Apple has officially unveiled its first major home product in six years, the Apple HomeView, a smart display designed to keep you connected at home without reaching for your phone. Announced in the early hours of Wednesday morning (AEST), the device is available for Australians to pre-order now, with prices starting from $449 and in-store availability from November 13.
What is the Apple HomeView?
The HomeView marks Apple's entry into the smart display category, a space competitors Amazon and Google have occupied for years. Amazon's Echo Show, for example, first launched nine years ago, making Apple a relatively late arrival. However, Apple is positioning the HomeView as a step beyond what rivals offer, thanks to deep integration with existing Apple devices.
At its core, the HomeView is designed around three main ideas: entertaining at home, staying connected with loved ones, and managing a smart home environment. It is best described as a physical extension of your iPhone or iPad, allowing those devices to stay in your pocket while you go about your day at home.
The device features a seven-inch liquid retina display, a 12-megapixel Centre Stage camera that tracks you during video calls, and a four-microphone array designed to capture clear audio while filtering out background noise. Larger than an iPhone but smaller than an iPad, it sits comfortably between the two in terms of scale, big enough to use from across a room but compact enough to blend into a home environment.
Design, colours and mounting options
The HomeView attaches to a domed aluminium base via an adjustable stainless-steel hinge, which can be angled to suit tabletops of varying heights. It comes in four colour options: starlight, rose pink, space gray and silver.
For those who want to mount the device on a wall, Apple offers three purpose-built mounts, each priced separately on top of the base $449 device cost:
- Power Mount USB-C Wall Connector: $94.95
- Power Mount AC Wired: $124.95
- Power Mount PoE Wired: $199.95
The wall-mounted bundle starts at $543.95 in total.
If you are thinking about how a device like this fits into a well-secured home setup, it is worth reviewing how secure your home really is before investing in any new smart home technology.
How it works and who it suits
Setting up the HomeView requires connecting a personal Apple device, such as an iPhone or iPad, to the same Wi-Fi network. That personal device must also be in the home and recently unlocked for the HomeView to function. When you approach the screen, it recognises your face, and a simple upward swipe takes you directly to your customisable personal profile.
The HomeView supports up to six individual profiles, meaning each member of a household can have their own tailored experience with distinct display faces and settings.
Apple is positioning the product as best suited to people who already rely heavily on Apple devices and who found previous Siri-based products, such as the original HomePod, lacking in responsiveness and capability. The personal context carried over from a linked iPhone is what Apple says sets the HomeView apart from its competitors.
What else was announced alongside HomeView
The HomeView was not the only product Apple unveiled. The company also announced updates to two existing devices: the HomePod mini 2 and the Apple TV 4K. Full details on those updates are expected to follow as the product cycle progresses toward the November on-sale date.
For consumers looking to make their home smarter and more seamlessly connected, the HomeView represents one of the more significant Australian product launches of the year.
