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Apple announced HomeView, its first smart-home display, and The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy got a hands-on look at the $299 device. She tested its screen and home controls, while personal-context Siri features were shown in a demonstration rather than tested directly. Apple says preorders are open and shipping begins November 13.
Apple has announced HomeView, its first smart-home display, and The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy has tested the device ahead of its planned November 13 shipping date. The $299 screen combines controls for connected home devices with Siri, video and cooking features, though some of its most ambitious Siri functions were demonstrated rather than independently tried in the hands-on session.
HomeView has a 7-inch square touchscreen and a small aluminum base that also serves as a speaker. Tuohy described the Liquid Retina screen as bright and responsive, and said the device looked smaller than she had expected. Apple will sell both a tabletop version and a wall-mounted model, positioning it for use in shared areas such as a kitchen as well as on a counter.
A Home Widget face brings controls from Apple’s Home app onto the display. In her hands-on, Tuohy tapped to operate a thermostat and door lock and activate a scene, and viewed live feeds from HomeKit Secure Video cameras. When she tried to unlock a door, HomeView asked her to authenticate with her face or iPhone. The report describes the widget as a larger, walk-up interface to the controls available in the iPhone app.
The interface relies on swipes between faces, widgets and apps. HomeView can also show photos, FaceTime calls and a control center; its 12-megapixel camera can be enabled there. Tuohy saw a FaceTime demonstration in which Center Stage kept the caller in the frame. The report also describes a recipe feature that transfers a recipe from an iPhone using Handoff and displays it with step-by-step instructions and timers. Apple says most recipes using Google formatting will work, but the report does not establish how well other recipe sources will be supported.
HomeView gives Apple households a dedicated place to check cameras and control accessories without finding an iPhone or opening the Home app. Its wall-mount option could make those controls available in a fixed, shared location, while the tabletop model adds a screen for calls, recipes and other household tasks. The practical value will depend on how reliably people can reach the functions they use and whether the display fits into their existing routines.
The larger potential change is Siri’s proposed ability to link personal information with home actions. In a demo described by The Verge, Siri used a message about a traveler’s flight, estimated the trip home by train and set a coffee-maker routine for before the arrival. That could make voice requests more useful than simple device commands. But this example was a demonstration, not a feature the reporter had tested herself, so it does not yet establish how consistently the system handles real requests or personal data.
At $299, HomeView also asks buyers to pay for a dedicated device rather than rely on a phone, tablet or existing smart speaker. The hands-on offers an initial look at the hardware and selected features, not a full assessment of performance, privacy, reliability or value over time.
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How HomeView Fits Apple Devices
HomeView is presented as a smart-home controller, personal assistant and household hub, rather than just a screen for Siri. Its Home Widget draws on Apple’s existing Home app, and its camera feeds are described as compatible with HomeKit Secure Video. The report says onboard apps populate automatically from the user’s phone, tying the display to Apple’s device ecosystem.
Several features depend on moving tasks between Apple devices. Tuohy saw an iPhone hand off a recipe to HomeView, where it was reformatted for cooking. The report says a user can also move among customizable faces, access deeper app controls through widgets and open a phone-like control center. These details show how Apple is adapting familiar iPhone and Apple Watch interactions for a stationary, shared screen.
The article is a brief hands-on account, not a review based on extended use. Tuohy said she tried only a few features and did not personally test the Siri function that draws on messages and calendar information. That distinction matters when weighing the device’s demonstrated capabilities against its everyday performance.
“The screen almost entirely hides the small aluminum base that acts as a speaker.”
— Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge
Features Still Awaiting Testing
The report does not establish how HomeView performs after extended daily use, how responsive its controls are across different smart-home setups, or how many third-party devices and services it supports. It also does not provide details about software support, privacy settings for personal-context Siri requests, or how that information is processed.
Tuohy did not personally test Siri’s ability to use messages and appointments to answer questions and schedule a home action; she watched a demo. The cooking report leaves open how the feature handles recipes outside the formats Apple cited, including recipes shared on social platforms. The article also does not say whether the demonstrated song search or FaceTime experience reflects performance across typical network conditions.
Apple’s listed price and shipping schedule are reported, but the hands-on does not include a full product review or independent testing of the device’s overall value. Readers should treat the demonstrations as examples of intended functionality, not proof that every feature will work equally well in everyday use.
Preorders Before November Shipping
The Verge reported that preorders are open and that HomeView costs $299, with shipping scheduled to start November 13. The next useful evidence will come from broader testing of the retail device: how well its smart-home controls work in different homes, whether personal-context Siri requests operate reliably and how the display handles recipes and calls over time.
Tuohy said she had tried only a few of the features and was looking forward to testing more. Until fuller testing is published, the report provides an early account of the hardware and selected interactions rather than a final judgment on the product.
Key Questions
What is Apple HomeView?
HomeView is Apple’s first smart-home display. It has a 7-inch square touchscreen and is designed for controlling connected-home devices, using Siri and accessing household features such as video calls and recipes.
How much does HomeView cost, and when does it ship?
The Verge reports a price of $299, with preorders open and shipping scheduled to begin November 13. The source does not specify a year for that date.
What smart-home controls did the hands-on report test?
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy reported tapping the Home Widget to control a thermostat and door lock, activate a scene and view HomeKit Secure Video camera feeds. A door-unlock attempt prompted authentication using her face or iPhone.
Did the reporter test Siri’s personal-context features?
No. Tuohy said she watched a demonstration in which Siri used a message about a traveler’s flight and travel time to schedule a coffee maker. She did not test that feature herself.
Can HomeView display recipes from an iPhone?
The report says a recipe can be handed off from an iPhone and reformatted into guided steps with inline timers. Apple said most recipes using Google formatting would work; broader compatibility was not established in the hands-on.
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