Apple unveils HomeView and new smart home devices
Apple used its Welcome Home event to expand its smart home lineup with the HomeView, updated HomePod mini 2 and Apple TV 4K, and new accessories from LG and Schneider Electric.
Radwan AbdulhadiEditor and technology writer
HomeView leads Apple’s smart home push
Apple introduced HomeView as the centerpiece of its “Welcome Home” event and its first dedicated smart home hub. The device is designed to provide a central display for controlling compatible smart home products, viewing security camera feeds and accessing information through Siri AI. It places Apple more directly in competition with products such as Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub, which have long served as visual control centers for connected homes.
HomeView has a seven-inch, square-shaped Liquid Retina touch display attached to a speaker base, although Apple will also sell a wall-mounted version. The countertop model includes two full-range drivers, a down-firing woofer and two force-canceling passive radiators. Apple says the wall-mounted version has audio tuned for that placement. The screen reaches 500 nits at maximum brightness and can dim to 0.3 nits for use in a bedroom at night.
The device uses Apple’s A18 chip and includes a 12-megapixel front-facing camera for FaceTime calls. It can recognize up to six people and switch between a shared household interface and a personalized view, giving users access to their own notifications and calendars from an iPhone or iPad. HomeView also supports customizable faces with four adjustable widgets, including weather information, favorite photos and Snoopy animations.
Siri AI and connected-home features
Apple says HomeView is powered by Apple Intelligence and has Siri AI built in. Users can begin a conversation with Siri on HomeView and continue it on another Apple device, or hand off music and recipes from an iPhone. The hub can also show smart home controls, display video from HomeKit Secure Video cameras and support music, podcasts, video streaming and cooking recipes.
The HomeView can monitor live feeds from up to nine security cameras, according to The Verge, and uses an iPhone connection for some Apple Intelligence features, including personal context and descriptions of video feeds. The device requires each household user to have an iPhone running the latest operating system. It also functions as a Matter controller and Thread Border Router, allowing it to coordinate compatible devices across Apple Home and Matter ecosystems.
Apple says it designed HomeView to keep personal information secure and separate, and stressed that it does not track or sell users’ data to others. The device costs $299 in both countertop and wall-mounted configurations. The countertop version comes in silver, starlight, rose pink and space gray, while the wall-mounted model is offered in silver and space gray. Preorders are open, with shipping scheduled to begin November 13 in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Apple TV 4K adds hands-free Siri controls
Apple also refreshed the Apple TV 4K with an A19 chip and four far-field microphones built into the set-top box. That allows users to speak to Siri hands-free without relying on the remote or a connected HomePod. Responses appear as on-screen text, and Siri can use personal context from a connected iPhone to find content, such as a show mentioned in a message from a family member.
The new box can control compatible smart home devices and pair with up to four HomePod mini 2 speakers for surround sound. Apple says the system automatically calibrates the speakers for the room. Siri can also help locate the updated Siri Remote by triggering an audio alert, while the remote supports Find My with Precision Finding.
The latest Apple TV 4K costs $299 and is available to preorder ahead of November 13 shipping. Siri AI will also be available in beta on the two most recent Apple TV 4K generations, including the models released in 2021 and 2022, in the same initial English-language markets. Apple will sell the fourth-generation Siri Remote separately, with compatibility for Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K.
HomePod mini 2 gets new colors and Sound Glow
The HomePod mini 2 uses Apple’s S10 chip, the processor also found in recent Apple Watch models. That hardware will eventually support Siri AI, although Apple says the feature will arrive through a future software update rather than at launch. The speaker costs $149 and is available to preorder, with setup beginning October 30 in regions where the original HomePod mini is sold.
The refreshed speaker retains the familiar spherical design and comes in pink, blue, green, white and midnight. Its top light display adds Sound Glow, which can match the color of album artwork and pulse with the music. HomePod mini 2 can serve as the default speaker for an iMac, and two units can be used for stereo sound. It can also work with the new Apple TV 4K for automatically calibrated room audio.
Apple Home Collection expands partner hardware
Apple announced the Apple Home Collection, a range of smart home and security hardware made with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. The collection includes a $199 indoor camera that tilts downward when users arrive home, a $299 outdoor security camera with optional motion-activated floodlights that raise the price to $399, and a $249 video doorbell.
The cameras support HomeKit Secure Video features such as detecting people, pets, packages and vehicles, along with Apple Intelligence capabilities through a connected iPhone. The collection also includes an LG door lock and two thermostats, one from LG and one from Schneider Electric.
Apple says the products use NFC to make setup similar to pairing AirPods: users approach the device with an iPhone, follow the on-screen instructions and add it automatically to the Home app. The company has not announced a release date for the Apple Home Collection, saying only that the devices are coming soon.
Sources
- EngadgetEverything announced at Apple's 'Welcome Home' event
- The VergeEverything Apple launched at its ‘Welcome Home’ event
- The VergeAll the news from Apple’s ‘Welcome home’ event
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