The best feature of Apple’s HomeView might be its simplicity
Apple’s HomeView smart display seems tailor-made for the kitchen. (That aluminum base looks like it will hold up better than my now off-white kitchen HomePod.) I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love the approach Apple has taken with the HomeView. I think it's the shared, always-available household interface that my family might finally use. Is Apple's first smart display my dream smart home dashboard?…
Key points
- Apple's $299 HomeView is a smart display designed as an always-on, shared household device.
- The author says HomeView may succeed where an iPad failed as a family smart home hub.
- Apple executives credit Siri AI's personal context for making the home experience possible now.
Apple has introduced the HomeView, a $299 smart display that the company positions as a shared, always-available household interface. The device resembles a large Apple Watch on a flatter metallic HomePod Mini and is designed to sit in a fixed spot in the home, always powered and unlocked.
Writing for The Verge, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy said the HomeView's simplicity may be its best feature. She noted that while its functions largely replicate what an iPhone or iPad can do, the dedicated device offers a better solution for shared family use.
Why a dedicated device
Tuohy wrote that her attempt to use an iPad as a wall-mounted smart home controller, family calendar and shared music device lasted several unsuccessful years. She said most iPads cost more, have worse speakers and do not tolerate being plugged in constantly, citing a warped iPad Mini as evidence.
She added that an iPad cannot serve as an Apple Home hub, while HomeView can. An iPad also is not a good multiuser device and requires staying logged in to one person's iCloud account, whereas HomeView offers Apple's first attempt at easy multiuser switching.
With the magic of Siri AI, it comes together in a way that we haven't been able to deliver before
— Kaiann Drance
What Apple executives said
Kaiann Drance, Apple's vice president of product marketing for home, told Tuohy that Siri AI and its personal context, which she called Apple's privacy story, came together with a device built specifically for the home. Lilian Rincon, vice president of product marketing for AI at Apple, said Siri AI made this possible because it is much more capable, pointing to new conversational abilities.
Rincon said the natural-language shift marks the point where AI goes mainstream, noting that both her mother-in-law and a college-age Gen Z user can speak naturally and get what they want. She also said Apple's assistant is designed to take an action and then get out of the way rather than asking follow-up questions.
