Apple has officially unveiled HomeView, its latest attempt to become the centre of our increasingly connected homes. The new smart home display is available to pre-order in Australia from today, 14 October, priced at $449, with the first units arriving on Friday, 13 November.
Now that John Ternus has taken the reins as Apple’s new boss, it seems the Cupertino-based company is ready to ramp things up with innovation it’s been sitting on for quite a while. We already saw a massive leap forward with the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first-ever foldable, and now the HomeView shows that the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer is galloping full speed into a new future.
And while Apple is promising a substantially smarter Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, we’re particularly taken by the design of this thing. HomeView looks like a supersized Apple Watch screen perched on a handsome little speaker, with a genuinely gorgeous form factor that could make it one of Apple’s most attractive products in years.
The 7-inch Liquid Retina display is attached to a domed aluminium speaker base by an adjustable stainless steel hinge. Available in silver, starlight, rose pink and space grey, it’s remarkably pleasing on the eyes and looks purpose-built for the kind of minimalist interiors Apple has always favoured. There’s also a wall-mounted version for the same price.
A smarter Siri could change everything
Of course, the real selling point is Siri AI, Apple’s long-awaited overhaul of its voice assistant. Powered by Apple Intelligence, the new Siri promises more natural conversations and a much better understanding of context, potentially addressing years of frustration with Apple’s existing smart home ecosystem.
HomeView can recognise up to six household members through facial recognition, automatically switching between personalised home screens. When paired with a compatible iPhone or iPad, Siri can also draw on information from Messages and Calendar to provide more useful responses, with Apple emphasising its privacy protections.
Beyond answering questions, HomeView doubles as a smart home dashboard. Users can control compatible lights and locks, monitor security cameras and manage other connected devices without constantly reaching for their phones. It can even display nine camera feeds simultaneously.
There’s plenty here for entertainment lovers, too. Apple Music supports animated album artwork and lyrics, while a custom speaker system with Spatial Audio should make HomeView a capable little music player. FaceTime with Centre Stage is supported, alongside Apple TV and compatible third-party apps.
One of the more useful applications is in the kitchen, where HomeView can turn online recipes into step-by-step instructions, complete with hands-free timers. And given that this is a device designed to sit in some of the most private spaces in our homes, Apple has put considerable thought into security.
Perhaps the smartest part of HomeView is how it handles the fact that a household isn’t always a private space. You could have friends over for dinner, for example, without worrying about your personal messages suddenly appearing on a screen everyone can see. Apple has designed HomeView to recognise who’s standing in front of it, only revealing sensitive information when that person’s paired iPhone or iPad is nearby and has recently been unlocked. It’s a thoughtful approach to something that’s often overlooked with smart home technology, particularly as AI becomes increasingly involved in our everyday routines.
Apple has also borrowed a clever idea from the Apple Watch, introducing customisable display faces, including an animated Snoopy option. The screen automatically adjusts its brightness and changes the amount of information displayed depending on how far away you’re standing.
Wait, isn’t this just Google Nest Hub with Apple branding
Not really.
Google’s Nest Hub is primarily a shared household display. Apple’s HomeView takes that concept further by recognising individual household members and adapting what appears on screen.
Both devices can control compatible smart home products, play music and provide information. But HomeView introduces several features that could make it particularly attractive to households already invested in Apple’s ecosystem. And honestly, it looks more attractive.
Apple HomeView’s Australian price is very reasonable
Priced at A$449, HomeView enters an established market dominated by Amazon and Google. But with its beautiful design and potentially transformative Siri upgrade, this looks like it might be a home run for Apple, particularly if it finally delivers the seamless smart home experience we’ve been waiting for.
More information about the Apple HomeView can be found on the Apple website.
