Apple HomeView Hands-On: It’s Pretty Damn Cute, but Do You Need One?

My very first response after laying eyes on Apple’s brand-new HomeView wise home center is that it’s sooo smol. My reservation was: gosh, it’s kawaii.

Apple’s style chops were on complete display screen at the HomeView (and HomePod mini 2 and Apple television 4K 4th generation) launching occasion today. With a style with tones of the renowned iMac G4 and its half-domed base and tilting screen, the HomeView reveals even an item classification as dull as the clever home can be laughed at– or a minimum of look the part.

First take a look at the Apple HomeView! pic.twitter.com/PJB0kQdU6y

— Ray Wong(@raywongy)October 13, 2026

As anticipated from Apple, the gadget feels really superior. It may be the first-rate clever home center or wise display screen developed to rest on kitchen area counters and islands that I’ve ever utilized, and I’ve attempted practically all of them. The HomeView makes wise centers like the Amazon Echo Show 10 and Google Nest Hubs seem like low-cost scrap.

The 7-inch square Liquid Retina display screen is linked to its aluminum base with a stainless-steel neck that tilts up and down. It was formerly reported that the HomeView would tilt and rotate and even transfer to deal with an acknowledged user utilizing its integrated video camera, however it just tilts up and down by hand. You’ll require to physically turn the gadget if you desire it to deal with another instructions. The bright side is that the tilting is smooth as butter. There’s little resistance, and you can do it with one finger pressing on the leading or bottom of the screen. The braided, color-matched cable televisions are a great touch.

© Raymond Wong/ Gizmodo

I had my doubts that the speaker on the HomeView would sound excellent. Nope, it sounds actually great. I listened to a HomeView at 100 % volume streaming music from Apple Music, and the nightstand that it rested on rattled. The bass was deep, and I didn’t hear any distortion. Apple promotes the bass action thanks to a down-firing woofer and 2 force-cancelling passive radiators in the base. I didn’t get to listen to the wall-mounted variation of the HomeView, however it does not have the exact same speakers. Rather, it has”2 custom-made chauffeurs and computational audio tuned particularly for on-wall positioning. “It’ll be intriguing to hear a contrast in between the 2 variations.

© Raymond Wong/ Gizmodo

Among my fans asked if there is USB-C port on the bottom of the wall-mounted variation. There isn’t. There are just speaker grilles on the bottom of the screen. The USB-C cable television links through the back of the wall-mounted HomeView, and you’ll require to wire it through your wall. And speaking of USB-C cable televisions, the cable television is just 1.5 meters (about 5 feet)for both variations, which might show tough if an outlet runs out reach. In all the systems Apple had resting on cooking area islands, there was a hole drilled into the counter to tuck the wires away.

Okay, enough about the hardware. How does the damn clever center work? Type of like a huge Apple Watch, if I’m being sincere. The HomeView runs its own os called “HomeView software application” and counts on Apple Intelligence and Siri AI to show your individual information. It does not have any integrated storage to keep anything. It shows a relative’s individual information through face and voice acknowledgment and distance when combined Apple Intelligence-enabled gadgets like an iPhone and Apple Watch.

No welcomed participants at Apple’s”Welcome Home “occasion might try the face or voice acknowledgment, however I viewed an Apple representative show the function a number of times with their already-paired gadgets. A minimum of in Apple’s completely tricked-out town home, all of the functions worked perfectly. I saw a FaceTime call, video footage from numerous linked video doorbells and security video cameras, and dishes which contained timers that you might tap and release a countdown for.

© Raymond Wong/ Gizmodo

What I did get to experiment with were the various clocks. It works practically precisely like an Apple Watch. I might swipe left and right to change in between various clock deals with, consisting of a cute Snoopy-themed one.(I am likewise a substantial sucker for Peanuts in addition to Pokémon.)To tailor the clock with various widgets, colors, and designs, I just long-pressed the clock face to open the modification user interface, which– once again– works like it does on an Apple Watch. I likewise got to tap and swipe through a few of the HomeView screens under Apple’s guidance.

The HomeView software application felt extremely smooth and responsive. That should not be unexpected considering that the gadget is powered by an A18 chip. The video quality from the 12-megapixel Center Stage cam looked more than sufficient, and the audio quality sounded clear and distortion-free.

Firsf take a look at the Apple Home Collection of clever home gadgets developed by Apple in collab with Lg and Schneider pic.twitter.com/EysYAHrlMk

— Ray Wong (@raywongy) October 13, 2026

I likewise got to have a look at numerous of the “Apple Home Collection” clever home gadgets from LG and Schneider Electric. As gotten out of gadgets co-designed by Apple, they all have an extremely smooth and minimalist style to them without any additional flourishes. Easy and tidy is the appearance. They’re likewise kinda costly.

I’ll require to invest actual time with a HomeView plugged into my home and linked to clever home gadgets, however Apple has actually definitely made a declaration here. Sure, it’s simply a tiny kiosk for managing your home at the end of the day, and the capability to communicate individual details like calendar occasions, notes, messages, suggestions, pictures, music, and more based upon the acknowledged member of the family is cool. Is it $299 cool? That depends upon whether you own a home to truly make complete usage of the HomeView and whether you got the dough to invest into wise home gadgets for it to manage. Apartment or condo occupants like myself may discover less energy from it even if it’s a cutie-patooty gadget.

Pre-orders for the HomeView start today, it does not come out till Nov. 13. You’ve got a month to choose if you require a clever home or not, or if you have one, whether you wish to change far from whatever platform you’re presently utilizing.