Apple today introduced Apple HomeView, designed to be central to the home and personal to everyone in it. With a stunning 7-inch Liquid Retina display, HomeView brings entertainment, connection, and smart home management together in one place, from playing music and making FaceTime calls to home monitoring and hands-free automations with voice control — all designed with privacy and security at the core. HomeView recognizes users by their faces, adapting so they can access their personal content in Messages, FaceTime, Calendar, Reminders, and Find My. HomeView features Siri AI, an entirely new version of Siri that’s profoundly more capable and conversational, with broad world knowledge that powers richer music discovery and onscreen awareness. When paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled device, it can also draw on a user’s personal context, such as their Calendar, Messages, and relevant information across their apps, to provide more helpful, personalized responses.
I kid, of course. HomeView is not just an iPad mini on a swivel.
It’s also wall-mountable.
You’ll forgive my joshing here. My initial reaction upon watching the oddly chaotic three-minute intro video was but why? Why wasn’t this an iPad, mini or otherwise? Those are more portable and therefore more useful in more places.
(Okay… okay, yeah, I hear it. “Less portable, more purchases.”)
My initial reaction was immediately replaced with I must have this! It’s cute and fun and, at $300, right on the edge of why not?
I have no need for one. I don’t often use an iPad in my kitchen. I’m not generally checking my calendar or taking FaceTime calls from there, and the HomePod minis currently deployed in every room handle my ambient Siri needs. (Though not Siri AI, which HomeView supports, and indeed, seems designed around.)
And yet.
The design is reminiscent of the Apple iMac G4, known variously as the “sunflower” or “lamp” computer, and endearingly anthropomorphized in one of Apple’s most adorable ads. I have two of them. They’re beautiful objects.
(I hope Apple eventually pays homage to that ad. Alas, there’s no “tongue” for HomeView to stick out.)
The lack of a battery means HomeView is limited in where it can go. Having a power cable running across your kitchen counter is also not terribly appealing. A charging base would have been an interesting option: HomeView could mostly sit in one place, but could be moved to a more convenient location as needed.
(It’s powered by a removable USB-C cable, so it can be unplugged and moved. If it boots instantaneously, that could be a reasonable alternative, but it means, for example, ending a FaceTime call if you want to continue it in the living room.)
The most compelling feature was multiuser support. Up to six faces can be recognized by the Center Stage camera to unlock personal content. Because HomeView doesn’t have Face ID, it instead uses device proximity, as John Gruber learned:
But in order for users to be recognized — by voice or face — they must have a “registered personal device” that supports Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, that device must be present on the home’s Wi-Fi network, and it must have been recently unlocked. […]
Effectively, your iPhone or iPad serves as a second factor to securely identify you.
I can only hope that Apple is now motivated to bring multiuser functionality to iPad and iPhone.
HomeView is $299 for the swivel model in one of four colors (Silver, Starlight, Rose Pink, and Space Gray) and $299 plus the cost of a mounting base for the wall-mountable model (which comes in only Silver and Space Gray). Mounting options include USB-C ($60), AC wired ($80), and Power over Ethernet ($130). PoE is not yet available for purchase.
(Yes, I also find it odd that the wall-mounted version, which lacks the base, swivel, and down-firing woofer, is the more expensive option.)
Preorders are open now, and HomeView is available November 13.
Unless you’re in the European Union, that is:
Apple HomeView is not available for sale in the European Union, as Siri AI is currently unavailable in iOS in the EU. Apple is working constructively with the EU in an attempt to find a path forward.
That must sting.