Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will begin mass shipments of a second-generation HomePod mini smart speaker in the second half of 2024.
In a Thursday tweet, Kuo said Apple supplier Goertek has “secured NPI and assembly orders for the HomePod mini 2, which will start mass shipments in 2H24.” NPI stands for New Production Introduction, which is a structured process for transforming a product idea into a complete end-product that can be fully reproduced.
Kuo’s prediction doesn’t quite jibe with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has said Apple is not actively working on a second-generation HomePod mini at the moment. However, Gurman does believe Apple is working on “new speakers with screens and cameras,” which could better compete with smart speakers like Google’s Nest Hub Max, Amazon’s Echo Show, and Facebook’s Portal. It’s possible Kuo may have been referring to a similar product.