Summary
- Apple's HomeView features a 7-inch Liquid Retina on a HomePod mini-style base, an A18 chip, and Siri AI for personalized smart-home control.
- Features include face and voice recognition, a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera, and Handoff.
- The HomeView costs $300, with pre-orders launching October 15th and availability starting November 1st.
- The wall-mounted model lacks a speaker base but is also $300.
After years of rumors, Apple has finally revealed its take on a smart home display: the HomeView. The Echo Show and Nest Hub-like touchscreen device acts as a hub for various HomeKit-enabled smart home devices, as well as a place to control music, podcasts, and more. Amazon launched the Echo Show in 2017, and Google released the Nest Hub in 2021, so, to some extent, this is Apple playing catch-up with its key competitors.
Unsurprisingly, Apple says HomeView was built with Siri AI in mind and that the device can adapt to which family member is using it, "drawing on personal context" from their iPhone or iPad, with apps like Messages, FaceTime, Calendar, Reminders, and Find My.
The key draw is the 7-inch square Liquid Retina display, paired with a HomePod mini-like base that features a down-firing woofer, two force-canceling passive radiators, and two full-range drivers. A stainless steel hinge connects the display to the base, letting you adjust the viewing angle. The smart home device runs on the A18, the same chip featured in the 2024 iPhone 16.
To me, the tabletop version of the HomeView looks like a square-shaped iPad mini attached to a HomePod mini. There's also a wall-mounted option without the speaker base that offers the same overall functionality (strangely, it costs the same). Neither version has buttons; you can only interact with the smart home device via touchscreen or voice.
The HomeView can hit 500 nits of max brightness and drop to 0.3 nits, the lowest Apple has ever offered on any device. This means that the smart home device will likely work well on a nightstand. HomeView's passive screens, which you can customize with photos, clock designs, and art, are called faces. In a way, the overall look of its operating system reminds me a lot of a mix of watchOS and iPadOS.
Apple says the HomeView was built with security and personalization in mind
The HomeView costs $300 and releases on November 13th
The top of the HomeView features a 12-megapixel FaceTime camera with Center Stage for taking video calls. It's also compatible with native iOS apps like Calendar and Weather. It seems to work like CarPlay, where your most-used apps automatically show up on the menu so you can access them easily. Like the HomePod and HomePod mini, the HomeView supports Handoff, letting you transfer audio to the device. Safari also has a new recipe mode, giving users a more easy-to-follow format designed specifically for HomeView.
Lastly, Apple emphasizes that HomeView uses facial and voice recognition to identify who is using the device and offers a personalized interface and apps. Additionally, if you walk away from the HomeView and someone else comes over and tries to use it, Apple says they'll be greeted with a lock screen.
One key question surrounding HomeView is whether it's actually more capable than an iPad sitting on a stand on a kitchen counter. At least at the outset, that doesn't seem to be the case, though the user-awareness Apple is touting could push it over the edge in some ways. It's also still unclear if third-party iOS apps can run on the HomeView.
The HomeView is available to pre-order in Silver, Starlight, Rose Pink, and Space Gray for $300 on October 15th, with availability launching on November 13th. Oddly, the wall-mounted HomeView is also priced at $300, even though it doesn't include the speaker base. The tech giant also revealed the refreshed Apple TV 4K (4th-gen) with built-in far-field microphones for Siri AI integration and the HomePod mini 2, which now features the S10 chip.
