The S10 chip, which first appeared in the Apple Watch Series 10, enables several new tricks. The speaker can listen for sounds such as a smoke alarm and send a phone notification, a capability Alexa devices have offered for years. Its top surface also doubles as a display of sorts: a feature called Sound Glow arranges the LEDs to mimic album artwork and pulse in time with the music, and soundscapes like rain or ocean waves can trigger animations too.

Siri AI integration is coming, but only through a future update, and Apple did not say when. The company says the new assistant will handle multi-turn conversations. In the meantime, the speaker works more closely with Apple's other devices: four units can form a surround system with the new Apple TV 4K, and they can serve as the default speakers for a Mac, for video calls or music, so long as the Mac supports Wi-Fi 6E.