How does Apple's latest smart speaker compare to the HomePod mini?
Apple HomePod (2nd Gen)
Speakers: 4-inch woofer, 5x custom tweeters Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (smart home control only) Size: 5.6 x 5.6 x 6.6 inches / 142 x 142 x 168mm Colors: Midnight, White
We haven't completed our full review of the full-size HomePod 2 yet, but we've had a chance to try it with music, and it's an incredible-sounding thing. Bass is deep and controlled, mids have total clarity and convincing positioning of instruments, and treble is detailed and natural. But it's such a shame that you can only use this audio quality with AirPlay or Siri sources.
For
Huge and detailed sound
Dolby Atmos & lossless
Great smart home features
Against
Siri isn't that smart
No Bluetooth
Apple HomePod mini
Speakers: Full-range driver, 2x passive radiators Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (smart home control only) Size: 3.9 x 3.9 x 3.3 inches / 98 x 98 x 84mm Colors: White, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Space Grey
The HomePod mini offers the best sound of any speaker of its size, and – being fully a third the price of the big HomePod – it may be the more tempting option for most people. It's balance is excellent, it's fun and energetic while still being detailed, and it offers nearly all the features of the big version – but without Dolby Atmos. Maybe that's fine with you.
For
Great sound for the size
Same smart home features
Much cheaper of the two
Against
Siri isn't that smart
No Bluetooth audio
The HomePod 2 is the latest addition to Apple’s smart speaker line-up, joining the HomePod mini, which was released in 2020. (The original HomePod was released in 2018, and discontinued in 2021.)
The HomePod mini is one of the best smart speakers on the market for those in the Apple ecosystem, and is one of the best wireless speakers overall if you want something that's small and inexpensive – though, again, you need to be really Apple-focused.
The HomePod 2 is very similar to its predecessor in a lot of ways, including having a lot more speakers inside than the HomePod mini, in an arrangement that makes it possible to Dolby Atmos music with great Spatial Audio effects.
So what does that mean for how the latest speaker compares to the Apple HomePod mini for sound, and what about other features? Well, you can read our full HomePod 2 review, but stick around here and we'll explain all the further differences, so let’s take a look at the Apple HomePod 2 vs HomePod mini.
The Apple HomePod 2 has a lot of its design in common with the HomePod mini – but bigger. (Image credit: Apple)
Apple HomePod 2 vs HomePod mini: Price and availability
The HomePod mini was released in November 2020 and costs $99 / £99 / AU$149. At this price, it’s had mass market appeal for years, and it’s reasonable for such an impressive smart speaker.
The HomePod 2 was made available for pre-order on 18 January 2022, and will be released on 3 February 2022. It costs $299 / £299 / AU$479, which is around the same as the previous full-size HomePod's cost when it was discontinued.
This means the HomePod mini is much more affordable – it is the ‘mini’ version of the HomePod, after all. But as we'll see soon, that does have a big effect on the audio tech Apple is able to include.
