Apple HomeView Announced: $299 Hub Arrives November 13

It's finally real. After years of rumors, Apple pulled back the curtain on the Apple HomeView today at its "Welcome Home" event in New York — the company's first real smart home hub, and its biggest swing at the connected home in nearly a decade. The Apple HomeView is a 7-inch touchscreen display with Siri AI at its core, and it's built around one big idea: a smart home device that knows exactly who's standing in front of it.

I've been covering smart home gear long enough to know that Apple rumors age like milk, so I didn't believe it until the announcement landed. Here's everything Apple actually confirmed: the specs, the price, the colors, when you can buy one, and the surprise lineup of cameras, doorbells, locks, and thermostats launching alongside it.

What Apple Announced at the Welcome Home Event

The headline is the HomeView itself, but Apple framed the whole event as a fresh start for its smart home strategy. Alongside the hub, the company confirmed a new HomePod mini 2 and a new Apple TV 4K, plus a partnership with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric for a full shelf of accessories under the name Apple Home Collection.

The timing isn't accidental. Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub have owned the smart-display category for years while Apple sat on the sidelines with the HomePod — a great speaker that never quite became a home command center. HomeView is Apple saying, okay, we're actually doing this now. The device is positioned as the "Siri command center" of an Apple-powered home, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had the name nailed weeks ago after it surfaced in a trademark filing.

Apple also announced that ADT will offer professional in-home installation of the wall-mounted HomeView and the new accessories in most areas of the US starting this fall, for an extra charge. That's a pretty clear signal that Apple wants this in real homes fast, not just on tech-enthusiast shelves.

Apple HomeView Specs: Display, Siri AI, and Face Recognition

Both versions of the HomeView share the same core: a square 7-inch Liquid Retina touchscreen (1088 x 1088 resolution). The tabletop model's floating display on a domed aluminum speaker base genuinely recalls the classic iMac G4 — the screen tilts on a stainless steel hinge so you can angle it however you like. The wall-mounted version is just the screen unit, with speaker holes along the bottom edge.

Under the hood, the device reportedly runs on an A18 chip, and everything revolves around Siri AI, Apple's upgraded assistant. This is the part Apple spent the most time on: the HomeView uses its built-in camera to recognize up to six household members by face. Walk up to it, and the screen switches to your stuff — your messages, calendar appointments, contacts, notes, reminders, and preferred apps. Walk away, and your teenager gets their own view instead.

According to Apple's announcement, your personal context and conversations stay private to you, while things like shared photo albums and music are available to everyone in the house. It's a clever answer to the oldest smart-display complaint: one screen, one account, everybody's business.

A few honest limitations to know about. There's no dedicated App Store — HomeView runs a limited selection of Apple apps like Calendar, Messages, Photos, FaceTime, Notes, Reminders, Music, and Podcasts. Third-party apps can reportedly show up as widgets projected from a nearby iPhone. And yes, it has a FaceTime camera, so video calls from the kitchen counter are very much the use case.

Apple HomeView Price, Colors, and Versions

Here's the pricing, straight from Apple:

  • $299 for the tabletop model (display + domed speaker base)
  • $299 for the wall-mounted model (screen only — surprisingly, not cheaper)

The tabletop version comes in four colors: Silver, Space Gray, Rose Pink, and Starlight. The wall-mounted version is limited to Silver and Space Gray, and the mounts cost extra — three purpose-built options from Schneider Home:

  • Power Mount USB-C Wall Connector — $59.95 (you'll need to buy a power adapter separately)
  • Power Mount AC Wired — $79.95
  • Power Mount PoE Wired — $129.95

So a wall-mounted setup can easily run you $360–$430 all-in. And one more geographic catch: HomeView won't be sold in the European Union at launch, because Siri AI isn't available in iOS there yet. Apple says it's working with EU regulators on a path forward.

Preorder and Release Date

Preorders are open now, starting today. The device ships and hits stores on November 13 — roughly a month after today's announcement. For comparison, the new Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini 2 arrive October 30, so the HomeView is the last piece of Apple's fall smart home wave to land. If you're still deciding whether a hub is even worth it, my guide on whether you actually need a smart home hub walks through the real-world pros and cons.

Apple Home Collection: Cameras, Doorbells, Locks, and Thermostats

The bigger surprise, honestly, is the accessory lineup. Apple teamed up with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric to co-design a full range of smart home gear that lives entirely inside the Apple Home app — no extra apps, no extra accounts, one-tap setup from your iPhone. Here's the US pricing:

  • LG Video Doorbell Wired — $249.95 (with a second downward-facing HD camera just for packages)
  • LG Floodlight Cam — $399.95
  • LG Outdoor Cam Plug-In — $299.95
  • LG Indoor Cam Plug-In — $199.95 (it physically tilts away when someone gets home — I love this detail)
  • LG Smart Deadbolt Lock — $349.95 (ultra-wideband walk-up auto-unlock, home key on iPhone and Apple Watch, works offline)
  • LG Smart Thermostat and Schneider Home Smart Thermostat — $199.95 each
  • Room/temperature sensors — $39.95 each

The cameras record in up to 2.5K and can tell apart people, familiar faces, pets, vehicles, and packages. Footage is processed locally on your home hub and stored encrypted in iCloud for 10 days for iCloud+ subscribers — no separate camera subscription, which is a direct shot at Ring and Nest's monthly fees. Local storage keeps cameras recording even during Wi-Fi outages. If you're shopping doorbells anyway, I've tested the current field in my best video doorbells roundup.

The whole collection goes on sale in December at Apple's stores and website, with a few accessories following in early 2027. Cameras sell in the US, Canada, and the UK; the lock, thermostats, and sensors are US and Canada only for now.

How HomeView Competes With Echo and Nest Hub

Let's be real about the market: Apple is walking into a room Amazon and Google already furnished. The Echo Show 8 sits at $199.99 and the Nest Hub at $99.99 — both well under HomeView's $299. Amazon has years of Alexa routines and shopping integrations; Google has Search, Maps, and YouTube baked in.

So what's Apple's edge? Three things. First, privacy: on-device processing and end-to-end encryption are the core pitch, and the camera that looks away when you're home is the kind of touch only Apple would bother with. Second, personalization: no other smart display switches profiles by face for six people this smoothly. Third, ecosystem gravity: if your life already runs on iPhone, the HomeView pulls your actual context — not a generic assistant, but your calendar, your messages, your reminders.

The risk is the classic Apple one: a premium price and a closed system in a category where people are used to cheap and open. I compared the three ecosystems head-to-head in my Alexa vs Google Home vs HomeKit breakdown — worth a read before you pick a side.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Apple HomeView come out?
Apple announced the HomeView on October 13, 2026. Preorders opened the same day, and the device launches November 13, 2026.

How much does the Apple HomeView cost?
Both the tabletop and wall-mounted versions cost $299. Wall mounts are sold separately at $59.95, $79.95, or $129.95 depending on the model, so budget extra if you're going the wall route.

Can the Apple HomeView recognize different family members?
Yes. Its built-in camera recognizes up to six people by face, and the display automatically switches to each person's apps, messages, and calendar when they're detected. Personal data stays private per user; shared albums and music are available to everyone.

Does the Apple HomeView work with non-Apple smart home devices?
It supports Matter, so many third-party devices will work. The new Apple Home Collection accessories from LG and Schneider are designed to work entirely inside the Apple Home app with no extra accounts. Note that HomeView is not sold in the EU at launch.

About the Author

Sidra Salman is the founder of Smart Home Tech, where she writes practical, research-backed guides on smart home tech and gadgets. Every guide is tested and written in plain English for a US audience.

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