Where would HomeView live in your home?
Tap the spot that sounds like yours:
The kitchen is HomeView's natural home. The tabletop model tilts on its hinge, the screen dims from 500 nits to 0.3 nits so it never glares, and you can ask Siri AI to set timers, show a recipe, play music or check the front-door camera without touching the screen with wet hands. Budget $299 — the wall mount and its hardware are extra, so the tabletop model is the cheaper way in.
What HomeView is, and why today matters
Apple has been rumoured to be building a smart home display for years — a cross between a small iPad and a HomePod that stays in one room and runs the house. On 13 October 2026 Apple finally announced it, opened pre-orders the same day, and set availability for Friday 13 November. Today is that day: the first pre-orders are reaching customers in Australia and New Zealand, where Friday arrived first. It launches in eight markets — the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore and South Africa — but not in the European Union, because Siri AI is currently unavailable in iOS there. Siri AI starts in English, with Canadian French promised in a later free update.
HomeView is a dedicated home display, not a general-purpose tablet. It does not run the full iPad app library. What it does is narrower and deliberate: music and video, FaceTime calls, shared photo albums, a household dashboard for lights, locks, cameras, blinds and thermostats, and hands-free control through Siri AI — the rebuilt Siri powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence. Apple held the product back from an earlier release so it could debut alongside Siri AI in iOS 27, according to MacRumors.
HomeView specs at a glance
The headline numbers are straightforward, and every one below comes from Apple's own announcement or its published specifications.
| Specification | HomeView (tabletop and wall-mounted) |
|---|---|
| Price | $299 in the US, £299 in the UK, A$449 including GST in Australia |
| Display | 7-inch Liquid Retina touchscreen, 1088 × 1088 pixels, 220 ppi, True Tone |
| Brightness | 500 nits maximum, down to 0.3 nits for a dark bedroom |
| Chip | A18 |
| Camera | 12MP Center Stage camera, keeps callers in frame on FaceTime |
| Audio | Two full-range drivers, down-firing woofer, dual force-cancelling passive radiators, Spatial Audio |
| Face recognition | Recognises up to six household members, each with a personalised Home Screen |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6.0, Thread; Matter home hub |
| Colours | Tabletop: silver, starlight, rose pink, space grey. Wall-mounted: silver and space grey |
| Setup needs | iPhone with iOS 27.2 or later, or iPad with iPadOS 27.2 or later, plus Wi-Fi |
Two versions sell for the same $299. The tabletop model has an aluminium design with a domed speaker base and a stainless steel hinge that tilts the display for comfortable viewing on counters of any height. The wall-mounted model is a flat panel for an entryway or hallway — but it needs a separate Schneider Electric mount, priced from $59.95 for the Power Mount USB-C Wall Connector and $79.95 for the Power Mount AC Wired, with a Power over Ethernet version due in early 2027 at $129.95. The wall model also needs its own USB-C cable and an adapter of at least 20W, each sold separately. So the real cost of a wall setup starts at about $359, not $299.
The price picture
Two Apple products launching on the same day at the same $299 price is the story of this launch. The chart below puts the numbers side by side — including what the wall-mounted HomeView actually costs once the mount is added, and what the previous Apple TV 4K cost.
Launch-day prices, November 2026 (US dollars)
Two things stand out. First, the new Apple TV 4K is a steep jump from the 2022 model: the equivalent 2022 configuration (Wi-Fi + Ethernet) cost $149, so the new box costs twice as much. Apple is charging for the A19 chip, the microphones and Siri AI — not for the streaming itself. Second, the wall-mounted HomeView is the expensive way to buy in. Unless the hallway placement matters to you, the tabletop model at $299 is the same device for $60 to $130 less. MacRumors reports no shortages are expected, though some tabletop colours had slipped to late November or early December delivery in parts of the US by mid-October — so if you want a specific colour for a Christmas gift, order sooner rather than later.
Siri AI and the face that knows the household
HomeView is the first Apple device built around Siri AI from the ground up. Siri AI is the rebuilt assistant powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence: more conversational, with broader world knowledge, richer music discovery and onscreen awareness — the ability to understand what is on the display and act on it. On HomeView it runs as a beta feature in HomeView Software 27.2, and Apple notes that usage limits may apply.
The feature that makes HomeView different from a HomePod with a screen is face recognition. The device recognises up to six people as they approach and adapts: each person gets their own Home Screen, apps and widgets, and access to their personal content in Messages, FaceTime, Calendar, Reminders and Find My. The screen also adapts by proximity — glanceable widgets from across the room, deeper detail up close.
Privacy is the obvious question for a camera and microphone that live in the home. Apple says camera and microphone data is protected by Secure Exclaves — hardware-isolated environments on the chip that keep the data away from the operating system, apps and Apple itself. Siri requests are handled on-device where possible or through Private Cloud Compute.
What it does around the home
HomeView is a Matter home hub with Thread support, so it controls compatible Apple Home and Matter accessories by touch or voice — cameras, lights, locks, blinds and thermostats. Its dashboard can stream up to nine live camera feeds at once: a wall or counter display that is always showing the house. Entertainment is the other half of the job: music and video, shared photo albums, and FaceTime calls with the Center Stage camera.
One honest note: Siri AI on HomeView cannot yet control smart-home products like locks — Apple confirmed on 12 November that a software update to fix that is coming, but not until next month. If hands-free lock control is the reason you would buy one, wait for the December update and check that it actually landed before ordering.
The new Apple TV 4K, launching the same day
The fourth-generation Apple TV 4K arrives today too, in the US and 29 other countries and regions, for $299. It is the first redesign of the box since 2022: the A19 chip from the iPhone 17 series (Apple claims up to 50% faster CPU performance and up to twice as fast GPU performance versus the A15 Bionic), a dedicated AV1 hardware decoder, Wi-Fi 7, and 128GB of storage as the single configuration.
The headline feature is hands-free Siri AI. Three far-field microphones are built into the box itself, so you can talk to Siri without reaching for the remote — something no earlier Apple TV could do. You can pair up to four HomePod speakers for surround sound, a feature unique to this model. The new Siri Remote (4th generation) looks the same size as before but now has a built-in speaker for Find My, with Precision Finding when you have an iPhone Air, iPhone Duo, or iPhone 17 and later (excluding iPhone 17e).
If you already own a recent Apple TV, you do not need the new box to try the assistant: Apple says Siri AI is coming to the 2nd- and 3rd-generation Apple TV 4K models in the upcoming tvOS 27.2.1 update. The new box ships with tvOS 27.0 and prompts you to update to tvOS 27.2 during setup. Siri AI on the TV is a beta, and it needs a nearby paired Siri AI-enabled device such as an iPhone 15 Pro or later.
| Question | HomeView | Apple TV 4K (4th gen) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $299 (wall mount extra) | $299 |
| Chip | A18 | A19 |
| Screen | Built in: 7-inch touchscreen | None — uses your TV |
| Best at | Whole-home dashboard, cameras, FaceTime, kitchen use | TV, films, games, living-room Siri |
| Siri AI | Built in, beta in software 27.2 | Hands-free via 3 far-field mics, beta |
| Who it recognises | Up to 6 people by face | Up to 6 people by voice |
| Buy it if | You want a shared screen that runs the house | You want the fastest streamer with hands-free Siri |
Setup, and the update you will install on day one
HomeView ships with HomeView Software 26.5 — software roughly six months old — and prompts you to update to version 27.2 during setup. Apple released a second build of 27.2 (build 24V526) on 12 November, hours before launch, and its security notes say the update addresses nine vulnerabilities, including issues with AirPlay, Messages and Bluetooth.
Setup needs an iPhone running iOS 27.2 or later, or an iPad running iPadOS 27.2 or later, plus Wi-Fi. If your iPhone is still on an older iOS version, update it first — HomeView will not set up without it. The device needs wired power at all times; the tabletop model includes its cable and adapter, the wall model does not.
The honest catches
HomeView is a first-generation product, and the launch comes with real trade-offs. Here they are, plainly:
- Siri AI cannot control locks yet. Apple confirmed the bug on 12 November and promised a fix next month. If lock control is your main use case, wait.
- It is not sold in the EU. Siri AI is unavailable in iOS there, so the whole product stays out of the European Union for now.
- The wall version costs more than $299. Mounts start at $59.95 and the cable and adapter are extra. The tabletop model is the honest $299.
- Siri AI is a beta with usage limits. Apple says usage limits may apply, and it launches in English only. Canadian French follows in a later update.
- You need a recent iPhone to set it up. An iPhone on iOS 27.2 or later (or an iPad on iPadOS 27.2 or later) is required — an older iPhone or an Android phone will not do it.
- It is not a tablet. There is no general-purpose iPad app library here. If you want a device that runs any app, buy an iPad instead.
The Apple TV 4K has its own catch: $299 is double the price of the equivalent 2022 model, and the main reason to pay it is Siri AI and the A19 chip. If you stream on a 2022 Apple TV 4K and do not care about hands-free Siri, the tvOS 27.2.1 update brings Siri AI to your existing box for free.
Should you buy one today?
Buy the tabletop HomeView today if your home already runs on Apple Home or Matter accessories, you have an iPhone on iOS 27.2, and you want a shared screen in the kitchen or living room that shows cameras, plays music and takes FaceTime calls. It is the only Apple device that does that job.
Wait if you live in the EU, if hands-free lock control is the feature you need, or if you want the wall-mounted version and the mount pricing puts you off — the mounts and the PoE version are still rolling out, and the December software update is the one to watch. Renters should also note the wall model needs a proper mount and wired power, a bigger commitment than a countertop device you can move.
For the Apple TV 4K: buy it if your current streamer is old, slow or a non-Apple box and you want hands-free Siri in the living room. Skip it if you own a 2nd- or 3rd-generation Apple TV 4K — wait for tvOS 27.2.1 and try Siri AI there first.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Apple HomeView cost?
$299 in the US and £299 in the UK, for either model, as of November 2026. The wall-mounted version needs a separate mount (from $59.95) plus a USB-C cable and an adapter of at least 20W, so a wall setup costs about $359 or more.
When did Apple HomeView launch?
Apple announced HomeView on 13 October 2026, opened pre-orders the same day, and set availability for Friday 13 November 2026. The first orders reached customers in Australia and New Zealand on 13 November, and it went on sale the same day in all eight launch markets.
Does HomeView work without an iPhone?
No. Setup requires an iPhone with iOS 27.2 or later, or an iPad with iPadOS 27.2 or later, plus Wi-Fi. Personal Siri AI features — reading Calendar and Messages, acting across apps — also need an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad paired to HomeView.
Can HomeView recognise different people?
Yes. It recognises up to six household members by face and gives each one a personalised Home Screen with their own apps, widgets and personal content in Messages, FaceTime, Calendar, Reminders and Find My.
Why is HomeView not available in the EU?
Apple is not selling HomeView in the European Union at launch because Siri AI is currently unavailable in iOS there. HomeView is built around Siri AI, so Apple is holding the product out of the EU until that changes.
Should I buy the new Apple TV 4K or wait?
Buy the 4th-generation Apple TV 4K ($299) if you want hands-free Siri AI on the TV, the faster A19 chip, Wi-Fi 7 or four-HomePod surround sound. Wait if you already own a 2nd- or 3rd-generation model — Siri AI is coming to those in the tvOS 27.2.1 update, so you can try the assistant before spending $299.
Sources
- Apple Newsroom, "Meet Apple HomeView", 14 Oct 2026 — apple.com
- MacRumors, "HomeView Launch Kicks Off as First Orders Reach Customers", 12 Nov 2026 — macrumors.com
- MacRumors, "Apple Releases Updated HomeView Software 27.2 Before Launch", 12 Nov 2026 — macrumors.com
- Stuff, "The Apple TV 4K is launching tomorrow", 12 Nov 2026 — stuff.tv
- Tech Times, "Apple TV 4K (4th Gen) Goes on Sale November 13 for $299", 10 Nov 2026 — techtimes.com
- GearBrain, "Apple HomeView Buying Guide", Oct 2026 — gearbrain.com
- MatterCheck, "Apple HomeView buying guide", 22 Oct 2026 — getmattercheck.com
- Tech-Ish, "Apple HomeView brings a shared 7-inch screen and Siri AI into the home", 13 Oct 2026 — tech-ish.com
- Hypebeast, "Apple Debuts $299 USD HomeView Smart Display", 14 Oct 2026 — hypebeast.com
- GigaGuideTech, "Apple HomeView and Apple TV 4K Launch November 13", 12 Nov 2026 — gigaguidetech.com
- The Apple Post, "Apple Releases HomeView Software 27.2 Update", 12 Nov 2026 — theapplepost.com
- All prices checked 13 November 2026; regional prices vary with tax and currency.
Related reading
- iOS 27.3 Beta: Everything New — Safari Vertical Tabs, the Redesigned Health App, and a Smarter Siri AI
- Apple's First Touchscreen MacBook Pro (2026): PROLED XDR, M5 Pro/Max, and the $2,899 Question
- macOS 27 Golden Gate Tips: 8 Hidden Features That Make Your Mac Faster Every Day
- AirPods Pro: Live Translation, Hearing Health, and Fit
- iCloud Storage and iCloud+ Plans Explained
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