Apple used its "Welcome Home" event on October 13, 2026 to refresh two of its longest-serving home products: the Apple TV 4K and the HomePod mini 2. The HomePod mini had not been updated since it launched in 2020, and this new model arrives at $149, which is $50 more than the original's launch price.
The bigger story is Siri AI reaching the living room. The new Apple TV 4K ships with far-field microphones for hands-free voice control, while the HomePod mini 2 moves to Apple's S10 chip to support the smarter assistant later. Engadget spent hands-on time with both devices and came away impressed by how quietly Siri is being integrated into the TV experience.
Apple TV 4K hands-on: Siri AI and a remote that beeps
The main upgrade on the Apple TV 4K is content discovery through Siri AI. Because the assistant can pull context from apps like Messages, you can ask it to "play the show Sam texted me about" and it will find it. Built-in far-field microphones mean you can call out from the couch instead of reaching for the remote, and Engadget reports the setup worked well in a quiet demo area.
Siri's answers appear as text in the corner of the screen rather than being spoken over your movie, which Engadget calls a clean implementation. The assistant can also answer questions about what you are watching, such as whether Ted Lasso is a real person or if AFC Richmond is a real football club. Apple also overhauled the Siri Remote: it looks the same outside, but a new internal feature plays a sound when you ask Siri to locate it, the same way you can ping your AirPods.
HomePod mini 2 specs and Sound Glow
Inside the HomePod mini 2, the S10 chip replaces the S5 found in the 2020 model and in the Apple Watch Series 5. Apple says the chip improves what it calls computational audio, though the company did not announce new drivers or major acoustic changes. Sound Glow is the most visible new feature: the back-lit touch panel now syncs its lights with the music, reacting to bass and treble and borrowing colors from album artwork.
