Apple’s latest product releases are the company’s biggest step into the world of the smart home. Alongside the HomePod mini 2 came the latest Apple TV 4K and the all-new product: Apple HomeView. Here’s all you need to know.

Apple HomeView: What Is It?

The latest device is a speaker with a display. The base is an aluminum dome. A shiny stainless-steel hinge attaches to a seven-inch square display. The base is a speaker with a down-firing woofer, to provide bass, while the edges of the display have dual drivers capable of spatial audio.

The sound quality is said to be better than a HomePod mini, but not as potent as a full-size HomePod.

There’s also a version of the HomeView that’s designed to be wall-mounted, with the dual drivers, and with audio tuned specifically for on-wall placement.

In both versions, the HomeView is meant to be the home hub with plenty of capabilities for the family. You can play music, follow onscreen recipes, watch video and conduct FaceTime calls.

Apple HomeView Home Hub Capabilities

It syncs with smart home devices like cameras and thermostats so you can see who’s at the door or turn up the heating from the screen.

Apple has worked with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric to create what’s called the Apple Home Collection: a series of devices which will, it’s claimed, be effortlessly easy to pair with the HomeView. Other devices are compatible as well, and it indicates Apple’s desire that people who have ignored smart home devices before may get on board now.

Apple HomeView Privacy Features

A 12-megapixel Center Stage camera in the frame’s bezel means not only that the HomeView can handle FaceTime calls but that the device knows who’s standing in front of it. Then, and this is one of the key features Apple announced, it can control what appears onscreen.

It personalizes the content, and builds privacy in. So, when you’re reading your text messages on the screen and you move away, the device automatically closes private content and the next face that appears has to authenticate before their chosen home screen, background and relevant apps appear.

Apple HomeView Siri AI Features

Because the A18 processor can handle Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, you can ask the HomeView to find that recipe a contact sent you by email. Then, Siri AI will reflow the content of an online recipe, for instance, to put the ingredients list first, and integrate timers into the system so you can make the dish in question. If your fingers are covered in flour or oil, Siri can help you advance to the next step in the process.

Similarly, you can add new events to your calendar, set reminders, check when a friend’s flight will land and more, all through Siri.

Apple HomeView Pricing And Availability

Pre-orders are now open for the HomeView (and the HomePod mini 2 and the latest Apple TV 4K). While the HomePod mini 2 goes on sale on Oct. 30 (for $149), the Apple TV 4K and HomeView are on sale two weeks later, on Friday, Nov. 13. Both cost $299.

Apple HomeView comes in two colors in the wall-mountable version, silver and space gray, while the regular version also offers starlight and rose pink shades.