On a live Q&A call on Thursday, Bloomberg News’ Mark Gurman reported that Apple is planning to release a new full-sized HomePod, along with updated HomePod mini and Apple TV models. Gurman reiterated that development updates for all three products remain on hold until Apple launches its more personalized and advanced version of Siri later this year. The revamped LLM Siri is expected to debut in iOS 27, which is slated to enter beta in June and launch to the public in September alongside compatible iPhones.
Joe Rossignol for MacRumors:
[The] new HomePod, HomePod mini, and Apple TV models should be released this year.
In his Power On newsletter last weekend, Gurman said new versions of the Apple TV and HomePod mini at a minimum have been “ready” since last year, and on the call today he explicitly said “yes” to a new full-sized HomePod coming as well…
Inventory of the Apple TV, HomePod mini, and full-sized HomePod is once again “running low” at Apple’s retail stores around the world.
As spotted by Pedro Marques, some HomePod mini configurations are not available until as late as May 8 in Toronto, Canada. This is an oddly far away date, and it may suggest that Apple is no longer manufacturing the current HomePod mini.
MacDailyNews Note: The long-awaited next-gen Apple TV is expected to be powered by Apple’s A17 Pro chip, which supports Apple Intelligence and is also expected to port Apple’s N1 chip delivering Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread support.
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Question: Would purchasing a new (or even existing Apple TV) along with new HomePod mini’s deliver me any ATMOS capabilities? Three Mini’s (center and left/right) speakers?
Apple, seemingly, could do this now, but will they? It’s a soft way to approach the home theater speaker market for sure.
Marketing-wise, one would think Apple would have been considering – or will do so – that if they bundled a 3-speaker purchase w/Apple TV, for $349 (instead of say $399 separately or something like this – just provide a $50 discount for the bundle), Apple would have a very strong play at selling against a Sonos, Samsung or other lower-end $400 home speaker/soundbar systems?
“The sound might not be huge, but I’m in a condo anyway, or it’s our bedroom… And with Apple I get an Apple TV. With the others I just get speakers…”
Seems like a solid play, but that’s probably why Apple won’t do this.
As I read between the lines, Siri is back on track again and we will see many new products, hardware, software and services between now and WWDC2026 or at WWDC2026
Stop delaying hardware because of Siri. The “new” Apple TV is going to be obsolete before it is even released. The A17 Pro is already long in the tooth. It is almost 3 years old already.