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Apple has announced HomeView, a $299 smart home display with a 7-inch square touchscreen, Siri and controls for compatible Apple Home devices. The Verge’s hands-on report found the screen responsive and the device useful for walk-up controls, but several headline Siri features were shown in demos rather than tested directly.
Apple has announced HomeView, its first smart home display, and The Verge has published a hands-on report describing its 7-inch square touchscreen, Apple Home controls and Siri features. The $299 device is available for preorder and is scheduled to begin shipping November 13, positioning it as a fixed home interface for controlling connected devices, viewing cameras and accessing household information.
The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy described the display as smaller than expected, with a bright, responsive Liquid Retina screen and a compact aluminum base that serves as a speaker. Users can choose from dozens of display “faces,” many resembling Apple Watch designs. Apple is offering both a tabletop version and a wall-mounted model, according to the report.
A Home Widget face brings controls from Apple’s Home app to the larger screen. In the hands-on session, Tuohy used it to control a thermostat and door lock and activate a scene. Swiping to the camera view showed live feeds from HomeKit Secure Video cameras; tapping a camera also offered access to nearby accessories. When the reporter tried to unlock a door, HomeView requested face or iPhone authentication.
The interface relies heavily on swipes: users can move between display faces and features, open widgets for deeper controls, reach apps that populate from their iPhone and pull down a control center. The report also describes a 12-megapixel camera that can be enabled from the control center, recipes transferred from an iPhone through Handoff and a FaceTime demonstration using Center Stage. HomeView costs $299; preorders are open, with shipping due to start November 13.
A New Screen for Apple Home
HomeView gives Apple households a dedicated, shared screen for tasks that usually require picking up an iPhone or speaking to a speaker. The wall-mounted option could make frequently used controls—such as lights, locks, thermostats and camera feeds—available at a glance. The tabletop version adds a place for video calls, recipes and household information.
The most consequential promise in the report is Siri’s proposed use of personal context alongside smart-home controls. In an Apple demo, Siri answered a question about a guest’s arrival by referring to a message, estimated travel time and set a coffee maker routine. If it works reliably, that combination could reduce the steps between knowing something about a household and acting on it. But the report’s author did not test that feature directly, so the demonstration is not evidence of how it will perform in everyday use.
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How HomeView Fits Apple Home
HomeView is designed around Apple’s existing Home app rather than as a separate set of smart-home controls. The report describes the Home Widget as a larger-screen version of that app, bringing familiar controls to a device intended for walk-up-and-tap use. It can also display HomeKit Secure Video camera feeds and expose nearby accessories from a camera view.
The device links with an iPhone in other ways, too. Apps reportedly populate from the phone, recipes can be transferred through Handoff, and door unlocking may require authentication using a face or iPhone. That approach makes HomeView part of Apple’s broader connected-device setup, though the report does not detail compatibility beyond the Apple Home features it demonstrated.
“The display feels like a giant Apple Watch paired with the functionality of an iPhone and the room to breathe of an iPad.”
— Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge
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Features Still Awaiting Testing
The hands-on report covers only a selection of HomeView’s functions. Tuohy saw demonstrations of Siri drawing on personal messages and setting a routine, but said she did not try those features herself. The report therefore does not establish how accurately Siri handles personal context, how often it succeeds or what limits apply to the information it can use.
Everyday performance also remains untested: the report does not provide a battery or power-use assessment, long-term software findings, a full compatibility list or a detailed account of privacy settings. It is not clear how well the recipe transfer will work with sources outside the supported formats; Tuohy specifically wondered how it would handle recipes from TikTok. The published price and shipping date are stated, but the report does not describe regional availability.
Apple HomeKit compatible smart display
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Preorders Before November Shipping
Apple has opened preorders for HomeView at $299 and says shipping will start November 13. The next useful assessment will come from testing the retail device beyond the limited demonstration, especially Siri’s handling of personal information, the reliability of smart-home controls and the range of recipes that can be reformatted onscreen.
The Verge’s report says its author is looking forward to testing more features. Until a fuller review is available, readers have an initial account of the display and selected controls, but not a complete assessment of how HomeView performs in a household over time.
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Key Questions
What is Apple HomeView?
HomeView is Apple’s first smart home display, with a 7-inch square touchscreen, Siri features and access to controls for Apple Home devices.
How much does HomeView cost, and when does it ship?
The announced price is $299. Preorders are open, and shipping is scheduled to start November 13.
What can HomeView control?
The hands-on report describes controlling a thermostat and door lock, activating scenes and viewing HomeKit Secure Video camera feeds. Door unlocking prompted face or iPhone authentication during the session.
Were HomeView’s Siri features tested?
Some functions were shown in an Apple demo, including Siri using a message to answer a travel question and set a coffee-maker routine. The Verge reporter said she did not test that personal-context feature directly.
Does HomeView support recipes and video calls?
The report describes recipes transferred from an iPhone through Handoff and reformatted with step-by-step instructions and timers. It also describes a FaceTime demo with Center Stage, but the hands-on account does not provide a full test of either feature.
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