Apple HomePod 2 could launch soon as company shifts old smart speaker stock

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We've been waiting a long time for the new Apple HomePod

apple homepod
The Apple HomePod. (Image credit: pianodiaphragm / Shutterstock.com)

We've been hearing rumors of a new, smaller Apple HomePod for a long time – the so-called Apple HomePod 2 or Apple HomePod Mini, said to be a cheaper version of the Siri-powered smart speaker.

Those rumors are looking increasingly credible after Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman posted a tweet claiming that Apple is trying to get rid of its remaining HomePod stock by giving staff hefty discounts on the smart speaker.

The Apple HomePod has recently been heavily discounted at retailers like Best Buy in the US and John Lewis in UK, where it saw a humungous $100 / £100 knocked off the price.

Those HomePod deals are still available at the time of writing, so it's well worth taking a look if you want to save money on an Apple smart speaker:

What we know so far about the Apple HomePod 2

Back in March 2018, only a month after the HomePod’s release, there was a report from Economic Daily that Apple was planning to release a more affordable HomePod at some point in 2018. 

Of course, it never materialized. However, details of a HomePod 2 and new Apple TV were revealed in a new report from Bloomberg in late March. According to the report, Apple employees are going full steam ahead to get the company's 2020 slate of products into the hands of consumers, despite the disruption to their usual working practices due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The report didn't offer an Apple HomePod Mini release date, but the next likely release window could be WWDC on June 22, where we're expecting to see the iOS 14 update in detail, along with upgrades in the form of iPadOS 14, macOS 10.16 and watchOS 7 – and possibly the Apple AirPods Studio, AirPods 3, and AirPods Pro Lite.

Other details about the Apple HomePod 2 have been pretty far and few between, though some Apple patents have hinted at the specs we might see from the new smart speaker, including Face ID, 3D gesture control, and the ability to pair with another HomePod for true stereo sound.

Via The Apple Post

Olivia Tambini
Olivia Tambini

Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she's a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.