(Image credit: Apple)

HomeView shows Apple still designs hardware better than anyone

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Apple announced it new Smart Home device yesterday, called HomeView. We haven't seen a brand new product from Apple in quite some time, and the physical design is as glorious as you'd expect from the leaders in minimalistic, sleek design.

It essentially mimics the Apple Watch face, but bigger and on a stand. It looks as though it'll fit beautifully into a modern household, sleek and beautiful but not standing out unnecessarily. After a period of criticism of Apple's lack of innovation it's so satisfying to see a new product launch with such excellent design credentials.

I don't want a smart home, but I do want an excuse to have this device (even if the ads are stressing people out).

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(Image credit: Apple)

If you do want a smart home, you'll want to know what it can do as well as how it looks. So here goes.

HomeView is Apple’s new smart home display: a 7-inch screen on a domed speaker base, made to sit on a counter or, in a separate wall-mounted version, hang in a hallway. It’s built around Siri AI, Apple’s rebuilt assistant, which is still in beta at launch.

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(Image credit: Apple)

You can talk to it or use touch to control lights, locks, thermostats and camera feeds. It recognises up to six people by face, so each gets their own home screen and private content. It also works as a speaker, a FaceTime screen and a hands-free kitchen timer. It supports Matter accessories and Apple’s new Home Collection range, made with LG and Schneider Electric, which starts arriving in December.

(Image credit: Apple)

Here's an overview of what it does:

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Physical design

  • The body is aluminium, with a 7-inch Liquid Retina display attached to a domed speaker base by a stainless steel hinge. The hinge tilts the screen, so it’s comfortable to view on counters or tables of different heights.
  • There are four colours (silver, starlight, rose pink and space gray), each with a matching USB-C cable.
  • The wall-mounted model has the same display and comes in space gray and silver. It attaches with one of three mounts from Schneider Home, which can be self-installed or professionally installed.

Display

  • True Tone is on board, and automatic brightness runs from 500 nits down to 0.3 nits, which Apple pitches as suitable for a nightstand.
  • The interface changes with distance, showing simple information from across the room and more detail as you step closer.
  • Users can choose from different “faces”. Apple names Photos (depth effects, shared albums as a photo frame), Flow (reacts to movement), Snoopy, Home Modular and Home Camera, which can show up to nine camera feeds.

Audio

  • The display has two full-range drivers. The base adds a down-firing woofer and two passive radiators, with computational audio adjusting loudness and bass in real time.
  • The wall-mounted version uses two drivers and is tuned for on-wall placement.

Personalisation

  • It recognises up to six people by face, and each gets their own Home Screen. Personal content only appears when the enrolled user is recognised and their paired iPhone or iPad is nearby and recently unlocked.

Sustainability

  • The base enclosure is 100% recycled aluminium, and the release also lists recycled gold plating, tin solder and rare earth magnets.

It's priced at $299, which feels accessible when you look at the prices of the digital calendars out there.