Apple Launches HomeView Smart Display, New HomePod mini 2 and Apple TV 4K

HomeView features a 7-inch square touchscreen and, according to ZDNet, an A18 chip likely paired with 8GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence. It runs Siri AI, acts as a smart home hub, Matter controller and Thread Border Router, and supports up to six facial-recognition profiles. Apple says HomeView will be available in eight countries at launch: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and India. ZDNet reported pre-orders start October 15, while Slashdot, The Verge and 9to5Mac reported pre-orders opened today.

The Verge, which got hands-on time with HomeView, described it as smaller than expected, with a bright Liquid Retina display and customizable faces that resemble Apple Watch faces. Its Home Widget pulls controls from the Apple Home app for thermostats, door locks and cameras; unlocking a door required face or iPhone authentication. The Verge also saw demos of Siri AI pulling personal context from messages and calendars, a guided cooking mode that transfers recipes from iPhone via Handoff, and FaceTime calls using Center Stage.

Facial recognition on HomeView does not use Face ID. According to 9to5Mac, citing Daring Fireball's John Gruber, a user must have a registered personal device with Apple Intelligence support, that device must be on the home's Wi-Fi network and it must have been recently unlocked. Apple Watch does not count as a registered personal device. The HomeView press release footnote says personal context requests require a paired Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad running the latest software with Siri AI turned on and set to a supported language. Apple representatives told Gruber that a home is reasonably presumed to be a safe space.

Third-party app support on HomeView will be limited. Apple says the display will support compatible third-party audio and video apps from the user's iPhone, alongside Apple apps such as Music, Podcasts and Safari. The press release adds that select apps require a paired and compatible iPhone nearby. Wired reported that a handful of third-party media apps such as Spotify are available and that developers can bring over existing CarPlay apps, which can automatically appear on HomeView after setup. 9to5Mac said it remains unclear whether other CarPlay app categories, such as communication and AI assistants, will be supported.

The Verge reported that the wall-mounted HomeView costs the same $299 as the desktop model, but the mount and power solution are sold separately. Schneider Home's Power Mount USB-C Wall Connector starts at $59.95, the Power Mount AC Wired starts at $79.95, and the Power Mount PoE Wired will be available in early 2027 for $129.95. Apple states that HomeView (Wall Mounted) requires a mount and power solution to operate, and the desktop model cannot be converted into the wall version.

Apple also introduced the HomePod mini 2 at $149, powered by the S10 processor. It supports Siri AI for the first time, with the Siri AI update coming over the air in the coming months. The speaker's Sound Glow feature uses colors from the currently playing album artwork and pulses in sync with the music. When paired with an Apple TV 4K, users can add up to four HomePod mini 2 speakers for surround sound.

The new Apple TV 4K is priced at $299 and uses the A19 chip, which Apple says delivers up to 50 percent faster CPU performance and twice the GPU performance of the previous generation, along with a dedicated AV1 decoder. It adds a three-microphone array in the box for hands-free Siri, though Siri AI is also coming to the second- and third-generation Apple TV 4K. The upgraded Siri Remote costs $59, supports Precision Finding and has a built-in speaker, and it works with older Apple TV 4K models. The new Apple TV 4K has 128GB of storage as standard, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread and Gigabit Ethernet. It can create a four-speaker surround system with HomePod mini 2 or HomePod 2 speakers, automatically calibrating audio timing and levels to the room.

The Home Collection includes indoor and outdoor cameras, temperature sensors and thermostats, a video doorbell and a door lock. The devices work with Apple Home and Matter and support end-to-end data encryption that Apple says even LG and Schneider cannot access. They can be controlled from the Home app on iPhone, through Siri, or used as standalone devices or together as an integrated home system.

9to5Mac wrote that $299 feels surprisingly affordable for HomeView as an invitation to try a new product category, but surprisingly painful for the Apple TV 4K. The third-generation Apple TV 4K originally cost $129 for 64GB and $149 for 128GB before Apple raised those prices to $199 and $249 in June, and the new model replaces the $249 version at $299. The article noted that a 65-inch 4K LED TV with built-in streaming apps can now be bought for $299, positioning the Apple TV 4K as a premium way to bring the full Apple experience to a television rather than a basic streaming add-on.