The Apple HomeView has been officially announced, and it is packed with features meant for a smarter home.
The HomeView is Apple’s First Ever Smart Display Powered by the A18 Chip with a 7-inch Liquid Retina display, FaceTime Camera, and More
Right off the bat, you can tell this thing takes big inspiration from the iMac G4. There’s a beautiful 7-inch Retina display connected to a domed speaker base using a stainless steel hinge. Yes, the tilt of the display can be adjusted to suit your needs.
A Bright Liquid Retina display
That display is actually quite bright, and Apple says you can expect it to hit up to 500 nits of brightness on a bright and sunny day. It goes all the way down to 0.3 nits of brightness, making it the perfect nightstand display.
Available in 4 Colors
To make sure the HomeView fits your aesthetic, it is available in four colors – silver, starlight, rose pink, and space gray. Apple says the power cable is matched to the color of the hub itself.
The wall-mountable version of the HomeView comes in two colors – space gray and silver.
HomeView Does a Lot
But the big question is: what can this new smart home hub actually do? Well, turns out, plenty of things. With support for up to 6 users at a time, the hub offers each user a personalized experience, with access to Siri AI, and Apple Intelligence.
Built for Siri AI and Apple Intelligence
The HomeView is designed with Siri AI in mind, and it takes full advantage of the display to give you rich experiences, also allowing you to take actions across multiple apps such as Messages, Calendars, Apple Music, and more.
If you a lot of silly questions to ask as well, you can chat away with HomeView and Siri AI as much as you like too.
Plenty of Cool Faces
Since it’s a display that stays on all the time, Apple is taking advantage of it by shipping several different watch faces that can easily suit the style of life you’re living.
For example, you can have the display cycle through photos, or just show a clock, maybe even have weather updates, or just show the calendar. Plenty of options you can play around with.
An Excellent Speaker
Apple says the HomeView is an exceptionally good speaker as well, and supports room-filling Spatial Audio experiences. There’s a down-firing woofer and two force-cancelling passive radiators in the base for a rich and bass-filled sound. Since there’s an A18 chip at the heart of it all, you can expect it to fine-tune the sound at all volume levels too.
Do keep one thing in mind: the wall-mounted version features two custom drivers that are designed specifically for walls. If you’re an audio enthusiast, you might want to get the version with the speaker base.
HomeView can be used to watch video, allowing users to enjoy their favorite shows and movies from Apple TV, and even third-party services. And, since you can connect the HomeView with AirPlay speakers, you can expand your audio experience around your house.
Has a Built-in FaceTime Camera with Center Stage
Now comes my favorite part: the HomeView has a built-in FaceTime camera with Center Stage, allowing you to make and take video calls right from the hub. And just like the HomePod, you can use the intercom features to broadcast audio straight to the HomeView as well.
Take Control of Your Home
If you’re a smart home enthusiast, you can access all your smart plugs, bulbs, sensors, and cameras straight from HomeView. It is meant to control everything at home and even give you what’s happening around you at a glance.
You can make the most out of HomeView if you have an iCloud+ subscription. This enables features like face recognition, AI descriptions for certain events, and so much more.
Wi-Fi 6E for Fast Connectivity
The HomeView supports 802.11ax, or more specifically Wi-Fi 6E, which means it can take advantage of the 6GHz band on your router, if there’s any. There’s Bluetooth 6.0 as well, alongside Thread networking technology.
Pre-Order Today, Shipping Next Month
You can pre-order the HomeView today, and it will start to ship on the 13th of November, giving you plenty of time to decide whether or not you want to take your smart home experience to the next level.
An Oddly Low Price
Whether you’re getting the wall-mounted version or the one with the speaker base, you only have to pay $299 for HomeView. And that price is an absolute steal, especially when you compare it to the audio-only HomePod which costs $349, and basically does nothing in terms of AI features, because there aren’t any.
If you want to learn more about HomeView, and you definitely do, then head over to this link.
And of course, there’s an official video as well:
