Apple launches HomeView, its first smart display for the home
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Apple has introduced the HomeView, its first smart display, as the centrepiece of a broader push into connected home products. The device combines a screen, speaker and Siri voice assistant for household information, video calls and smart home controls, and can act as a hub for Apple Home and compatible Matter devices.
HomeView costs $299 and launches in eight countries, including the UK; preorders are open, with shipping due to start on 13 November. It has a seven-inch square screen, customisable clock, photo and widget displays, and a 12-megapixel FaceTime camera. Personal information drawn from messages, calendars and emails requires facial recognition and a compatible iPhone on the same network; Apple is also launching cameras, thermostats and a door lock.
- Apple’s first smart display costs $299.
- HomeView can control Apple Home and Matter devices.
- Shipping begins on 13 November in eight countries.
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A smart display combines a screen and speaker with a voice assistant, letting people control connected devices and ask for information from one place. Apple’s Home app is used to manage compatible lights, thermostats and other household devices; Matter is a shared standard intended to help smart-home products from different manufacturers work together.
HomeView brings these functions together with Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, and can also be used for tasks such as video calls and following recipes. Its links to messages, calendars and email depend on a compatible iPhone on the same network, so some features are tied to Apple’s wider range of devices.
Full account
Apple has introduced HomeView, its first smart display for the home. The seven-inch device combines a square screen with a speaker base and is intended as a place to check information, manage connected devices and make video calls. Apple is positioning it as a central point for its smart-home system, as well as a new way to use Siri.
The screen can show photos, clocks and customisable widgets, including controls for lights, climate and cameras. It can also present recipes, support FaceTime calls with Center Stage and display camera footage. One report says HomeView can show as many as nine live video feeds at once. Its camera can identify up to six users and bring up personalised profiles; Apple says personal information from apps such as Messages and Calendar requires a compatible iPhone or iPad linked to the user.
Apple also describes Siri as able to answer general questions and control devices through voice or touch. With a compatible Apple Intelligence device, it can draw on personal context to surface information or take actions across apps. Apple says requests may be processed on the device or through Private Cloud Compute, where data is not stored or made available to Apple. For camera alerts and video descriptions, the company says a supported iCloud+ subscription is required and footage is end-to-end encrypted.
HomeView has an LCD display with automatic brightness adjustment, mounted on a stainless-steel hinge above a compact speaker base. It can serve as a smart-home hub, Matter controller and Thread border router. The Verge account gives a US price of $299 and says pre-orders are open, with shipping due to begin on 13 November; it lists availability in eight countries, including the UK. A separate report says wall mounting requires an additional mount, starting at $60, and a specific model offered in two colours.
Where outlets differ
The Verge account focuses on the device’s design, display modes and intended everyday uses, and says its reporter had seen a demonstration but had not yet tried it. The other report foregrounds Apple’s claims about multi-user recognition, Siri, privacy and camera features.
The Verge report gives the $299 price, the eight launch countries and the 13 November shipping date. The second report adds technical display details and the extra cost and colour restrictions for wall mounting, but the supplied excerpt does not state its own launch price or date.
The reports describe personal-context access with slightly different device requirements: the first specifies an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone on the same network, while the second refers to a compatible iPhone or iPad linked to a profile.