Lossless Audio on HomePod mini
As promised, the HomePod mini will also be gaining support for lossless audio later this year. While the AirPlay 2 protocol technically has more than enough bandwidth to handle standard Lossless Audio, the problem seems to be that Apple sends audio over AirPlay 2 using the lossy 256kbps AAC codec. Presumably, the next HomePod, iOS, and tvOS updates will change this to use a lossless codec.
Whether you’ll be able to actually hear lossless audio on a HomePod mini is another question, but at least Apple is checking the box for those who want to ensure that the only limitation in their audio fidelity is the speaker itself.