Apple officially enters the smart home market with the new Apple HomeView.
The Apple HomeView is a smart home hub, allowing you to control and manage all your smart devices at home, while having extra features like built-in microphones and a camera so you can use it on its own.
It comes in two models: There’s the standard model with a desktop stand, which looks a lot like the iMac G4 from 2002. A wall-mounted version is also available, with different mounts available from Schneider Home.
For the display, we have a square 7-inch IPS touchscreen with a 1088 x 1088 pixel resolution and a ~220ppi. It has a brightness of 0.3 to 500 nits, and even supports Apple’s True Tone technology.
It then has two full-range drivers, while the standard version adds a downfiring woofer and dual force-cancelling passive radiators.
The HomeView also supports Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos. It also uses computational audio to adjust the tuning in real-time to match its surroundings.
For Siri commands and video calls, the HomeView uses four far-field microphones, which can also register smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Speaking of video calls, it uses a 12-megapixel ultra-wide Center Stage camera, similar to the ones found on iPads.
Running the show is an Apple A18 chip. It runs on custom software and has both Siri and Apple Intelligence. It can recognize up to six different people in the home to give customized answers and suggestions. The wallpaper is also heavily customizable when the device is idle.
Connectivity includes WiFi 6 with MIMO, Bluetooth 6.0, and Thread networking. The Apple HomeView is now listed in the United States for USD299 (~Php18,800) for both the standard and wall-mounted versions. No word yet if it will ever arrive in the Philippines.