A brand new HomePod mini is coming, and it wants Apple Intelligence

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported earlier today that Apple has been working on a new HomePod mini for next year. While the report is focused on mentioning Apple’s new wireless chip, my only request is that Apple brings Apple Intelligence support to its future HomePod models.

HomePod and Apple Intelligence

I have HomePods all over my house, and although they’re quite convenient due to their integration with AirPlay and Apple TV, there’s no denying that the Siri experience is still quite frustrating. Except for setting timers, Siri constantly gets things wrong, even when it comes to playing songs or podcasts – the main function of a HomePod.

This week, with the release of iOS 18.2 to the public, Apple confirmed that Apple Music is getting a discreet but important update. It will now use natural language search to better understand what users want to find. This search is handled online on Apple’s servers, which means it’s also available to Siri on the HomePod.

This alone should make the experience of using Siri on HomePod to change songs much better, but we need more. Apple has promised a brand new Siri capable of understanding your personal context, and this experience will be available next year for iPhone, iPadand the Mac. But the essence of HomePod is Siri, and it needs that experience too.

The product would be much more useful if I could use it to ask questions about my day even when my iPhone isn’t around.

Currently, HomePods are powered by the same SoCs found in the Apple Watchwhich means that they aren’t powerful enough to run Apple Intelligence. According to rumors, Apple has been working on a “HomePad” that will have a large screen and a chip capable of running AI features. However, I also expect Apple to bring a more advanced chip to regular HomePods as well.

But what about you? Do you also think that Apple Intelligence for the HomePod would be a game-changer? Let me know in the comments section below.