{"id":9767,"date":"2026-11-01T14:32:32","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T14:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9767"},"modified":"2026-11-01T14:32:32","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T14:32:32","slug":"homepod-mini-2-hands-on-siri-smart-home-mac-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9767","title":{"rendered":"HomePod Mini 2 first look: Three things I love and one disappointment"},"content":{"rendered":"


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When I first heard about the new $149 HomePod Mini 2<\/a> at Apple\u2019s Welcome Home event<\/a> last month, I was disappointed. It\u2019s been six years since Apple launched its entry-level smart speaker, and all it got in the second gen was a chip bump, some color glowy stuff, and better AirPlay? For $50 more than the original, which launched at $99, Apple didn\u2019t even upgrade the sound system. It felt like the company phoned this one in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Now that I\u2019ve got my hands on a couple and set them up in my home office, I\u2019m more enthused. The Mini 2 is so much faster than the first-gen Mini, playing music in a few seconds and responding to smart home commands just as quickly. If you\u2019re fed up with standing over your HomePod waiting for it to finally do what you asked, then that alone is worth the upgrade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Here are my three favorite features of the new Mini 2 after spending a couple days with it, and my one big disappointment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Siri is much snappier and much less chatty<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The biggest upgrade for the Mini 2 is Siri AI<\/a>, but that isn\u2019t available yet. Apple says it\u2019s coming \u201clater\u201d in a software update. However, the basic smart voice assistant has definitely improved. Siri on the Mini 2 is much snappier than on the first-gen Mini, regularly responding in under three seconds. This is thanks to a newer, faster processor (the S10, up from the S5) and Wi-Fi 6E support (up from Wi-Fi 4).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When I asked Siri to play Taylor Swift, a song started in a couple of seconds. It correctly told me who won this year\u2019s World Series in under two seconds, and turned off the light or opened the shades in under three seconds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s a huge improvement over the up to 10 seconds I often have to wait for Siri to get things done on the first-gen Mini. However, asking something harder, like who will win the US midterm elections, still brings up the familiar offer to look at some web results on my iPhone. As I said, Siri AI isn\u2019t here yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The other new behavior I am really enjoying is that when I ask Siri to perform a smart home action, such as open the shades or turn on the lights, instead of \u201cOK, Jen,\u201d or \u201cOne sec,\u201d followed by a wordy confirmation of the action that I often get on the first-gen Mini, the Mini 2 just does it and doesn\u2019t talk back. It\u2019s not silent for every action, but it\u2019s quiet enough to be a noticeable improvement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This Mini is gorgeous in green and sounds great<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The green color is divine. This is the prettiest small smart speaker I\u2019ve seen \u2014 and I\u2019ve tried them all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Yes, Amazon\u2019s Echo Dot Max\u2019s purple is fun<\/a>, the Google Home Speaker\u2019s pale green is elegant<\/a>, but Apple\u2019s deep green is seriously sophisticated. It\u2019s a color that fits in really well in various places around my home, and I\u2019m so glad the company finally released a green option. It\u2019s a big improvement over the slightly garish yellow and orange of the prior-gen Minis and the best of the new colors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Mini in green. Other than the color, it looks identical to the first-gen speaker. It comes with a power brick and a color-matched fabric cord.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The cord is very pale green, practically white. The base now has an embossed logo instead of a painted one.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I saw all the colors in person at Apple\u2019s Welcome Home event<\/a>, and while the pink is pretty, it\u2019s very pale, and the blue is functionally identical to the first-gen blue, maybe a shade lighter. While a lot of folks will be happy with black (don\u2019t get white unless you plan to dust it regularly), the green is my new go-to.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two green HomePod Mini 2s look so good on the walnut Nanoleaf monitor stand I\u2019m testing<\/a>; it\u2019s like my office got an instant upgrade. And while Apple didn\u2019t update the speakers in the Mini 2, it\u2019s still a very good speaker for its size, doing a fine job with Bad Bunny\u2019s bass and delivering clear mids and vocals. While $300 is steep for computer speakers, two as a stereo pair in my office definitely delivered on room-filling sound.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You can finally disable touch<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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A few weeks ago I fumbled for my phone on my nightstand and accidentally hit the top of my HomePod Mini, blaring music in the bedroom at 3AM. My husband was not happy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sound Glow illuminates the top of the Mini in colors that match the album art.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It only works with Apple Music and Apple Podcasts.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A new setting in the Home app now lets you lock the Mini\u2019s top controls. This goes for all HomePods, old and new, and it\u2019s a major quality-of-life upgrade. How often do you intentionally touch the top of your HomePod? I bet far less often than accidentally!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The other new trick for the top of the HomePod is Sound Glow. This makes the LEDs display colors that match the album art of the song you\u2019re playing (it\u2019s also backward compatible with the first-gen Mini and the second-gen HomePod). It\u2019s neat, but only works with Apple Music and Podcasts and is so subtle that I don\u2019t feel it adds much to my music-listening experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A stereo pair of Minis sounds very good. Here they\u2019re pictured on Nanoleaf\u2019s new monitor stand, which has built-in LED lighting.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Beyond the speed improvement, the other new feature I was excited about is the HomePod Mini 2\u2019s ability to be the default speaker for your Mac using what Apple calls<\/a> \u201ca responsive and persistent AirPlay connection.\u201d This creates a wireless point-to-point connection between the computer and the HomePod.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You can pair a single speaker or a stereo pair to your Mac, and the feature also works with the second-gen HomePod. (Two or four HomePod Mini 2s can also now be part of a surround sound setup<\/a> using the new Apple TV 4K.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Disappointingly, I couldn\u2019t get the Mac speaker set up to work. I have the required hardware: a Mac that supports Wi-Fi 6E, running the public release of macOS 27.2<\/a> (a Mac Mini M4), and HomePods on HomePod Software 27.2<\/a>. But the Sound pane in my Mac\u2019s settings didn\u2019t offer an option to set a HomePod via AirPlay as the default sound output.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Mini showed up and connected like any other AirPlay speaker, with the same flaws as regular AirPlay \u2014 occasional artifacting, drop-offs, and some lag with notification sounds \u2014 along with the Mac defaulting to its built-in speakers when the computer restarts, or anytime I activate Siri on the HomePod. I also tried with a stereo pair of Minis, but they also played over regular AirPlay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The chip bump and speed improvements make this a bigger upgrade than it initially seemed<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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According to a 9to5Mac\u2019s<\/em> hands-on<\/a>, when the persistent AirPlay is enabled, the HomePod Mini should show up as a default system output device in the System Information, and there should be an option to enable it under \u201cPlay sound effects through\u201d in the Sound pane in System Settings, but neither was there for me. I have seen other reports<\/a> of the same issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I tried resetting both HomePods completely after they updated to 27.2 out of the box (I was on the HomePod Software betas, but 27.2 is now in general release), and the feature still isn\u2019t working. I reached out to Apple, but the company hasn\u2019t responded to my requests yet; I\u2019ll update this article if I hear back or find a solution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I\u2019ve only been testing the Mini 2 for two days, and while the real test will come when it gets its Siri AI upgrade, the chip bump and speed improvements make this a bigger upgrade than it initially seemed. Apple does need to work on the Mac pairing feature; it has a lot of potential, but based on my struggles here, it feels unfinished.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I plan to do a full review once Siri AI launches, and of course compare it to Apple\u2019s big new smart home release: the upcoming $299 Apple HomeView<\/a> smart display. It is also a Home hub, but the screen gives it more functionality. At $149, though, the Mini 2 is now the cheapest way to get an Apple Home hub with Thread and Matter support.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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