This week’s resurgence of Apple has revealed a new .After all, the company hasn’t announced a hardware refresh for its devices since its introduction in 2020, and the smart speaker market hasn’t seen any such updates. It seems not.
in his latest work, bloomberg Reporter Mark Gurman says he doesn’t think the company is “actively working” on the new HomePod mini. Pointing to the second-generation HomePod, he says, “There’s no obvious reason to update the model, as it doesn’t include any major new features that the $99 mini hasn’t had yet.” Gurman suggests that Apple will likely improve the mini by releasing an update to his software that addresses shortcomings with Siri’s integration with the app.
Until that point, Apple recently updated the HomePod mini’s software to what’s been in the device since its release. As Gurman points out, his newly reintroduced HomePod adds features previously limited to his HomePod mini (like Thread connectivity).
A new HomePod mini may be years away, but Apple may have other smart home products on the horizon. Gurman reported in August that he’s not only working on a device that combines Apple TV, camera and HomePod features into a single product, but also a smart display. At the time, he said they could arrive by early 2024.