Apple Launches $299 HomeView Smart Display to Challenge Amazon’s Echo Show
Apple’s first smart home display is here: the $299 HomeView
Apple has finally joined the smart display race. The company on October 13 announced HomeView, its first smart home hub — a 7-inch touch screen that controls your home, plays music and makes video calls. It goes on sale November 13, and it is already available for pre-order in the United States for $299.
The launch was the centerpiece of Apple’s “Welcome Home” event. It is also one of the first big product launches under new CEO John Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook on September 1.
Two versions: tabletop and wall-mounted
HomeView comes in two designs. The tabletop version pairs the square 7-inch (1088 x 1088) Liquid Retina display with a domed speaker base. The screen tilts on a stainless steel hinge, a design that recalls the classic iMac G4. It comes in four colours: silver, starlight, rose pink and space grey.
The second version is just the screen, made for wall mounting. It comes only in silver and space grey. Surprisingly, both versions cost the same $299 — the wall mounts are sold separately. The mounts start at $59 for a USB-C connector and go up to $129 for a wired power-over-Ethernet option.
Siri AI does the talking
The headline feature is Siri AI, a rebuilt version of Apple’s voice assistant. Apple calls it far more capable and conversational than the old Siri, with broader knowledge for things like music discovery and a better understanding of what is on screen.
For users with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad, Siri AI can draw on personal context — calendar, messages and other apps — to give more helpful answers. The technology is partly built on AI from Google’s Gemini, part of Apple’s effort to catch up in generative AI after years of Siri lagging behind rivals.
It knows who’s looking
A front camera lets HomeView recognise up to six household members by their faces. Each person gets their own personalised display with their own messages, calendar, FaceTime and apps. Apple says personal context and conversations stay private to each user, while shared things like photo albums and music are open to everyone.
Multiple HomeView units can also work like an intercom across rooms. When idle, the screen doubles as a digital picture frame. It supports the Matter and Thread smart home standards, so it should work with a wide range of existing devices — lights, locks, thermostats and cameras.
Apple takes on Amazon and Ring
HomeView puts Apple in direct competition with Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub. But Apple is going further than a single screen. The company announced the Apple Home Collection, a line of smart home cameras, thermostats, doorbells and a smart lock made with LG Electronics and France’s Schneider Electric.
That takes Apple into the core territory of Ring, Amazon’s home security brand, for the first time. Apple also unveiled a new Apple TV 4K and a HomePod mini 2 at the same event.
The timing is no accident. Last week Amazon made its own move into Apple’s territory, launching premium Alexa tablets including a Pro model aimed at iPad buyers. The two companies are now fighting on each other’s home turf.
The uphill battle in numbers
Apple has a lot of ground to make up. About two-thirds of US smart speaker owners have an Amazon device, compared with about a quarter for Google and just 7% for Apple, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Apple’s share has been stuck in the single digits for years.
Analysts at the firm say Apple’s real target may not be existing Amazon and Google users at all — but the millions of Apple customers who own no smart speaker. Only 57% of recent Apple buyers have a smart speaker of any kind, which leaves a big opening.
No EU sale for now
One notable gap: HomeView will not be sold in the European Union at launch. Apple says it is still working out how to make Siri AI comply with the EU’s competition rules. That means Europe’s smart home market will have to wait — and Amazon and Google get more breathing room there.
What to watch
Pre-orders are open now, with the first units shipping November 13 — just in time for the holiday season. At $299, HomeView sits above most Echo Show and Nest Hub models, so Apple is betting its design, privacy pitch and Siri AI are worth the premium.
The real test is not the hardware. It is whether Apple can finally turn Siri into an assistant people trust — and whether HomeView becomes the family command center Apple promises, or just an expensive picture frame.