As a total surprise, Apple quietly added a new HomePod mini smart speaker in the Midnight color to its existing lineup. The company claims to use recycled mesh fabric to make the outer layer of the Midnight HomePod mini. While the remaining features and attributes are the same as those of other HomePod mini models, the new Midnight color will go on sale from July 17 onward in the US, Canada, China, Singapore, and 28 other countries.
The new Midnight color joins the existing option of White, Orange, Yellow, and Blue. The Space Gray variant is being phased out to welcome this new color. It’s not surprising since the Midnight color will match the second-generation HomePod, which comes in White as well. It’s been a while since the HomePod mini got a proper refresh since its launch in November 2020.
The new HomePod mini color way is a cheeky teaser amidst the rumors of Apple working on a HomePod with a display. 9to5Mac reportedly found mentions of touchscreen interface references in a beta build of tvOS. That corraborates with the hints that Mark Gurman dropped in February this year about the HomePod with a touchscreen display. However, there was no word on whether it would be rectangular like an iPad or circular.
Apple prototype leaker called Kosutami has already shared images of the next HomePod, codenamed B720, with a circular display on the top. While such an HomePod may not be ready for release this year, you can certainly expect it to hit after the company rolls out Apple Intelligence to its existing product lineup.
HomPod with a circular convex display on top certainly seems interesting, but doesn’t give a clear hints on what can one do with that display on top. Whether it’ll just perform a color blends or pop colors on the tunes, remains to be seen. However, Apple is missing out on a smart speaker with display offering that will compete with likes of Google Nest Hub of Amazon Echo Show 5. Both the latter products have a rectangular display and that might be the last thing Apple would want to add to the crowded smart hub speaker segment.
The HomePod mini in Midnight will cost the same $99 as other color options and is already available to pre-order from the Apple Online store and the Apple Store app.
