On this week's episode of the Smart Home Insider podcast, your host reviews the HomePod mini 2 and breaks down the massive new Amazon home lineup.

After a six-year hiatus, HomePod mini 2 is here with a handful of new features. Unfortunately, upgraded audio isn't on that list.

The new HomePod mini 2 can be used as a dedicated Mac speaker or in a four-speaker array for Apple TV 4K. It has a new, faster S10 processor and faster Wi-Fi 6E.

Unfortunately, the biggest new feature, Siri AI, isn't available at launch. That's the biggest catch, and makes the new device feel incomplete.

If you do pick up the updated small HomePod, it will at least be quicker. The S10 helps the speaker answer you faster, transfer audio quicker, and overall act more responsive.

In other news, Amazon held an event in New York City where it took the wraps off its latest smart home devices. On the heels of the Apple HomeView announcement, Amazon announced five products of its own.

We walk through each of them, including the Echo Dot, Echo Time, Echo Show 16, Echo Studio with Home Camera, and the Alexa Photo Frame.

These devices, all of which support Matter and Thread, are available now, except the Echo Show 16, which is coming later in 2026.

Outside of Amazon and Apple, Matic announced a new robot vacuum. The Matic Serene is 20% quieter and users can pay to upgrade their existing bot.

SwitchBot has a new AI art frame. The SwitchBot AI Art Frame 2 has increased on-device storage and comes preloaded with several existing pieces of artwork.

Signify has updated the Philips Hue app with the previously-announced AI-powered automations. With this, users can describe what they want to happen and the AI assistant will craft the automation for you.

Finally, Ecobee has a new AI home summary feature. It gives you a daily summary of your home's security, comfort, the weather, and equipment operation and is free for existing users.

Those interested in sponsoring the show can reach out to us at [email protected]

Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask it, and our latest Smart Home Insider episode too. If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.