New HomePod rumors: HomePod with screen and HomePod mini coming soon?

Macworld

A new HomePod mini could arrive before the end of 2025, with Apple no doubt keen to meet the demand of the busy holiday shopping period. Rumors suggest that a new HomePod mini v2 will launch in the fall of 2025. Will this just be a straightforward update to the diminutive Apple speaker, with a color refresh and a sound boost, or could it be something more?

Those hoping that Apple will launch a HomePod with a display will be pleased to learn that there are also indications that Apple is working on such a product, however, we may have a little longer to wait until that comes to market.

In this article, we are logging all the rumors and reports about the new HomePod, its release date, specs and features. So, read on for all the information.

HomePod mini 2 release date

Fall 2025 (possible)

Apple introduced the HomePod mini almost five years ago in November 2020. It’s long due an update and one may soon arrive.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman expects a new HomePod mini in 2025. In January 2025 he wrote that Apple would update the HomePod mini towards the end of 2025.

Then in a August 2025 newsletter Gurman reiterated his predictions in response to code released (and withdrawn) by Apple that included identifiers for unreleased devices, of which the HomePod mini was apparently one. He said: “The findings corroborate a lot of what I’ve reported, including that fresh Apple TV and HomePod mini models will arrive this fall.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has been indicating for some time that the HomePod mini would launch soon. In fact he predicted that the HomePod mini 2 would launch in the second half of 2024. That didn’t happen, obviously.

(1/2)I predict Apple's next important acoustic product refresh time is will be in 2H24-1H25. The following new products will likely start mass production in 2H24 at the earliest.1. HomePod mini 2.2. AirPods Max 2.3. AirPods low-cost version.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) February 3, 2023

HomePod 3 with screen release date

Fall 2025 (possible)

The HomePod mini has a bigger sibling and bigger things are rumored for that model.

The original HomePod went on sale in February 2018 and was discontinued in March 2021. The second generation HomePod was introduced in January 2023.

A third generation HomePod may offer more than the second generation does. Rumors point to a new HomePod with a screen that could launch in 2025.

Mark Gurman in a Power On newsletter in January 2025 said that Apple will launch a HomePod with screen and that it would be “Apple’s most significant release of the year”. This seems to be more than a HomePod speaker, it could be a brand new smart hub.

Back in March 2023 Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote about Apple’s smart-home plans. He indicated that Apple “will unveil a redesigned HomePod featuring a 7-inch panel in 1H24,” and that this device “could enable tighter integration with Apple’s other hardware products.” At the time Kuo gave the expected release date for the HomePod with a screen as the first half of 2024 (which obviously didn’t happen).

In December 2024, Kuo indicated that the HomePod with screen won’t arrive until after WWDC 2025. He wrote on Medium: “The mass production schedule for the display-equipped HomePod has been delayed multiple times. Initially forecasted for 2024 (as I predicted in 2023), it was postponed to 1Q25, and more recently, further delayed to after WWDC 2025/3Q25.”

Kuo blamed software development for the delay in production, although he didn’t clarify why the software is taking longer than expected to develop.

However, in March 2025 Kuo tweeted that the HomePod with screen will be further delayed not just because of Apple Intelligence delays, but because it needs to align with other new Apple products.




HomePod with display incoming?Foundry

New HomePod screen rumors

7-inch display rumored for new HomePod

Lots of other rumors point to a brand new HomeHub device…

Apple’s HomePod currently sufferers from its reliance on Siri to control it. With Siri not able to understand instructions as well as might be hoped, some HomePod users choose instead to interface with the device via an iPhone, but this can be a drain on the iPhone battery. Incorporating a screen would allow users to interface with the HomePod via its display.

Those hoping for a screen on their HomePod may soon have their wish granted. According to Ming-Chi Kuo in March 2023, Apple “will unveil a redesigned HomePod featuring a 7-inch panel” in 2024. That’s not much smaller than the iPad mini, which has an 8.3-inch display. The screen would also offer multi-touch functionality. 

The screen could be something altogether different: Back in April 2021 Mark Gurman described a high-end speaker with a touch screen that would combine an iPad with a HomePod speaker and a camera mounted on a robotic arm that could follow the user around the room during a video chat. He has made various references to this over the years.

There are also rumors about Apple’s plans for a HomeHub that could be a screen for controlling smart-home systems, again originating with Gurman.

For now though, a simple HomePod with screen seems most likely. To get an idea of how this could look we need only look at the Amazon Echo Show 10, which combines a display that moves automatically with Amazon’s speaker. The Echo Show 10 costs $249.99 / £259.99.

Alternatively, some time ago Swiss website Handy Abovergleich and designer Eric Huismann created a series of concept illustrations of how this new generation of HomePod could look. Here’s how they imagine the HomePod Show—a speaker with a camera and a small touchscreen—could look.






Apple HomePod, Siri and AI

However, with Siri set to become more ‘intelligent’ thanks to Apple Intelligence, the need for this screen to interface with the devices may be reduced.

The key to such products tends to be their smart assistant and Apple has plans to improve Siri with Apple Intelligence (AI). However, Apple has delayed the release of its new improved Siri and this has had an effect on the timing of these new products which, Gurman noted in September 2024, “are considered collaborations between Apple’s artificial intelligence and home device hardware engineering groups.”

As Macworld’s David Price has previously stated, when discussing why the HomePod needs needs more than a screen – “What would help is a thorough overhaul of Siri: fix that, and then sure, you can have a screen alongside a voice control system that actually works.”

And as Macworld contributor Mahmoud Itani pointed out earlier in 2025, Siri on the HomePod should be able to use ChatGPT for AI queries.

New HomePod: Color options




Apple Inc

Currently the HomePod mini comes in Blue, Yellow, Midnight, Orange, and White and the HomePod in Black or White.

We’d love to see a nicer color selection. Orange and yellow stand out, but there aren’t many bedrooms and living rooms decorated in those gaudy colors. We think pink would be a popular color choice.

New HomePod: Specs and features

We don’t know much about the specs of any of these devices, but their need to support Apple Intelligence will mean they do require high end tech inside:

Processor

The HomePod that launched in January 2023 featured the same S7 chip as the Apple Watch Series 7. This means the current HomePod doesn’t support Apple Intelligence and the new Siri features.

We expect that a new HomePod, especially if it has a screen will use a more powerful processor, that is compatible with Apple Intelligence.

The rumors indicate that we can expect an A18 chip – the same chip as is found in the iPhone 16 – in the HomePod. This would be a big boost from the current model that is equipped with the S5 chip from the 2019 iPhone. The more powerful chip could be reserved for a more advanced HomeHub HomePod model.

Better sound

The HomePod and HomePod mini support Apple Music Lossless up to 24-bit/48kHz. We’d like to hear Hi-Res Lossless.

Apple Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip

Apple is said to be working on it’s own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip (codenamed Proxima) that could bring support for Wi-Fi 6E to the HomePod. This would be a big jump from the current HomePod’s 802.11n Wiri and Bluetooth 5.0 and should result in less signal interference and better wireless speed.

Camera

There are suggestions that Apple is working on a new device that combines a HomePod with a camera, or places a camera on a robot arm.

This camera could also be used to recognize gestures. Some years ago a patent was filed that related to a future HomePod that could interpret 3D hand gestures. That patent describes a HomePod that can “interpret three-dimensional hand gestures as a means of controlling the device so as to execute an action or function.”

Multi-touch display

We’re hoping that Apple will give us something that will compete with the Echo Show, so we can view YouTube videos and use apps on the new hybrid device. Perhaps we won’t get the display we are hoping for, but a more interactive display than the one we have currently would be great. We’d like to see more than just volume controls and a Siri animation.

New HomePod prices

The current prices for the HomePods are as follows:

HomePod: $299/£299

HomePod mini: $99/£99

We don’t expect prices to change, although with the current economic headwinds and tariffs it is possible. We think Apple will continue to sell the HomePod mini at the sweet spot of just under $100.

The HomePod could see a price hike if Apple includes the rumored screen with it. Or maybe a HomePod with screen will be an additional product, with a higher price of around $399/£399 or more.