Apple unveils HomeView smart display in renewed home push

Apple on Tuesday unveiled HomeView, a voice-driven smart display built around its revamped Siri AI assistant, as the iPhone maker makes a fresh bid for a place in living rooms and kitchens.

The device, which pairs a square seven-inch touchscreen with a speaker base, will sell for $299 in the United States starting November 13.

Apple has struggled for years to gain ground in the smart home, where its HomePod speakers have trailed Amazon’s Alexa and Google AI-amped devices.

Analysts see the new hardware as an effort to deepen customers’ ties to the Apple ecosystem as AI rivals, including OpenAI, eye devices of their own.

The launch is one of the first under John Ternus, Apple’s former hardware engineering chief, who took over as chief executive from Tim Cook on September 1.

HomeView is meant to act as a family command center, controlling connected features such as lights, locks, thermostats and cameras.

It also handles FaceTime video calls, plays music and video and doubles as a digital picture frame when idle.

In addition, Apple has also formed partnerships with South Korea’s LG and France’s Schneider for door locks and thermostats.

The release’s centerpiece is Siri AI, the overhauled version of Apple’s assistant powered by Apple Intelligence, which the company is pitching as a more conversational helper than the original Siri.

Siri AI is central to Apple’s effort to catch up with rivals in generative artificial intelligence, and it is built on AI technology from Google Gemini.

The company said that HomeView would not be sold in the European Union for the time being as the company finds ways to make Siri AI compliant with Europe’s competition rules.

Apple stated that it is working constructively with the EU to find a way for these products to enter the European market.