Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini 2 hands-on: A look at audio and Siri AI updates

Apple’s “Welcome Home” event may have been primarily for the debut of HomeView, but the company also announced updated versions of the HomePod mini speaker and Apple TV 4K. After spending some time with the main attraction this morning, I also got to experience the HomePod mini 2’s revamped home theater features and see Siri AI in action on Apple’s streaming box. I also listened to a pair of new speakers connected to an iMac as part of an improved desktop audio setup and can confirm that the new colors match the company’s all-in-one computer well.

Let’s start with the Apple TV 4K. The main upgrades here are aimed at bringing Siri AI into the living room, primarily for content discovery. Thanks to Assistant’s ability to pull context from places like Messages, you can ask it to do things like “play the show Sam texted me about.” The new Apple TV 4K features far-field microphones, so the Siri experience is now hands-free, meaning you can shout at it from your couch. This worked well in the demo area I was in, although I should point out that the environment was relatively quiet.

Siri AI can also answer questions about content, such as whether Ted Lasso is a real person or whether AFC Richmond is a real football club. Luckily, Siri’s responses are hidden in the corner of the TV screen, so you can see them without the text blocking your movie or show. Additionally, it’s text-only and the assistant won’t respond to you by speaking over audio about what you’re watching. I’ve seen this in action a few times and think it’s a clean implementation of Siri on the Apple TV 4K. I really like not having to hear competing sounds from Siri and a TV show, forcing me to try to decipher the information I’ve requested.

Another welcome upgrade for the Apple TV 4K is a revised remote control. Although the appearance is the same on the outside, a new feature on the inside will play a sound when you ask Siri to help you find it. I prefer this approach because it’s much quicker to figure out where something is if it beeps rather than having to wave a phone to see how close I’m getting to it. If you’ve already played a sound to find your AirPods, it works the same way. I’m constantly looking for my Apple TV remote after one of my kids hid it somewhere, so this will all come in handy at my house.

The HomePod mini 2 has also been updated for Siri AI. Right off the bat, the speaker is now powered by the S10 chip, a significant upgrade over the 2020 model’s S5. This hardware will eventually enable Siri AI, but the next-gen – or now current-gen – assistant won’t be on the HomePod mini 2 at launch. Apple says this feature will arrive at a later date.

For now, the two big new features are Sound Glow and expanded surround sound functionality. Sound Glow mimics album artwork on the HomePod mini 2’s backlit touchscreen. If you’re listening to a soundscape, the lights will reflect things like raindrops and waves. It’s a nice addition, but I wonder how often I’ll see it since I don’t tend to sit near or even look at my HomePod speakers. Next, you can now use up to four HomePod speakers with the new Apple TV 4K for home theater audio. Before, you could only use two as a stereo pair.

After hearing two different configurations at the Apple event, I’m confident this will be an audio upgrade for those looking to purchase four HomePods. I liked the setup of two second-generation HomePods in the front and two HomePod mini 2 speakers in the back, as they offered more bass and rumble during my demo. However, a quartet of HomePod mini 2 speakers held its own, delivering dimensional sound that enveloped the couch I was sitting on. But again, it all depends on buying four HomePods and putting them in your living room, which seems like a rare scenario.

Finally, I heard a pair of HomePod mini 2 speakers used for audio from an iMac. These new speakers can sync with any Mac via AirPlay to work as a desktop speaker set. This setup offers an obvious upgrade over the built-in iMac speakers, and the stereo pair delivered solid directional audio for basic gaming like Angry Birds. At around $300 for two HomePod mini 2s, this seems like a more plausible arrangement than the four-pack in the living room.