We’ve suspected for a while that Apple will quickly launch a new HomePod mini, however that launch got here a step nearer to actuality this week with the invention {that a} main retailer is already itemizing the present mannequin as discontinued.
At time of writing B&H lists the HomePod mini in Midnight, yellow, orange, blue, and white as “Discontinued.” (It additionally reveals the House Grey mannequin, which was changed by Midnight greater than a 12 months in the past, because the subtly totally different “No Longer Obtainable.”) Against this, the full-size HomePod is listed usually and available for purchase on the MSRP.
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But the HomePod mini has completely not been discontinued. It’s nonetheless obtainable on the market on Apple’s web site, and when checking from the U.Okay. I discovered that each one 5 coloration finishes had been obtainable for supply tomorrow, or in-store pickup in the present day. There appears to be loads of inventory.
It’s unclear if an B&H worker did this by accident, or if it’s an official coverage. However such labels don’t look like widespread. After searching via numerous Apple product listings I used to be unable to search out another units labelled as discontinued, not to mention ones that are nonetheless offered on Apple’s web site.
B&H is the one retailer identified to have taken this step to date. However as MacRumors stories, different corporations are offering extra delicate hints that the first-gen HomePod mini may not be lengthy for this world. Goal and Verizon, for instance, every have at the very least one coloration that’s out of inventory, whereas Adorama, Walmart, and Staples seem to haven’t any HomePod minis in any respect. Such widespread shortages are normally an indication that manufacturing is winding up forward of a brand new mannequin being launched.
You’ll additionally keep in mind a report earlier this month that claimed there was a retail retailer “occasion” taking place on November 12, with workers working in a single day to vary retailer shows. For these holding observe, November 12 is tomorrow. Rumors additionally level to the discharge of a brand new Apple TV 4K.
The HomePod mini was launched again in 2020 and hasn’t been up to date since, apart from the addition of recent colours in 2021. So it’s in all probability honest to say {that a} second-gen mannequin is overdue. (There was a five-year hole between the primary and second full-size HomePods, and that features nearly two years when the product didn’t exist in any respect.) A number of pundits have predicted that the HomePod mini 2 will arrive both later this 12 months or early in 2026.
Whether or not the brand new mannequin will likely be a lot of an improve on its predecessor stays to be seen. However we’ve written a want listing of 5 enhancements that might flip it into the mini sensible speaker of our desires.
