Cheap Apple HomePod could launch with Beats branding

Apple’s HomePod has only been out a few months, but if reports from Taiwan's Economic Daily News and Japanese blog Mac Otakara (via MacRumours) are to be believed, a second device could be about to arrive.

Rumours suggest that cheaper versions of an iPad, iPhone and MacBook Air are on the way, and that a smaller, more affordable version of the HomePod – unofficially dubbed the HomePod Mini – “is forecast to launch in the second half of 2018". It estimates that it could be priced between $150-$200 (£100-£150).

Even more interesting is the potential association with Apple's Beats by Dre brand. Asian website Sina has reported that Apple’s ‘low-priced version of its HomePod smart speaker’ will be attached to the Beats brand, which Apple acquired in 2014. Any forthcoming Beats smart speaker would sit alongside the Pill in the brand's wireless speaker line-up.

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Becky is a hi-fi, AV and technology journalist, formerly the Managing Editor at What Hi-Fi? and Editor of Australian Hi-Fi and Audio Esoterica magazines. With over twelve years of journalism experience in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices.

In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.