Apple’s first smart display, HomeView, puts a small screen, speaker, and Siri AI in a device intended for shared spaces around the home. It can show photos and household information, handle video calls, and control compatible smart home devices by voice or touch.
A screen designed for everyday household tasks
The 7-inch square screen sits above a compact aluminum speaker base, connected by an adjustable stainless steel arm. Apple offers a wall-mountable version for the same $299 price, with three mounting options: plug-in, in-wall power, and in-wall PoE.
When idle, the display can show photos, clocks, Snoopy faces, or a modular layout of app widgets. A home-focused view brings controls for lights, climate, cameras, and other devices together. Users can swipe up to reach a familiar grid of Apple apps, including Messages and Apple Music.
HomeView is also meant to be useful while cooking or moving through a busy morning. It can display recipes, show calendars and reminders, take FaceTime calls with Center Stage, and present live video from HomeKit Secure Video cameras.
Siri AI and personal information
The device includes the upgraded Siri AI voice assistant, which supports natural-language requests, general knowledge questions, and access to personal context from messages, calendars, and emails. Apple’s demonstration showed Siri handling a sequence of requests, such as adding a calendar event, setting a reminder for the same day, and adding an item to a grocery list.
That personal information is subject to a privacy condition: using it requires facial recognition and an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone on the same network. In Apple’s explanation, the display can use a person’s face to determine when to show their personal context, so another household member cannot simply read their messages.
Siri’s home control has limits. It can combine requests for certain devices of the same type, such as turning on lights in two rooms, but a single command cannot combine actions across different device types, such as locking a door and adjusting a thermostat.
A smart home hub with a broader purpose
HomeView works as an Apple Home Hub, Matter controller, and Thread Border Router. It can provide local control for supported devices and support scenes, automations, and HomeKit Secure Video. Apple is launching it alongside a collection of cameras, thermostats, and a door lock designed for Apple Home.
The device’s role extends beyond smart home controls. Its supported Apple apps include Calendar, Reminders, Messages, and Music. It also supports some third-party audio apps, including Spotify and Audible, while video apps are not yet available. Apple says third-party audio and video apps can work when they support the CarPlay architecture.
That mix makes HomeView a shared place to get things done without reaching for an iPhone. The product presentation imagined a family using it to find a breakfast recipe, check the day’s schedule, take a call, and look for lost keys. In practice, its usefulness will depend on which apps and devices a household already uses.
Placement, sound, and availability
The tabletop model comes in silver, starlight, rose pink, and space grey. Its speaker system includes two drivers in the display and a woofer with two force-canceling passive radiators in the base. Initial listening suggested sound above the HomePod Mini, though below the HomePod.
The display supports True Tone and ambient light adjustment, with brightness ranging from 500 nits down to 0.3 nits. Apple says the low setting makes it suitable as a bedside clock. The screen is visible across a room, but it does not adjust as someone approaches. The device has no physical volume or power buttons, and its 12-megapixel FaceTime camera has no cover; Apple says it is used only for video calls and facial recognition.
HomeView is available in eight countries at launch: the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and India. Pre-orders are open now, with devices shipping November 13th. Whether set on a kitchen counter or mounted on a wall, the placement is likely to shape how a household uses it: for recipes and music, or as a more fixed control point for the home.