Apple Said to Launch HomePod mini 2 in Late 2024: Kuo

Fresh off the heels of the launch of Apple’s HomePod (2nd-Gen), TF International Securities’ Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes a successor to the HomePod mini 2 could be on its way.

In a tweet thread surrounding Apple supplier Goertek, Kuo discussed that the Weifang-based components company has “secured NPI and assembly orders” for the ‌HomePod mini‌ 2. Kuo continues to state that the supplier “will start mass shipments in 2H24.”

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Lastly, Goertek has secured NPI and assembly orders for HomePod mini 2, which will start mass shipments in 2H24.

The conclusion is the worst of Goertek’s negative impacts caused by AirPods Pro 2 quality problems has passed, and the current situation is better than feared.

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) February 3, 2023

What makes Kuo’s latest claim so interesting is that it is in direct opposition to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. It hasn’t been more than a couple of weeks since Gurman came out and claimed Apple isn’t expected to release an update to its mini HomePod model following the launch of the HomePod (2nd-Gen). “After the debut of a new full-sized HomePod, many users started asking about an update to the mini model. But at this point, I don’t believe that Apple is actively working on such as product,” Gurman said at the time.

Gurman believes that there’s little Apple can incorporate into a HomePod mini 2 that can’t be added on the backend of the HomePod (2nd-Gen). This includes updates to Siri as well app integrations. Kuo’s thread doesn’t shed light on whether Apple is looking at cost efficiency or whether improved hardware advancements are being made to justify the existence of a new miniature HomePod.

The original HomePod mini launched in November 2020 at $129 CAD as a replacement for the discontinued HomePod. However, Apple unexpectedly revived the original HomePod in January, releasing the second iteration on February 3rd for $399 CAD.