HomePod mini 2 vs HomePod mini (1st generation)

Check why you want to upgrade

The original HomePod mini is still a home hub. Apple says a HomePod mini becomes one automatically when you set it up, and the first model has Thread networking technology and a temperature and humidity sensor, just as the new one does. If what you want is remote access, automations and Thread accessories, you already have it.

So the question is what the new one adds. There are three real answers: Siri AI, home theatre surround with the new Apple TV 4K, and newer radios. If none of them matters to you, keep the one you have.

What HomePod mini 2 adds

• Siri AI, later. Apple says Siri AI will come to HomePod mini 2 in English, including in the UK, “via a future software update”. It is not there on 30 October. Apple’s announcement names HomePod mini 2 and says nothing either way about the first model.
• Home theatre surround. Apple’s four-speaker surround set-up needs four HomePod mini 2 or HomePod (2nd generation) speakers in matching pairs, front and rear, with an Apple TV 4K (4th generation). The first HomePod mini is not one of the models Apple names.
• Newer radios and chip. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6 replace 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0, and the S10 chip replaces the S5.

One new mini will not pair with an old one

Apple says a stereo pair needs two speakers of the same model and generation, such as two HomePod mini 2. A single new mini will not make a pair with your original. If you run two original minis as a stereo pair, upgrading for stereo means buying two new ones, at £298.

What the original gives up

Only the list above. It keeps the hub role, Thread, the sensor and the Ultra Wideband chip, and it is still an AirPlay 2 speaker with multi-room audio.

There is one open question. On 13 October 2026 Apple announced an updated Home architecture, which “requires all Apple devices that access the home to be using the latest software”. Apple says Sound Recognition, which listens for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, needs it. Apple does not say which existing hubs the update supports, so it has not confirmed the first HomePod mini either way. Until it does, that is an unknown, not a reason to upgrade on its own.

If you are offered an original

Apple no longer sells it: the HomePod mini page on apple.com/uk sells only HomePod mini 2. The first model went on sale in 2020 at £99. A working one is still a home hub, so it is a reasonable way into Apple Home if the price is well below the £149 of a new HomePod mini 2.

Know what you are giving up, though. It will not make a stereo pair with a HomePod mini 2, Apple does not name it for the surround set-up, and Apple has not listed it for Siri AI.

Which to buy

Keep the original HomePod mini if it does the hub job and you have no plans for Siri AI or a surround set-up. It is the same hub it was last week.

Buy HomePod mini 2 if you want Siri AI when Apple releases it, if you are planning surround with an Apple TV 4K (4th generation), or if you are starting a stereo pair from scratch. It is also the one to buy if you have no hub at all; see which Apple home hub you need.