Apple launches first smart display ‘HomeView’ that’s like an iPad for your house

Apple has launched the “HomeView”, an entirely new product that represents a new push into the smart home.

The product is something like an iPad that is meant to live in your house. It consists of a display, mounted on a base that includes speakers, that is plugged in and switched on all the time.

Apple says that it will be primarily a way to interact with its new and overhauled Siri. But its screen can also be used to play music, see information and control other smart devices around the home.

The HomeView arrives alongside new versions of the HomePod Mini and Apple TV, both of which are also updated to allow them to use that AI-powered version of the smart assistant. The Apple TV now also includes a microphone so that users can speak to the box rather than the remote, and the HomePod Mini gets a new “SoundGlow” feature that matches the lights on its top with the album art of the playing song.

The HomeView is the first of Apple’s smart home devices to feature a display, but it competes with similar products from rival companies such as Google’s Nest Hub and a variety of Amazon Echo devices that have screens. Apple suggested that its product stands out because of its commitment to privacy and security as well as its integration with the company’s other products and services, such as the ability to see messages from a linked iPhone.

The company also stressed the ways that it is able to personalise itself according to who is standing in front of it. While it will show some information at all times – such as the ability to start listening to music – the camera is also able to recognise up to six individual people and only show their data such as messages when it does.

The HomeView is made up of a 7-inch display, something like a rounded iPad, that is connected to a rounded speaker base on an arm that allows it to be moved up and down. Apple will also sell a wall-mounted version without the speakers, it said.

It will cost $299 or the same in pounds, and will be available to buy from 13 November. It comes in four different colours: silver, a slightly gold colour that Apple calls starlight, rose pink and space grey.

Apple has been rumoured to be working on a home device for years, but reports have suggested that it has been held back by delays on integrating new AI tools into Siri. The entirely overhauled version of the virtual assistant was released along with new iPhones last month, and is integrated into the HomeView.

As with all versions of Siri, the HomeView is able to answer questions both about the world but also pulling from its users’ personal context. If it is paired with an iPhone or iPad that has what the company calls Apple Intelligence, then users can talk to the HomeView and have it take action across apps on those linked devices, such as pulling information from the Messages app or calendar.

As well as representing Apple’s attempt to break into the smart home after a number of largely unremarkable launches, the HomeView is also another part of the company’s strategy of bringing its virtual assistant into more parts of its users’ lives. During the iPhone launch last month, new chief executive John Ternus laid out a strategy to build personal AI around an “intelligent personal hub” in the iPhone.

Mr Ternus is also reported to be pushing Apple to both push into new kinds of devices and launch unusual versions of its existing products. The launch of the HomeView comes just days ahead of the release of the iPhone Duo – Apple’s first folding device and the most significant redesign of its flagship product since it was launched – and the company is also rumoured to be releasing its first touchscreen Mac later this month.

The HomeView also borrows from the Apple Watch, in allowing users to select from a variety of different “faces” for the clock that will show when it is not in use. They include design-led or Snoopy-focused ones that simply show the time, as well as faces that pull from users’ photo library to rotate through pictures.

The camera that is used to recognise people around the house can also be used a FaceTime camera to make calls to others. It also includes an intercom feature that lets it talk both to other smart home devices – such as HomePods and other HomeViews – as well as personal devices such as iPhones.

And the HomeView will link with Apple’s own services such as Apple Music and Podcasts to allow people to listen to content through the speakers, as well as working with third-party apps. Apple did not appear to position the smart display as a way of watching video, though it supports its Apple TV streaming service.

Along with the HomeView, Apple launched its “Home Collection”, a set of new smart home devices that are approved by the company but made by third-party companies LG and Schneider Electric. They include smart home cameras, thermostats and a lock that can be controlled either by pressing the screen or talking to Siri, along with other smart home devices that are supported by Apple.

“Apple HomeView is designed to be shared by everyone in the home yet feel completely personal to each user,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s marketing chief.

“It recognises your face to shift from a household screen to your own experience, fills the room with incredible sound, keeps you connected to the people who matter most with FaceTime, and makes it easy to control your smart home. And it’s powered by Apple Intelligence with Siri AI at its core, drawing on personal context from your iPhone to help you find what you need and get more done, all while keeping everyone’s information private and secure.”