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Apple has announced HomeView, its first smart home display, and The Verge has published a hands-on report based on a brief preview. The $299 device combines a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple Home controls, camera feeds, FaceTime and Siri features; it is available to preorder and is scheduled to ship November 13.
Apple has announced HomeView, its first smart home display, and a hands-on report by The Verge describes a 7-inch touchscreen device built to control Apple Home accessories and run household features. The display costs $299, is available for preorder, and is scheduled to begin shipping November 13.
The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy said the square Liquid Retina display appeared bright and responsive during a preview, while the compact aluminum base also serves as a speaker. Apple is offering tabletop and wall-mounted versions. The screen can show selectable faces, many resembling Apple Watch designs, alongside widgets and apps.
A dedicated Home Widget brings controls from the Apple Home app to the larger screen. In the preview, Tuohy tapped to operate a thermostat, door lock and scene, and viewed live feeds from HomeKit Secure Video cameras. An attempted door unlock prompted authentication with a face or iPhone. The report describes a swipe-based interface for switching faces, opening apps and reaching Control Center.
Apple also demonstrated Siri features that connect personal information with household actions, though Tuohy said she did not test that function herself. In one demonstration, Siri used a message about a traveler’s flight, estimated the journey home by transit and set the coffee maker to switch on before the expected arrival. Other demonstrations included handing a recipe from an iPhone to HomeView, where it appeared as guided steps with timers, and making a FaceTime call with Center Stage.
A New Screen for Apple Home
HomeView gives Apple households a dedicated, walk-up control point rather than requiring someone to find and unlock an iPhone to manage accessories. Its camera feeds, door controls and scene activation put common smart-home tasks on a shared screen, while the authentication prompt seen during the preview indicates that at least some sensitive actions may require an additional check.
The more ambitious pitch is Siri’s connection to personal context and home routines. If the demonstrated functions work reliably beyond a staged presentation, users could ask for information from messages or calendars and tie it to actions around the house. The report, however, offers only a limited preview, so it does not establish how well these features perform in everyday use or how broadly they will work.
The recipe handoff and FaceTime demonstrations also position the screen as a kitchen and household display, not just a smart-home remote. At $299, buyers will need to weigh that mix against the devices and services they already use; the source report does not compare HomeView with competing products.
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How the Preview Tested HomeView
The Verge report is based on a hands-on session following Apple’s announcement, not a full review of a retail device. Tuohy tried selected controls and watched demonstrations of several Siri and communication features. She described the device as compact and said its display could show photos and customizable faces.
The report says HomeView’s onboard apps populate automatically from a user’s phone, and its Home Widget mirrors controls available in the Apple Home app. For recipes, an iPhone can hand content to the display through Handoff; Apple said most recipes using Google formatting would work with the guided presentation. Tuohy raised a question about how recipes from TikTok would be handled, but the report gives no answer.
“I didn’t get to try this myself, but saw a demo.”
— The Verge reporter Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Questions Beyond the Preview
The report does not establish how reliably Siri’s personal-context features work in everyday use; those capabilities were demonstrated but not tested by the reporter. It also leaves open how well HomeView handles recipes outside the Google formatting Apple referenced, including content from TikTok.
Other details remain unreported, including battery or power requirements, the full differences between the tabletop and wall-mounted models, and how the display will behave with accessories or services beyond the examples shown. The report gives a price and shipping date but does not describe any regional availability or whether all features will be available at launch.
Preorders Before November Shipping
HomeView is available for preorder at $299, with shipping scheduled to start November 13, according to the source report. More information about launch availability and the two mounting options may emerge as Apple prepares to ship the display.
The next useful evidence will come from testing a production device at home: whether Siri can consistently combine personal information with smart-home actions, how quickly its controls respond, and how well its recipe and camera features work in daily use. The Verge reporter said she looked forward to testing more, but the report did not provide a date for further coverage.
Key Questions
What is Apple HomeView?
HomeView is Apple’s first smart home display, with a 7-inch touchscreen, Siri features and controls for devices in the Apple Home app.
How much does HomeView cost, and when does it ship?
The report lists a price of $299. Preorders are open, and shipping is scheduled to begin November 13.
What smart-home features were shown?
The hands-on report describes controls for a thermostat, door lock and scenes, along with live HomeKit Secure Video feeds. An attempted door unlock required authentication with a face or iPhone.
Did the reporter test Siri’s personal-context features?
No. The report says Tuohy watched a demonstration in which Siri used a message and travel information to plan a coffee-maker routine, but she did not test that feature herself.
Can HomeView display recipes from an iPhone?
Apple demonstrated recipe handoff from an iPhone, with steps and timers displayed on HomeView. Apple said most recipes using Google formatting would work; support for TikTok recipes was not established in the report.
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