Amazon and Google have owned the kitchen counter for nearly a decade, and Apple’s pretty much sat on the sideline that entire time. The company watched the Echo Show and Nest Hub define an entire category, but we knew that HomePods weren’t going to be the end of Apple’s home story.
And that silence has officially ended at today’s “Welcome home” event in New York, where the brand unveiled its first smart display, the Apple HomeView.
Shades of the iMac G4
If the silhouette looks familiar, that’s probably because it should. A 7-inch Liquid Retina screen tilting on a stainless steel hinge above a domed aluminum speaker feels a whole lot like a loving miniature of 2002’s iMac G4 – and we’re not mad about it either.
The tabletop model comes in four finishes, with a slimmer wall-mounted version in two. And the screen scales from 500 nits in a sunlit kitchen all the way down to 0.3 nits, the dimmest any Apple display has ever gone, so it can sit on a nightstand without keeping you up at 2am.
It Knows Who’s Asking
Simply walk up to the device and HomeView will instantly recognize your face. It supports up to six household members, and each person will get their own Home Screen, Messages, Calendar, and widgets. Meanwhile, the A18 chip quarantines camera and mic data in hardware that Apple claims it cannot access.
Running the show is Siri AI, the rebuilt-from-scratch assistant, though the deeper personal-context trick will require an Apple Intelligence iPhone nearby. Naturally, it also serves as the command deck for the new Apple Home Collection, a lineup of LG and Schneider Electric-built cameras, thermostats, and a deadbolt arriving in December.
Now For the Asterisks
Before you clear counter space, there are a few catches worth mentioning. There’s no App Store, and Apple’s own spec page quietly files the TV app, audiobooks, and Apple Music Classical under things that need an iPhone or iPad feeding them.
Oh, and the entire European Union is shut out, since Siri AI still isn’t cleared for iOS there.
Spec Sheet
Model: Apple HomeView / Apple HomeView (Wall Mounted)
Display: 7-inch Liquid Retina (1088 x 1088, 220 ppi)
Brightness: 500 nits max / 0.3 nits min
Chip: A18
Camera: 12MP Center Stage
Audio: 2x full-range drivers, down-firing woofer, dual passive radiators (tabletop)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6.0, Thread
User Recognition: Up to 6 faces
Weight: 2.1 LBs (tabletop) / 0.63 LBs (wall mounted)
Colors: Silver, Starlight, Rose Pink, Space Gray (wall mounted: Silver, Space Gray only)
Pricing & Availability
Both the tabletop and wall-mounted Apple HomeView are up for pre-order now at $299, with deliveries beginning November 13 (the wall version also needs a Schneider Home mount, starting at $59.95). Head over to Apple’s website to check it out for yourself.
Recap
Apple HomeView
Apple finally gets off the sidelines and builds a smart display of its own, with a silhouette ripped straight from the iMac G4. The $299 HomeView ships November 13.
