watch chip, an A-series chip, or something else altogether.
Reports have also consistently pointed to a new wireless chip. Code-named "Proxima," this is Apple's first in-house wireless chip, not counting the C1 modem found in iPhone 16e.
Rumors first revealed the Proxima chip in December of 2024, saying it will first show up in Apple's smart home products before coming to others. Back then, they said it would support Wi-Fi 6E.
That would be a good upgrade for HomePod and HomePod mini as they currently support Wi-Fi 4. But rumors have also said Apple is planning on using its wireless chip in the upcoming iPhone 17 lineup.
But it seems odd that Apple would create two custom wireless chips so close to one another. One for its smart home products and one for the iPhones this fall.
The iPhone 17 line will certainly have Wi-Fi 7 as the iPhone 16 models do. That leaves Apple with two options: either create two chips - one Wi-Fi 6E and one Wi-Fi 7 or make them both Wi-Fi 7. Wi-Fi 7 is probably overkill for a smart speaker, but we'll see.
Besides just upgrading the wireless spec, rumors have said these new wireless chips could also offer additional functionality. They're so powerful they could potentially be used as Wi-Fi range extenders.
New features and improvements
That takes us to Apple's virtual assistant, Siri. Based on all available information, the new pair of HomePods will not support Apple Intelligence.
Apple wants that to remain, at least for now, a feature on its upcoming smart display and other existing products. Currently, Apple Intelligence is available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro.
Still, Apple's virtual assistant should get at least a bit more capable. Even if it isn't the full Apple Intelligence update.
Currently on iPhone, you can stutter or change your command mid-thought, and it will follow along. You can say things like "open the shades in the living room, I mean the kitchen," and it works.
You can't do that on HomePod, Apple TV, or Apple Watch right now. It's an inconsistent experience for users.
We should see at least a bit of improvement on these new smart speakers.
Finally, we expect to see improvements in audio quality. With such a long gap between updates, Apple will presumably make the speakers sound better between updates with the audio processing and new drivers.
HomePod mini 2 and HomePod 3 release date
Between the problems with Siri and delays in the rumored smart display, it's up in the air when these new speakers will be released. We can say with some certainty that they will arrive sometime in 2025.
If we had to guess, it would be part of the larger smart home push. It would make sense for Apple to release the new HomePod models, new Apple TV, and smart display all at the same time.
HomePods can be used as Dolby Atmos speakers for the Apple TV and could be used as remote speakers for the smart display — good synergy when released together.
That smart home display was supposed to launch in the spring, but Apple has punted it until after WWDC - meaning June at the earliest, fall at the latest. That's plausible for HomePod as well.
As for pricing, expect it to remain the same at $299 and $99 for the HomePod and HomePod mini, respectively.
But, Apple will have its smart display coming as the premium end of the smart speaker lineup. HomePod could sit right under that, if Apple chose to cut the price a bit.
HomePod could then be priced at $249 for the full-sized model. Then the HomePod mini 3 could be priced closer to $79, rather than $99.
This would make HomePod more competitive in a crowded voice assistant speaker market. Plus, it gives a solid good, better, best model lineup, if that smart display has a full speaker system.
Regardless, Siri and the smart home appear to be increasingly important for Apple, and a new set of HomePods would be welcomed. Stay tuned to see how the rumors unfold.
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2 Comments
Seems likely the new smart screen/home hub will run Apple Intelligence for other network attached devices like HomePods, so the new HomePods still won’t need to be able to run it. That in turn will keep the cost of HomePods down, making it easier for users to distribute more through the home. That, of course, is necessary for HomeKit/Apple Home to be more viable, by having a means of controlling HomeKit devices always accessible nearby.
Tricky balancing act for Apple balancing the number of SKUs to meet different needs, strong competition and small market share.
Everyone that enjoys my HomePod 2 home cinema and music sessions are impressed with the sound quality and experience. If they can build on this with a HomePod 3 then i will buy them day 1. I am that satisfied with them from a sound perspective. Abillity to combine more than 2 speakers into groups for even better immersive sound. I would love to group 4 large HomePods rather than the two HomePod 2s i use for the AppleTV. Moar speakers please so we can take the sound volume to 11.
Apple Intelligence for a decent Siri experience will be essential as Siri is just embarrassing at this stage. Latency is everything so running things off a dedicated hub at home may not be good enough.
Mesh wifi options may be helpful to take a leaf from Amazon and use speakers as network extenders and full HomeKit hubs for Thread and Zigbee may be another.
Mesh cluster inference/compute load sharing may be a potential benefit with model sharding like exolabs but home wifis will likely make this non performant.
All of the above does pressure the BOM so unlikely to get the full list.
Another neat angle would be travel accessories for HomePod mini as bringing your own Apple Music when travelling is dope.