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Mobile·2 min read

Apple HomeView reviews: Siri says it has no camera

Apple's first smart display, the HomeView, is out in eight English-speaking markets. Early reviews praise the smart home control and mock Siri.

Apple HomeView 7-inch smart display sitting on a kitchen counter showing a home control screen.
Image: Frandroid
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Joanna Stern spent a week arguing with a 7-inch screen on her kitchen counter. In her video review of the Apple HomeView, she asks it to open her garage door. Siri refuses. Siri then tells her, with total confidence, that the device has no camera, while a 12-megapixel lens sits a few centimetres away.

Apple told her that locks and garage doors can only be opened by tapping the screen for now, as a security measure. Voice control is promised in an update next month. Her verdict: she already has two kids who don't listen, and doubts she wants a third.

The HomeView went on sale on 13 November in eight English-speaking markets, and in no European Union country. It costs $299 before tax in the US, as a stand or a wall-mounted version. It is the first big hardware launch beyond the iPhone under John Ternus, who replaced Tim Cook as CEO on 1 September. It takes aim at Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub.

What is the Apple HomeView good at?

Smart home control. It has a Thread radio chip and a Matter controller, two common smart home standards, so it can run third-party bulbs, locks and thermostats without an extra hub. The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy gave it 7 out of 10: lights react as fast as a wall switch, and kitchen mode splits web recipes into steps with several timers.

It can recognise up to six family members by face or voice and show each their own messages and calendar from their iPhone. That is also where it goes wrong. Tuohy could read and scroll her 15-year-old daughter's private texts, because the wide-angle camera still saw the teenager sitting on the sofa behind her. Siri AI also invented a 1 h 47 trip to an appointment that was really five hours away.

AppleInsider called it "flawed, I want three more", but missed a dedicated App Store, and found widgets that often just pass you back to the iPhone. The Short Circuit channel noted the face recognition is not Face ID: with no infrared projector, it analyses a flat 2D image and could in theory be fooled by a photo.

Why isn't the HomeView sold in France or Europe?

Apple chose to skip Europe because its new Siri AI is not yet deployed on European iPhones. Against the Echo Show, Apple does have two advantages: no ads on the interface, and Siri AI included for free, while Amazon charges $20 a month for Alexa+ without a Prime subscription.

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