Apple's HomeView Puts Voice and Screen at Center of Home AI, as Xiaodu Pursues Similar Path

Ifanr reported that HomeView uses a 7-inch square rounded display similar to Apple Watch, connected by an adjustable stainless-steel hinge to a speaker unit below. It carries an A18 processor and 8GB memory, supporting CenterStage camera, four-beam microphones, computational audio, spatial audio, and data isolation for up to six Apple ID accounts plus Siri AI interaction. Apple's demonstration showed the device managing different family members' independent iCloud information and devices while serving as a shared brain for the smart home.

The report said Apple's move follows a broader industry convergence. On Sept. 8, Baidu's smart hardware brand Xiaodu Technology launched several home ecosystem products with similar scenario logic. The article said Apple, Xiaodu, and other tech brands are converging on the idea that a home intelligence hub cannot rely on voice alone or mobile remote control; voice plus screen is better suited to AI-integrated home interaction.

But HomeView faces localization obstacles in China, the report said. Its hardware and planning look strong, but the product is designed from an American family perspective and may overlook needs in highly atomized Asian households. HomeKit and Matter certification ecosystems have not spread widely in China. Meanwhile, the Chinese smart home market has already developed along paths shaped by Chinese family life, leading to product fragmentation but also unique approaches to compatibility and scenario depth.

Xiaodu's screen-based route dates back to the Xiaodu Zaijia smart speaker in 2018, according to the report. The core scenarios shown in Apple's HomeView promotional video, including busy mornings, daily chores, video calls, doorbell integration, and personal schedule management, have already been implemented by Xiaodu with Chinese household routines in mind. At WAIC 2026 in July, Xiaodu released its family agent hub strategy, turning its AI assistant into an agent and promoting a shift from understanding families to doing things for families. In September, Chaoneng Xiaodu completed an agent upgrade that can break down goals, coordinate tools, and deliver closed-loop household tasks.

The report described an example: a parent can send fragmented text, voice messages, or files through a bound WeChat bot. If the parent says the child will do homework from 6 to 8 tonight, Xiaodu syncs it to the family calendar, classifies homework by subject, organizes electronic materials, links a printer, and uses home cameras for monitoring reminders. If a swimming class moves from 8 p.m. to 7 p.m. the next day, Xiaodu checks existing arrangements, warns of conflicts, asks for confirmation, then syncs changes to devices and family members. After homework, recordings or video check-ins can be sent back to the parent's WeChat.

Cost is another factor, the report said. A home agent hub needs to be visible and available across the living room, bedrooms, kitchen, and other corners. Xiaodu's product matrix includes a 219 yuan C800 AI care version camera and a 699 yuan smart screen X9 Ultra. The report calculated that covering a home with a 699 yuan smart screen in the living room, a 299 yuan smart speaker and a 219 yuan smart camera in each of two other rooms would cost no more than 1,300 yuan; adding smart plugs and bulbs could bring total coverage to two or three thousand yuan. By contrast, an Apple Home setup with a HomeView main screen at more than 2,000 yuan, or US$299, and two HomePod mini 2 units, plus endpoint products, could reach six or seven thousand yuan for three or four nodes.

Xiaodu said its smart products have entered more than 56 million households in China, according to the report, providing a large user base for the family agent hub strategy. Li Ying, Baidu vice president and CEO of Xiaodu Technology, said at WAIC 2026 that an intelligent brain handles understanding and planning, a terminal network handles perception and execution, and agents and services complete specific tasks; the three form a closed loop so home AI can become a continuously running system rather than a single function.

The report concluded that while Apple's renewed focus on the home shows the direction is becoming a common issue for the global tech industry, HomeView remains rooted in Apple's closed HomeKit hardware-software ecosystem, making consistent experiences difficult in China's fragmented market. Xiaodu's path relies on a family agent hub that works with fragmented ecosystems and uses AI and agents to move beyond the device networking plus IFTTT automation logic of a decade ago, focusing on completing a task from start to finish.