HomePod Mini 2 first look: Three things I love and one disappointment

When I first heard about the new $149 HomePod Mini 2 at Apple’s Welcome Home event last month, I was disappointed. It’s been six years since Apple launched its entry-level smart speaker, and all it got in the second gen was a chip bump, some color glowy stuff, and better AirPlay? For $50 more than the original, which launched at $99, Apple didn’t even upgrade the sound system. It felt like the company phoned this one in.

Now that I’ve got my hands on a couple and set them up in my home office, I’m more enthused. The Mini 2 is so much faster than the first-gen Mini, playing music in a few seconds and responding to smart home commands just as quickly. If you’re fed up with standing over your HomePod waiting for it to finally do what you asked, then that alone is worth the upgrade.

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