I’m just going to come out and say it. I love the approach Apple has taken with HomeView. I think it’s the always-on, shared home interface that my family could finally use. It is Apple’s first smart screen my A dream smart home dashboard? No. But is it the right product for Apple Home right now? Absolutely.
Many initial reactions to the $299 HomeView (which looks like a giant Apple Watch on a flatter metallic HomePod Mini) ask why you would want it when you can do most of what it offers on your iPhone or iPad. And yes, its features replicate many of the things you already do on the devices you use. all the time. But that’s the point. HomeView gives you another interface for those things, but fundamentally one that’s always on, always unlocked, and always in the same place in your home, making it easy to access and interact with.
I tried using an iPad to control my smart home, run my family’s calendar, and be a shared device to control music. It wasn’t great. I’ll have to try HomeView, of course, but my initial impression is that this could be a much better solution for those use cases.
Most iPads are more expensive, have worse speakers, and don’t like to be plugged in all the time (I present to you my sad, deformed iPad Mini as a tribute). An iPad can’t be a hub for your Apple Home; HomeView can. An iPad is famously not a good multi-user device, and controlling home devices on one requires you to remain logged into your personal iCloud account; HomeView offers Apple’s first opportunity to easily switch between users.
Apple designed HomeView as a community device that sits in a fixed location in the home. This means it will always be where you expect it to be, which matters when you want to adjust the thermostat or can’t find your phone and want to check your calendar. Not having a battery or detachable screen is a feature for me, because devices that do inevitably drift and die under the couch cushion.
And while many people are fine using their personal phones and tablets to interact with the digital world when they’re at home, and don’t want another device with a screen on their countertop or wall, the millions of Echo Shows, Google Nest Hubs, Skylight Calendars, and the like in homes today are a good indicator that there’s interest in this type of interface.
As Apple’s unusually chaotic launch video shows, HomeView targets a new demographic for the company: busy, Apple-centric households. One feature I’m most interested in is HomeView’s role as a home videophone. Do you know how many times I’ve tried to call my daughter when I’m not home and her phone is off or on silent? According to Apple’s video, if she’s home, my call can now ring in HomeView. I’ve occasionally used the shortcut feature on Echo smart speakers to get their attention, further proof of the advantage of always-on home devices.
I think HomeView fills the awkward space where families don’t want phones on the dining room table or kitchen counter, but still want to check what time Zoey’s soccer game is or look up the source of their French toast (yes, just kidding). This inevitably ends with one person pulling out their phone, giving everyone else implicit permission to do the same.
Amazon and Google’s smart displays and speakers already help with this to some extent, but Apple’s version comes without ads (see the Echo Show) and may have a longer lifespan (RIP Pixel Tablet). Siri AI’s much-hyped “personal context” capabilities, where it can scan your text messages and emails and provide relevant information to up to six members of your household, also give it an advantage here.
I asked Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of home product marketing, why Apple chose now for its biggest smart home push yet. He said Siri AI and the personal context it brings, which he called Apple’s “privacy story,” were combined with a device designed specifically for the home. “With the magic of Siri AI, everything comes together in a way we haven’t been able to offer before,” he said.
“As Siri AI capabilities continue to evolve, the in-home experience is a fit for natural interaction.”
— Lilian Rincón, Apple
Siri AI made this possible because it is “much more capable,” said Lilian Rincón, vice president of AI product marketing at Apple. He also highlighted his new conversational skills. “It’s great because you can just ask it to change the temperature on your thermostat in a very natural way. As Siri AI’s capabilities continue to evolve, the in-home experience is well suited to being able to interact in this natural way.” As for why now, Rincón says the natural language shift is the point at which AI goes mainstream. “Because now it can be… my mother-in-law or Generation Z who’s in college, they can both use this in the way they speak naturally and get what they want.”
Siri AI at home has another big advantage over the competition: it doesn’t say too much. Based on demos I’ve seen and my time using Siri AI on the iPhone, when you ask it to do something, it does it without peppering you with follow-up questions. Rincón confirmed that this is by design. “A lot of these attendees are always asking questions because they want more information,” he said. “For us, it’s not about that. We’re there to do it, take action for you, show you what you need to do, and then get out of the way.”
My first reaction upon hearing about HomeView’s smart home features, which are basically what the Apple Home app can do on your phone, was disappointment. I was hoping that along with the new hardware, Apple would bring more features and deeper Apple Intelligence integration to Apple Home to make the smart home smarter. I’m still waiting for that.
On second thought, I’m okay with this, for now. Apple’s attempt to make the smart home easier to use for everyone can only be a good thing. As always, the most important goal of a smart home is to find an easier way to turn on the lights.
Apple’s attempt to make the smart home easier to use for everyone can only be a good thing.
HomeView’s simplicity may put off home automation enthusiasts, but I’d say it’s perfect for your long-suffering spouses. I’ve tried every version of the physical smart home control interface in my home and you know who hasn’t used any of them? My family.
Because my entire family has iPhones, and because HomeView will always be there and familiar to me, I can see them using it. That means I could set up a full instance of Home Assistant and run a detailed dashboard on a tablet in my office, then pull the scenes and devices into Apple Home so my husband and daughter can simply tap to control them on a HomeView in the kitchen.
HomeView may not be the smart home computer I want Apple to make, but it is the smart home device Apple needed to make. There’s no need to run every app on the iPad or try to be a bigger version of my iPhone; You just need to make the smart home accessible to everyone in the house. If Apple has pulled it off, it could be more valuable than any new smart home feature you’ve been wanting. for.
Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
