HomePod mini heads to Africa next week

HomePod Mini
(Image credit: Stephan Warwick / iMore)

The company has confirmed that Apple's HomePod mini is coming to Africa for the first time on December 19.

The smart speaker is already being sold in Norway and Sweden before the Christmas holidays, and now South Africans will join in when the diminutive smart speaker goes on sale for the first time.

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Interestingly, Apple's press release confirming the HomePod mini's arrival doesn't give a price for the speaker, and there is currently no listing in the South African Apple Store either.

Apple has at least confirmed that all five HomePod mini colors would be available for South Africans to choose from, including white, space gray, blue, orange, and yellow. All colors come with matching mesh coverings, backlit touch interfaces, and a braided power cable.

The speaker will be identical to the one on sale in other countries worldwide, including the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and many more. The HomePod mini will also go on sale in Denmark in the spring of 2023, Apple has confirmed — but no definite release date has been offered, and it isn't clear why there is such a delay, either.

The HomePod mini offers hands-free Siri control and support for AirPlay which means it can be used with a wide range of devices. Apple also points out that it can be paired with the Apple TV 4K to deliver "a powerful sound experience with great range."

Apple also points out that the "HomePod mini utilizes 99% recycled rare earth elements, with the neodymium magnet in the speaker driver utilizing 100% recycled rare earth elements." In addition, the mesh covering is also made from more than 90% recycled plastic.

The HomePod mini will be available via Apple and Apple Authorized Resellers across South Africa starting December 19.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.