Apple's HomePod and HomePod mini could launch in Israel soon

A white Homepod alongside two homepod minis, one white one blue

(Image credit: Future / iMore)

Apple fans in Israel could get a new smart speaker or two to choose from sooner rather than later, according to a new report.

That report suggests that Apple is getting ready to announce the 2nd-gen HomePod and HomePod mini for sale in Israel, with the company having already added Hebrew language support to iOS 16.6's latest Release Candidate update.

In fact, we're also told that some people are already testing the speakers in the country.

Music to more ears

This is according to the Israeli outlet The Verifier, which says that some people are already part of an experimental program and have received a HomePod mini to test Siri support with.

The report suggests that Apple's very latest iOS 16.6 beta includes support for the Hebrew language in Siri and the HomePod.

Apple refreshed the HomePod with the second generation earlier this year while the current HomePod mini is still the only model that has ever been released. The model arrived in 2020 and has gone largely unchanged ever since, although new colors have been added to the mix since.

Apple's HomePods are among some of the best smart home speakers around, although they aren't without their problems. The main issue is of course Siri and its lack of smarts when compared to some of the competition from Google and Amazon. Apple is reportedly working on new AI tools and we can hope that Apple will improve Siri's capabilities as a result.

Looking to pick up a new Apple smart speaker? Be sure to check out our collection of the best HomePod deals before you place your order. Looking for a simple Bluetooth speaker instead? There are plenty of very popular Bluetooth speakers to be had, too.

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.