iOS 16.6 Hints at HomePod and HomePod Mini Launching in Israel Soon

Apple will likely release the second-generation HomePod and the HomePod mini in Israel soon, as the iOS 16.6 Release Candidate adds Hebrew support for Siri on the HomePod, according to Israeli website The Verifier. Apple does not have an online store or retail stores in Israel, so the speakers would be sold at authorized resellers in the country.

The website notes that Apple has been allowing select users in Israel to test Hebrew support for Siri on HomePods, which is something it has done before in some other countries where the speakers eventually launched. It's unclear exactly when HomePods will launch in Israel, but availability will likely begin in the coming months.

Apple first released the HomePod mini in October 2020 in the U.S. and select other countries, and the speaker and has not received any major hardware upgrades since. New color options launched in November 2021, and the speaker's temperature and humidity sensor was enabled earlier this year. The second-generation HomePod launched in January, nearly two years after Apple had discontinued the original full-sized model.

Apple launched the HomePod and HomePod mini in Chile, Singapore, and Denmark earlier this year, and in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and South Africa late last year.