Apple Unveils Its First Smart Display, HomeView, Priced at $299

Apple's 7-inch smart display, named HomeView, features an A18 chip, multi-user face recognition, and software inspired by Apple Watch faces. The post Apple Unveils Its First Smart Display, HomeView, Priced at $299 appeared first on Safir Arjan.

Apple's 7-inch smart display named HomeView with A18 chip, multi-user facial recognition and software inspired by Apple Watch faces was introduced.

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This year is an important period for Apple's first experiences. The company first launched the MacBook Neo as a budget laptop, then in September unveiled its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, and introduced a new CEO after 15 years. Now it's time for Apple HomeView; A device that is considered the first exclusive smart display of Apple.

While competitors such as Google and Amazon have sent all kinds of screens and smart speakers equipped with screens to homes in the last decade, Apple has so far focused only on HomePod speakers in its smart home ecosystem. This company even removed the ability to use iPad as a central hub a few years ago and required users to buy Apple TV or HomePod; An approach that may have been the main reason for its significant lack of success in this field. Now, the 7-inch HomeView smart display was unveiled Tuesday at an event in New York, along with several other home gadgets, to revive Apple's lagging ecosystem.

This device is priced at $299 and comes in two models equipped with an audio base or a wall panel, both of which have the same price. Pre-sale of the device has started and its final delivery will be done on November 13; Of course, Apple has announced that due to the lack of access to Siri AI capabilities due to regulatory laws, this product will not be available in the European Union.

The design of the device at first glance is similar to an enlarged Apple Watch. Its 7-inch square display supports multiple watch faces that can be changed by swiping just like the company's smart watches. Users can customize the color of these pages and place widgets on it to quickly display information. These pages range from clock displays and weather updates to shared family photo albums and even Snoopy animations. Swiping up brings up the home screen, which has an iPhone and iPad-like environment with an arrangement of apps and widgets, although the device's operating system is neither iOS nor iPadOS, but proprietary software called HomeView.

The device does not have an independent app store; Instead, a set of default programs such as Facetime, Messages and Safari run on it. Some third-party apps like Spotify are also present, and developers can port existing CarPlay apps to this operating system. If a CarPlay app is already installed on the iPhone, it will automatically appear on HomeView after launch. However, making the most of Apple HomeView's smart display features requires an iPhone equipped with Apple Intelligence technology (at least iPhone 15 Pro and later) and cannot be set up with an iPad.

The aluminum hardware of the device provides its processing power from the A18 chip. The standard desktop model comes in four colors: silver, starlight, pink, and space gray, along with the same color woven cables, while the wall version is available in only two colors, silver and space gray. The standard version is equipped with a base with an amplification speaker that allows manual up and down rotation. The wall model also has three installation options: a simple mode with exposed wiring to the power outlet, and two other specialized modes in the form of built-in or connection through power transmission technology through a network cable or PoE.

The main speakers of the device include two full-range drivers that are placed inside the display panel, but the basic desktop version uses a downward-facing woofer and two vibration-neutralizing passive radiators to produce deeper bass and cover large spaces well. Although the wall version does not have this basic subwoofer, Apple has optimized its acoustic output according to the sound reflection from the wall surface. The device's 7-inch Liquid Retina display has a brightness of 500 nits and is equipped with the True Tone feature, which can reduce its brightness to 0.3 nits thanks to the ambient light sensor; The figure that is the lowest level of brightness recorded among Apple panels and is ideal for use next to the bed.

The 12-megapixel Center Stage camera along with the four-microphone array are placed in front of the device. In addition to video calls, the camera also has the task of face recognition and adapts the user interface environment to the person standing in front of the screen. Apple HomeView supports up to 6 iCloud accounts; So that every user will see their personalized items for icons and widgets. Also, to display sensitive information such as personal messages, the presence of a person in front of the device is not enough, and the user must also unlock his iPhone and be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

With voice recognition, the device can respond to voice commands related to playing music based on a person's personal archive, and it is also possible to group HomePods. Handoff technology also makes it possible to quickly transfer voice or video calls, continue podcasts, and transfer Safari browser recipes from the iPhone to the display by bringing the two devices closer together.

The main function of HomeView is based on the artificial intelligence of Siri (Siri AI) in the iOS 27 operating system. This assistant now understands the context and personal information of your messages and executes commands in conversational language without dry command structure; For example, if you ask it to play a song suggested by your friend or set the time to turn on the coffee maker based on the arrival time of the guest, it will act intelligently. Also, when opening cooking pages in Safari browser, this tool removes extra sections of the article and provides ingredients and step-by-step cooking steps with automatic timers for each step. In addition, users can view control widgets of all smart home equipment and live feed of up to 9 connected security cameras simultaneously through the dedicated cameras page.

My professional career in the world of technology goes back almost 10 years; The path that started with hardware, continued with software, and now continues as a technology reporter in Sefir Arjan. I am Javad and more than three decades have passed and in addition to the world of technology, I love movies and cinema, classic rock music and Real Madrid.