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Apple launches HomeView smart display with Siri AI - OpenSmartRoute
Apple launches HomeView smart display with Siri AI
Apple released the HomeView, a smart display with Siri AI for the home. It costs $299 and includes facial recognition for personal context.
Key points
The HomeView costs $299 and launches in eight countries.
It features a 7-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone.
Siri AI uses personal context from text messages and calendars.
The device supports up to six user profiles via facial recognition.
Why it matters: Users gain a new way to access personal data and control smart homes without holding a phone.
By OpenSmartRoute editorial · written through the router by writer-small
From The Verge AI - “Apple launches HomeView, its first smart display for the home”
Apple-HomeView-lineup. Image: The Verge AI (original)
Apple announced the HomeView at its Welcome Home event. This event focused on bringing Siri AI into the home. The company prioritized a beautiful screen for daily use. It also aimed to hide personal text messages from children. The device marks Apple's first smart display specifically for the home.
The hardware design features a small square screen on a speaker base. It comes in silver, starlight, rose pink, and space grey colors. The screen is a 7-inch Liquid Retina display. It sits atop an aluminum speaker base with an adjustable arm. There are no physical volume or power buttons on the device. The camera has no cover and is used only for video calls.
The HomeView uses facial recognition to identify users. This feature allows the device to access personal context. Personal context includes text messages, calendars, and emails. Your iPhone must be on the same network for this to work. Kids cannot see your private messages if the camera detects them.
The smart home capabilities include Matter support. The device acts as a hub for Apple Home and Matter devices. It can orchestrate lights, thermostats, and door locks. You can control these devices via voice or touch. The screen shows widgets for lights, climate, and cameras.
This matters because it changes how people use their phones at home. Users no longer need to pull out a phone for simple tasks. The device offers a communal interface for personal interactions. It integrates deeply with the iPhone ecosystem. This could reduce clutter on kitchen counters during meals.
OpenSmartRoute helps teams manage AI requests from devices like the HomeView. The router sends requests to the best-fit model from a defined catalogue. It scores candidates on quality, cost, speed, and safety. Teams set weights for these scores per specific request. Hard rules ensure personal data stays on-premises or stays within cost caps.
A savings ledger shows the cost of each routed request. It compares this cost to the most expensive model available. The ledger tracks savings for every single request made. Teams can see exactly how much money they save daily.
What to do is evaluate if the HomeView fits your smart home needs. Check if the four colors match your interior design. Test the wall-mount version for your specific space. Ensure your iPhone is updated to the latest operating system. Verify that facial recognition works reliably in your lighting conditions.
Dell and Intel report that enterprise AI budgets are burning through cloud tokens too fast. Companies are moving toward on-premises infrastructure and open-weight models to save money.
Apple announced the HomeView at its Welcome Home event. This event focused on bringing Siri AI into the home. The company prioritized a beautiful screen for daily use. It also aimed to hide personal text messages from children. The device marks Apple's first smart display specifically for the home.
The hardware design features a small square screen on a speaker base. It comes in silver, starlight, rose pink, and space grey colors. The screen is a 7-inch Liquid Retina display. It sits atop an aluminum speaker base with an adjustable arm. There are no physical volume or power buttons on the device. The camera has no cover and is used only for video calls.
The HomeView uses facial recognition to identify users. This feature allows the device to access personal context. Personal context includes text messages, calendars, and emails. Your iPhone must be on the same network for this to work. Kids cannot see your private messages if the camera detects them.
The smart home capabilities include Matter support. The device acts as a hub for Apple Home and Matter devices. It can orchestrate lights, thermostats, and door locks. You can control these devices via voice or touch. The screen shows widgets for lights, climate, and cameras.
This matters because it changes how people use their phones at home. Users no longer need to pull out a phone for simple tasks. The device offers a communal interface for personal interactions. It integrates deeply with the iPhone ecosystem. This could reduce clutter on kitchen counters during meals.
OpenSmartRoute helps teams manage AI requests from devices like the HomeView. The router sends requests to the best-fit model from a defined catalogue. It scores candidates on quality, cost, speed, and safety. Teams set weights for these scores per specific request. Hard rules ensure personal data stays on-premises or stays within cost caps.
A savings ledger shows the cost of each routed request. It compares this cost to the most expensive model available. The ledger tracks savings for every single request made. Teams can see exactly how much money they save daily.
What to do is evaluate if the HomeView fits your smart home needs. Check if the four colors match your interior design. Test the wall-mount version for your specific space. Ensure your iPhone is updated to the latest operating system. Verify that facial recognition works reliably in your lighting conditions.
The HomeView has a 7-inch square screen with a vibrant display. It offers customizable widgets for various apps. Users can see photos, clocks, or Snoopy faces when idle. Modular faces allow users to show widgets from their most-used apps. A home widget face offers controls for lights and climate.
The device supports up to six user profiles. Facial recognition switches between these profiles automatically. Only the authenticated user sees personal information on the screen. Siri AI uses personal context based on who is recognized. This requires an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone on the same network.
Siri AI on the HomeView is the same as the upgraded version on iPhone. It offers broad world knowledge and natural language understanding. It accepts chained requests and retains context throughout the conversation. However, chained requests for home devices are limited to specific types. You cannot lock a door and adjust a thermostat with one command.
The HomeView supports Apple's own apps like Calendar and Reminders. It also works with third-party audio and video apps using CarPlay. Spotify and Audible are available as audio apps. No video apps are currently available on the device. Users can hand off recipes from Safari to the HomeView.
The device supports up to six widgets on the smart home face. These widgets control different smart home devices. You can set multiple timers and name them individually. There is no word on exactly how many timers are possible. The thermostat controls are large and easy to use on the screen.
The HomeView functions as an Apple Home Hub. It enables local control of supported devices. It supports creation of scenes and automations. It also supports HomeKit Secure Video cameras. The device feels more like a way to use your iPhone less.
You can pick up conversations started with Siri AI on the HomeView. This works through the Siri AI app on the iPhone. The connection works in both directions between the devices. Both tabletop and wall-mounted versions have the same features. Only the mounting option differs between the two versions.
Apple allows the device to support up to six profiles. Each user must have an iPhone or iPad updated to the latest OS. Microphone and camera data are processed on a Secure Exclave. This chip is isolated so the OS and apps cannot access it.
The HomeView comes in four subtle colors for different tastes. Silver, starlight, rose pink, and space grey are the options. It features two speaker drivers in the display unit. The base has a woofer and two force-canceling passive radiators. The sound hits a few notches above the HomePod Mini.
There is a wall-mountable version without the speaker base. This version also costs $299 and comes with three mounting options. Options include plug-in, in-wall power, and in-wall PoE. Apple says the audio is tuned for wall placement. I did not get to hear the audio in action.
The screen adjusts brightness from 0.3 nits to 500 nits. This range makes it usable as a bedside clock. The screen is large enough to see clearly from across the room. It does not adjust brightness as you approach the device. You tap widgets to access different apps and controls.
The HomeView can display neatly formatted recipes for cooking. It keeps you in the picture on FaceTime video calls. It shows live feeds and footage from HomeKit Secure Video cameras. The video demo showed a family of five using the device. It helped with common minor household crises like finding lost keys.
The most unrealistic part of the video showed no one holding an iPhone. The daughter sent a text to her secret boyfriend from the HomeView. The younger brother was foiled from attempting to read the message. The device shut off when it did not see his face. Everyone then viewed a live feed of the boyfriend arriving.
I have always seen smart displays as a good option for controlling smart homes. Apple's vision for HomeView takes that control to its natural conclusion. You do not have to pull out your phone for anything when you are home. At least all of Apple's apps are available on the HomeView.
The HomeView comes in four colors: silver, starlight, rose pink, and space grey. It features two speaker drivers in the display plus a woofer. The base has two force-canceling passive radiators for bass. Based on initial listening, the sound hits a few notches above the HomePod Mini. It does not compete with the HomePod in quality.
The screen is wrapped in an aluminum case with no physical buttons. The frame is dotted with a speaker grille and microphone holes. It has a Liquid Retina display with True Tone support. The display has ambient light adjustment capabilities. It can go up to a bright 500 nits. It can go down to a super-low 0.3 nits.
The screen is large enough to see clearly from across the room. It does not adjust as you approach the device. You tap widgets to access different apps and controls. You can use voice to tell the device what to do.
The HomeView can set multiple timers and let you name them. There is no word on exactly how many timers are possible. While HomeView functions as an Apple Home Hub, it feels less like a focused controller. It feels more like a way to use your iPhone less when you are at home.
The HomeView supports a number of Apple's own apps including Calendar and Reminders. It also works with third-party audio and video apps that support the CarPlay architecture. A few audio apps such as Spotify and Audible are available. No video apps are available yet on the device.
You can pick up conversations started with Siri AI on the HomeView. This works through the Siri AI app on the iPhone. And vice versa between the two devices. Siri AI on HomeView is the same voice assistant as the upgraded version on iPhone. It has no smart-display-specific features or home-control features.
It offers broad world knowledge and personal context. It offers natural language understanding for user queries. I saw a demo where it accepted chained requests and retained context. Such requests included adding an event to the calendar. It then set a reminder for that same day. It also added an item to a grocery list.
Chained requests for home devices are limited to specific device types. You can turn on the lights in the living room and the bedroom. You cannot lock the front door and adjust the thermostat with one command. Both the tabletop and wall-mounted devices have the same features. Only the mount differs between the two versions.
Where you place them will likely dictate how you use them. A HomeView on the kitchen counter feels more tailored to content consumption. It feels more tailored to music and cooking activities. A wall-mounted version fits more of the smart home control center role.
In its demo space, Apple mounted a HomeView near a front door. The smart home widget was enabled, allowing touch control of locks. It also allowed touch control of the thermostat and lights. It can push a live feed from a doorbell camera when someone rings the bell. It can display up to nine live streams from HomeKit Secure Video cameras.
When you tap on a widget, it becomes a full-screen controller. I saw the thermostat controls, and they were large and easy to use. I have not yet gotten to play with any other widgets. I have not yet tried controlling it with voice commands.
The HomeView's key software feature is intelligent switching. This lets the screen move from a household device to a personal device. It uses facial recognition and the presence of your recently unlocked iPhone. It authenticates you on the home Wi-Fi network. Once it knows who you are, it can show your customized layout.
If you have an AI-capable iPhone, it uses personal context to pull up recipes. It can play that song your friend sent to you. Without recognizing the user, Siri AI on HomeView can show the live doorbell feed. It can answer general questions and control some smart devices. It can display recipes and play audio and video.
Apple allows the device to support up to six profiles. But each user must have an iPhone or iPad updated to the latest OS. Apple says the microphone and camera data used for profile recognition is processed on a Secure Exclave. This runs on the device's A18 chip. Apple says it cannot access this data. The OS cannot access it either. Apps cannot access it either.
You can hand off recipes from Safari on your iPhone to the HomeView. The device formats them for following along while cooking. My concern is how seamlessly it will switch between profiles. I have had too many instances of yelling at Siri on my HomePod. It refuses to find my iPhone until I authenticate on the iPhone I am asking.
Some smart home controls like viewing recorded footage require an authenticated user. This can cause problems if it is too slow. It causes problems if you are trying to get things done without standing in front of the device. Based on early impressions, success here hinges on how much people want to use a communal device for personal interactions.
The demos I saw were engaging and fun. Its deep integration with your iPhone gives it more to work with than a device like Amazon's Echo Show. The Echo Show has a similar profile feature but less personal information to offer. However, all the demos work just as well with Siri AI on your iPhone. The whole system seems precariously tied to said phone.
Beyond the personal-context features, I did not see a compelling smart-home use case. I did not see a use case that I have not seen on competitors' smart displays. In classic Apple style, HomeView looks gorgeous as well as intuitive to use. If it can actually keep phones off the kitchen counter at meal times, that might just be its killer feature.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed. You can receive email updates on these topics. More content covers all the news from Apple's Welcome Home event. There is a video reveal for the HomeView available to watch.
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OpenSmartRoute is an open-source router for AI requests. It sends each request to the best-fit model, agent, tool, or skill from a catalogue the team defines. It scores every candidate on quality, cost, speed, and safety. The team sets the weights per request for scoring. Hard rules pin a request to specific constraints.
Text with personal data stays on an on-premises model. A region or a cost cap is never crossed. It learns from outcomes to improve routing over time. A model that answers well gets more traffic. One that fails gets less traffic. A new model is one catalogue entry and competes on the next request. Nothing else changes in the app.
It works with any OpenAI-compatible provider. It supports open-weight models served locally. It supports MCP tools and A2A agents. A savings ledger shows what each routed request cost next to what the most expensive model would have cost. An input guard spots prompt injection and personal data before a request leaves.
The 'osr eval' measures routing accuracy on the team's own prompts. It can fail a build when it drops below a threshold. The hosted platform keeps a models catalogue with prices and public rankings built from real traffic. This helps teams choose the right models for their specific needs.
Teams can set up the router to match the HomeView's usage patterns. The router ensures personal data stays secure on-premises. It prevents cost overruns by enforcing strict caps. The savings ledger provides clear visibility into daily expenses. This transparency helps managers decide on budget allocations.
Engineers can configure the router to handle the HomeView's specific queries. They can define rules for which models handle personal context. They can ensure high-quality responses for critical smart home commands. The input guard protects against prompt injection attacks.
The router integrates with existing infrastructure without major changes. Teams can add new models to the catalogue as needed. The system learns from user feedback to optimize performance. This continuous learning improves the overall user experience.
The HomeView represents a significant shift in how Apple approaches home technology. It combines a display with advanced AI capabilities. The device aims to reduce reliance on smartphones for home tasks. Its design focuses on aesthetics and ease of use. The integration with Siri AI is a key differentiator.
The device's ability to hide personal messages is a privacy feature. It uses facial recognition to ensure only the user sees private data. This feature addresses a common concern with smart displays. It adds a layer of security for family members.
How OpenSmartRoute helps
A team routing requests through OpenSmartRoute gains control over how Siri AI uses personal data. The HomeView collects text messages and calendars for context, which contains sensitive personal information. Hard rules in the router ensure this data stays on an on-premises model when needed. This prevents the device from sending private chats to a public cloud service for processing.
The router scores every candidate on quality, cost, speed, and safety before sending a request. If the HomeView uses a cheaper local model for simple tasks, the savings ledger shows the cost difference. The team sets weights for these scores to match their specific home security and privacy needs. A new model in the catalogue competes on the next request without changing the app setup.
Input guard spots prompt injection and personal data before a request leaves the device. This stops malicious inputs from reaching the AI model used for the HomeView. The 'osr eval' tool measures routing accuracy on prompts relevant to smart home usage. If evaluation scores drop, the build fails to ensure the routing logic remains safe.
