Apple’s announcement introducing its new HomeView smart display is a bit unusual. It’s fast-paced and rebellious, showing a family of five as they rush through their morning routine. There is screaming and disorder, lost keys and discarded eggshells. The typical Apple environment is clean, simple and orderly; This commercial is a mess.
But the ad makes parents, particularly those with teenage children, feel seen.
I admit it also stressed me out the first time I saw it. The mornings when my five-year-old son walks out the door are a special kind of chaos, and they usually culminate with us playing whatever impromptu game gets him to put on his shoes. But it’s not quite just as intense as this one, which features Dad making French toast, Mom losing and finding keys in her pocket, a power battle over the thermostat, a teen helping himself to whipped cream from a can, and an unexpected video call. There’s also a microdrama about the daughter’s trip to school with a boyfriend no one knew that ends with everyone gathered around the HomeView watching the security camera of the two walking off the porch. That’s a lot for just over three minutes of screen time.
However, if I know anything, I know to trust my colleague, senior reviewer, and mother of two teenagers, Jen Tuohy, on household matters. Your opinion? “The least realistic part of the video is that no one is holding an iPhone.”
Even if Apple didn’t have to do much to increase the risks of a family walking out the door, there are, of course, a lot of sleights of hand at play when it comes to making HomeView seem so essential. The family has apparently drilled a hole directly in the middle of their kitchen island to accommodate the charging cable, for example. And what brother is going to read a text message from a secret boyfriend on the community kitchen screen while his brother sits at arm’s length? I don’t think any teenager would trust Apple’s privacy features that much.
The confusion over the commercial is understandable. This is a far cry from the quiet, luxurious lifestyle that everyone seems to enjoy in Apple’s Vision Pro ads. There’s also Evans’ observation that HomeView doesn’t really solve any of the problems that arise throughout the video. In the case of a spontaneous FaceTime call from the grandparents, the screen in the middle of the kitchen seems to make things worse.
But maybe morning chaos isn’t the problem being solved. If the alternative is five people interacting with their own phones, then HomeView presents a different picture where everyone gets the essential information they need from a shared screen and remains more present.
A screen that makes you more present is a lovely idea, but the real test will come when it’s in real homes. Will HomeView be enough to convince families to give up their personal devices? Will everyone ignore it and continue scrolling on their own iPhones? These are questions worth answering before you start drilling holes in your kitchen island! In any case, an unruly morning routine is probably a feature of a busy household, not a bug. Ask your parents.
