Apple opened preorders for the HomeView smart home hub today.
The HomeView is a 7-inch smart display and speaker that aims to be a central access point for up to six members of a family to access and control Apple’s ecosystem of devices, apps, and the Siri generative AI chatbot.
Users can speak to HomeView to control smart home devices, such as, for example, telling Siri to close the smart blinds or activate smart locks. HomeView can also show a livestream for up to nine video feeds simultaneously.
“With a supported iCloud+ subscription, HomeView works with compatible cameras to deliver intelligent, end-to-end encrypted recognition of people, familiar faces, pets, packages, and vehicles, notifying the household the moment someone arrives at the front door. With video descriptions for HomeKit Secure Video footage, HomeView helps users quickly understand what happened in a video clip without even watching it,” Apple’s announcement said.
Competing with devices like the Amazon Echo Show, HomeView uses its integrated camera to identify who’s using it and show them their profile, which users can personalize with their preferred apps and widgets. Users can connect their HomeView profile to their Apple Intelligence-supporting iPhone or iPad and use the hub to access their Messages, Calendar, Reminders, and FaceTime.
“With an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad, Siri AI does more for each person—taking action across apps and surfacing relevant information from Messages and Calendar, playlists on Apple Music, and more by drawing on their personal context,” Apple’s announcement says.
Apple is also marketing the HomeView as a way to leverage Siri AI, including asking it about “virtually any topic.”
“With Siri AI built into HomeView, users without an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad will benefit from Siri AI’s broad world knowledge; ability to have rich, natural conversations; and improved music discovery,” Apple said.
Apple said that Siri requests can run locally or via Private Cloud Compute, where “data is not stored nor made accessible to Apple or anyone else.”
Apple’s first smart display uses a Liquid Retina (LCD) screen that Apple says has a brightness range of 0.3 to 500 nits. You can also set the screen to automatically adjust its brightness level based on how bright the room is.
“The HomeView interface intelligently adjusts based on the user’s distance, showing simpler information that’s viewable from across the room and richer detail as they step closer,” Apple’s announcement said.
The screen connects to the speaker base and tilts using a stainless steel hinge. The speaker base holds the device’s USB-C charging port.
Mounting the HomeView to a wall requires a specific model that only comes in two (instead of four) colors, space gray and silver, and paying extra (starting at $60) for the wall mounts, which Schneider Home made. Apple says that it created “two custom drivers and computational audio tuned specifically” for wall-mounted HomeViews.
Apple started taking preorders for HomeView today. It launches on November 13 for $299.
