Apple enters the smart display market

Apple released HomeView, its first smart display, priced at two hundred ninety-nine dollars. It resembles a giant Apple Watch on a flatter metallic HomePod Mini base.

Why not just use your iPhone?

HomeView replicates features already available on iPhones and iPads, but offers a crucial difference: it is always powered, always unlocked, and always in the same spot.

The iPad experiment failed

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, a senior reviewer with over twenty years of experience, tried using an iPad to control her smart home and run her family's calendar. It did not work well.

HomeView advantages over iPad

Most iPads are more expensive, have worse speakers, and do not like being plugged in all the time. HomeView can be a hub for Apple Home. HomeView offers Apple's first crack at easy multiuser switching.

A device that stays put

Apple designed HomeView as a communal device that sits in a fixed place in the home.

Market demand for shared displays

Millions of Echo Shows, Google Nest Hubs, Skylight Calendars, and similar devices are in homes today, indicating strong interest in this type of interface for families.

HomeView as a video phone

HomeView can receive calls from family members outside the home. If a daughter is home but her phone is dead or on silent, a parent's call can now ring on the HomeView.

Replacing phones at the dinner table

HomeView fills the space where families do not want phones at the dinner table but still want to check what time a soccer game is or look up information quickly.

No ads, longer lifespan

Apple's HomeView comes without ads, unlike the Echo Show. It may have a longer lifespan than competitors like the Pixel Tablet, which was discontinued.

Siri AI and personal context

Siri AI can scan text messages and emails to serve relevant information to up to six members of a household. This personal context capability gives HomeView an edge over competitors.

Why Apple chose now

Kaiann Drance, vice president of product marketing for home at Apple, said Siri AI and its personal context capabilities, which she called Apple's privacy story, came together with a device designed specifically for the home.

“With the magic of Siri AI, it comes together in a way that we haven't been able to deliver before.”

Siri AI does not ask too many questions

Lilian Rincon, vice president of product marketing for AI at Apple, confirmed that Siri AI in HomeView does what you ask without peppering you with follow-up questions, unlike many other assistants.

“We're there to get it done, take an action for you, show you what you need to get done, and then really get out of the way.”

Simplicity over advanced features

HomeView's smart home features are basically what the Apple Home app on your phone can do. Pattison Tuohy had hoped for more functionality and deeper Apple Intelligence integration, but is okay with this for now.

The smart home's real goal

Apple trying to make the smart home easier for everyone to use can only be a good thing.

Perfect for families who resist tech

HomeView's simplicity may put off hardcore home automation enthusiasts, but it is perfect for their long-suffering spouses. Pattison Tuohy's family has not used any of her previous smart home control interfaces.

The device Apple needed to make

HomeView may not be the smart home computer Pattison Tuohy wants Apple to make, but it is the smart home device Apple needed to make.