Siri AI Is Not Coming to Your Original HomePod Mini

My verdict: if you own the first HomePod mini, the new Siri is not for you, and Apple has said so.

Apple told 9to5Mac that Siri AI “will only be available on HomePod mini 2” and on Apple TV 4K models from the second generation onward. The original HomePod mini is left out. CNET first reported that the older speaker would get it later this year, then corrected the story. 9to5Mac says the S5 chip in the original is very dated for AI tasks, and that Apple Watch models also need newer chips for Siri AI.

Apple announced the HomePod mini 2 on 13 October at $149 with an S10 chip. It launches on 30 October, and several outlets report that Siri AI itself arrives in a later software update, so it may not be there on day one. Apple named which older Apple TV 4K models get the feature but has given no equivalent list for the HomePod mini.

I have no hands-on experience with this speaker, so I am not going to tell you whether to replace it. My view on the broader point is simple. As AI models get more demanding, they need newer hardware, and that shortens the useful life of products that were fine a few years ago. I do not like it, but that is the situation we are in.

If you are on the fence, check Apple’s own list of supported devices before buying anything, and do not rely on a single report, mine included.