Image credit: Apple
Apple has introduced HomeView, a 7-inch smart display with a speaker in its base that Apple is aiming at the same kitchen counter where an Amazon Echo Show or a Google Nest Hub would usually go. You can pre-order it now for $299 in silver, starlight, rose pink, or space gray, ahead of its November 13 release. A wall-mounted version costs the same, plus a Schneider Home mount starting at $59.95.
The part I find most interesting is how HomeView handles being a shared screen. It can recognize up to six people in a household by face, with each person getting their own Home Screen, apps, and widgets. When it recognizes you, it can pull up your Messages, Calendar, Reminders, and Find My, and when it doesn't, it'll fall back to a household view with shared photos and music that guests can use as well.
Apple says your personal content only shows up when the display has recognized your face and your paired iPhone or iPad is nearby and has been unlocked recently. I think that's a sensible way to handle it, and Apple is generally trustworthy on privacy, though I still have some reservations about a camera on the kitchen counter that is always looking for faces. I'm not sure I'd use the personalization much myself, but a busy household likely would.
What Siri AI needs from your phone
HomeView comes with Siri AI, the new version of Siri, as a beta in HomeView software version 27.2. Without an Apple Intelligence iPhone or iPad in the house, you get the basics, meaning general questions, back-and-forth conversation, and music recommendations. The personal stuff, such as pulling up your calendar or acting on a message, needs an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad paired with the display.
I think that's not ideal, since HomeView should be able to offer the full Siri AI experience without needing another Apple device nearby. However, it's likely a non-issue for a lot of folks since most buyers will have Apple devices anyway. I think it just increases the pressure of updating to the newer hardware if you want the full experience, and that cost is outside of the HomeView's price, which isn't great.
Image credit: Apple
What you can and can't do on it
The entertainment side covers Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple News, Apple TV, and FaceTime. Apple also mentions "compatible third-party audio and video apps," some of which will need a paired iPhone nearby, but it hasn't said whether HomeView will have an App Store of its own or which third-party apps will be on it at launch. If I were putting a screen in my kitchen, I'd have hoped for more apps than I'm seeing here.
In comparison, Amazon's Echo Show 8 (currently $121.54 on Amazon) will play Netflix, and Google's Nest Hub ($99.99) will let you cast from your phone. That said, I understand why Apple went this way. Letting HomeView run everything would likely turn it into an iPad you chuck into the kitchen, and keeping it simple probably makes sense for most people, even if it's not quite what I'd have wanted. I do expect more apps to come to it in the future, though.
The smart home side is where HomeView does the most. You can view up to nine camera feeds at once and control lights, locks, and thermostats by touch or voice. It'll also act as the home hub for Apple Home Collection, the new line of LG and Schneider Electric cameras, locks, and thermostats that Apple announced alongside it. HomeView won’t be sold in the European Union because Siri AI isn’t available on the iPhone there yet.
