Apple has refreshed its compact smart speaker with a bigger focus on artificial intelligence, music discovery and the connected home. The new HomePod mini 2 is priced at ₹18,900 in India and will be available in five colours: pink, green, blue, white and midnight.

The biggest change is Siri AI, which is expected to arrive through a future software update. Apple says the upgraded assistant will offer more natural conversations, understand personal context and use broader knowledge to answer questions with up-to-date information from the web.

For users, that could mean asking Siri to find a song a friend recommended in a message, set a reminder linked to a calendar event or locate a recipe buried in an email. These features will work with a compatible iPhone or iPad that supports Apple Intelligence. Once Siri AI is enabled, users without such a device will also be able to access its broader knowledge, conversational capabilities and improved music discovery.

The smart speaker retains its compact design but adds new ways to experience music and audio across the home. Powered by Apple's S10 chip and computational audio technology, the HomePod mini 2 analyses music in real time to optimise loudness, dynamic range and acoustic performance.

Users can play music through a single speaker, pair two speakers for stereo sound or connect multiple HomePod mini speakers for multiroom audio.

One of the more significant upgrades is its home theatre capability. When paired with the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, four HomePod mini 2 speakers can work together to create a surround-sound experience.

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