HomeView's 7-inch square screen dims to 0.3 nits, the lowest Apple has shipped by MacRumors' count, so it can sit on a nightstand without lighting up the bedroom. MacRumors' buyer's guide to Apple's first smart home display covers the hardware and both models, but the limits are the part to read before the November 13 release.
At a glance
| Display | 7-inch square LCD, up to 500 nits |
|---|---|
| Chip | A18, the iPhone 16's chip |
| Household | Up to six people, recognized by face and voice |
| Release | November 13, not in the EU |
Tabletop or wall
- Tabletop. The display sits on a domed aluminum speaker base with a stainless steel tilting hinge, and the base adds a down-firing woofer and two force-canceling passive radiators. Silver, starlight, rose pink, and space gray.
- Wall-mounted. Only the two full-range drivers in the display, tuned for a wall, in silver or space gray. MacRumors calls it the worse deal because the base and its bass go away.
- Mounts. Sold separately: a USB-C mount you install yourself with your own 20W adapter, a hardwired AC mount Apple suggests leaving to an electrician, and a Power over Ethernet mount due in early 2027. ADT will do installs in most of the US.
Each person gets their own Home Screen, which swaps in when HomeView recognizes who walked up, and the layout adds detail as you get closer.
What it does day to day
- Faces. Apple Watch-style faces, including a Photos face that can pull from a shared album relatives add to remotely, a Snoopy face, and a Home face with up to nine camera feeds.
- Recipes. A web recipe becomes step-by-step instructions with hands-free timers and ingredient tracking.
- Calls. FaceTime with Center Stage on the front camera, plus Intercom around the house.
- Sensors. A temperature and humidity sensor Apple barely mentioned, which can feed readings to the new thermostats.
Software is the real catch. Two years of rumors called this thing HomePad until the HomeView trademark surfaced, and the finished product has no App Store. It ships with a short list of Apple apps, Music, FaceTime, and Messages among them, and third-party apps show up CarPlay-style only while a compatible iPhone or iPad is nearby. Spotify and Audible work that way.
What to know
- Siri AI's personal context, your messages and calendar, needs a paired iPhone or iPad with Apple Intelligence, nearby and recently unlocked.
- The Apple Home Collection accessories from LG and Schneider Electric start rolling out in December at the earliest, and some slip to 2027.
- There's no EU launch, because Siri AI isn't available there.
To me, a first-generation display that leans this hard on a phone is an early adopter's buy. iPhoners on an iPhone without Apple Intelligence still get the speaker and the photo frame, plus a Siri that can't see their calendar.
