The best feature of Apple's HomeView may be its simplicity

I'm just going to say it. I love Apple's approach with HomeView. I think this shared, always-accessible home interface is something my family may end up using. Is Apple's first smart display my dream smart home dashboard? No. But is this product suitable for Apple Home in […]

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If Apple's first smart display finally gets my family to actually use my smart home, I'll call it a winner.

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Apple's HomeView smart screen is designed for the kitchen. (That aluminum base seems to hold up better than my current off-white kitchen HomePod.) Photo by Jennifer Pattison Toohey/The Verge

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He is a senior referee with more than twenty years of experience. He covers smart homes, IoT and connected technologies and has previously written for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, BBC and US News.

I'm just going to come out and say it. I love Apple's approach with HomeView. I think it's a shared, always-on home interface that my family might end up using. Is Apple's first smart display the dashboard of my dream smart home? no But is this product currently suitable for Apple Home? absolutely

Many early reactions to the $299 HomeView (which looks like a giant Apple Watch in a sleeker metal HomePod Mini) have questioned why anyone would want it when you can do everything the watch offers on an iPhone or iPad. And yes, it replicates many of the things you already do on the devices you use. But that's kind of the point. HomeView gives you another interface for those things, but most importantly, one that's always on, always unlocked, and always somewhere in your home, making it easy to get to and interact with.

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I've tried using the iPad to control my smart home, run my family calendar, and a shared device to control music. It wasn't great, of course I'll have to test HomeView, but my initial impression is that it could be a much better solution for those use cases.

My iPad survived the wall test for several years without fail.

Most iPads are more expensive, have worse speakers, and don't like to be plugged in all the time (I present my sad, wobbly iPad mini as a tribute). The iPad cannot be the hub of your Apple Home. HomeView can. The iPad is notoriously not a good multi-user device, and controlling home devices on it requires signing it into your personal iCloud account. HomeView offers Apple's first crack at easy multi-user switching.

Apple designed HomeView as a shared device that sits in a fixed location in the home. That means it's always where you expect it to be, which is important when you want to adjust the thermostat or can't find your phone and want to check your calendar. Not having a battery or a detachable screen is a plus for me, as things inevitably end up tossed under the couch cushions and die.

And while many people use their personal phones and tablets to interact with the digital world at home and don't want another device with a screen on their desk or wall, the millions of Echo Shows, Google Nest Hubs, Skylight Calendars, and the like in homes today is a good indication that there's interest in this kind of interface.

The HomeView's design is more compact than most smart displays I've tested.

As Apple's messy launch video suggests, HomeView is targeting a new demographic for the company: busy, Apple-focused families. One of the features I'm most interested in is HomeView's role as a home video phone. Do you know how many times I've tried to call my daughter when I'm not home and her phone is off or turned off? My call can now ring in HomeView if he's home, according to Apple's video. I've occasionally used the drop-in feature on my Echo smart speakers to get her attention, which shows the advantage of always-on home devices.

HomeView uses Siri AI (requires an AI-enabled iPhone) to provide helpful personal information.

An iPhone or iPad is required for a user profile, but anyone in the home can control devices like smart lights. (But it's a really big button…)

In my opinion, HomeView fills an awkward space where families don't want a phone on the dinner table or on the kitchen table, but still want to check what time Zoey is. The soccer game is the origin of French toast, or look for it (yeah, I'm kidding). This inevitably ends with one person pulling out the phone, which gives the others implicit permission to do the same.

Amazon and Google's smart displays and speakers help with this to some extent, but Apple's version comes ad-free (see Echo Show) and may last longer (RIP Pixel Tablet). Siri AI's much-touted "personal context" capabilities, where it can scan your text messages and emails and provide relevant information to up to six members of your family, give it an edge here, too.

HomeView has a variety of customizable faces.

I asked Kaiann Drance, Apple's vice president of home product marketing, why Apple chose to make its biggest smart home effort now. He said Siri's AI and personal context, which he called Apple's "privacy story," came with a device designed specifically for the home. "With the magic of Siri's artificial intelligence, it comes together in a way that we haven't been able to deliver before," he said.

As Siri's AI capabilities continue to evolve, the home experience is suited to be interacted with in a natural way.

Siri's AI made this possible because it's "so much more capable," said Lillian Rinken, vice president of product marketing for artificial intelligence at Apple. He also mentioned its new conversational capabilities. This is great because you can just ask it to change the temperature of your thermostat in a very natural way. As Siri's AI capabilities continue to evolve, the home experience is well suited to be interacted with in this natural way. As for why now, Rinken says the shift in natural language is the point at which artificial intelligence becomes mainstream. "Because now it's possible ... my mother-in-law or Gen Z who's in college, they can both use this to speak naturally and get what they want."

Siri's AI at home has another big advantage over the competition: it doesn't say much. Based on the demos I've seen and the time I've used Siri on the iPhone, it does what you ask it to do without bothering you with follow-up questions. Rincon confirmed that this was by design. "Many of these assistants are always asking questions because they want more information," he said. "For us, it's not about that. "We're there to do it, take action for you, show you what to do, and then really get out of the way."

The Home control widget in HomeView can show live views of security cameras.

My first reaction to hearing about HomeView's smart home features, which are essentially what the Apple Home app on your phone can do, was disappointment. I was hoping that along with the new hardware, Apple would bring more features and deeper Apple intelligence integration to the Apple Home to make the smart home even smarter. I am still waiting for it.

On reflection, I'm fine with that - for now. Apple's efforts to make the smart home easier for everyone can only be a good thing. As always, the most important goal of the smart home is to find an easier way to turn on the lights.

Apple's efforts to make smart homes easier for everyone can only be a good thing.

HomeView's simplicity may turn off home automation enthusiasts, but I believe it's perfect for their long-term spouses. I've tried every version of the physical smart home control interface in my home, and you know who hasn't used any of them? my family

Since my family all have iPhones, and since HomeView will always be there and feel familiar, I can see them actually using it. This means I can run a full Home Assistant instance on a Raspberry Pi with a detailed dashboard on a tablet in my office, then import scenes and devices into Apple Home so my husband and daughter can just tap HomeView in the kitchen to control them.

The HomeView may not be the smart home computer I want Apple to make, but it's the smart home device Apple should make. It doesn't have to run all the iPad apps or do more than my iPhone. It just needs to make the smart home available to everyone in the house. If Apple has done this, it could be worth more than any new smart home feature I've ever dreamed of.