Apple has launched a new device called the “HomeView,” which is a smart home hub with a 7-inch square touchscreen display, FaceTime camera, speakers, and microphones.
It’s a fusion of a HomePod (on the speaker side) and an iPad (on the display side), meant to sit on a desk or tabletop, or be mounted to the wall.
You can use it to ask Siri all sorts of questions, control your Home, view CCTV camera feeds, make FaceTime calls, listen to music, see recipes on the screen, access your messages or have it read to you, reply to messages using voice or on-screen keyboard, use it as an Intercom machine to broadcast to other devices in your house, and more.
Just as HomePod can recognize different family members by voice, the new HomeView can recognize up to 6 users by face (using the front camera; HomeView doesn’t have Face ID). Based on this recognition, it can show personalized responses for that person in Siri, Messages, Calendar, Reminders, FaceTime, and Find My.
Here’s a quick summary of what you need to know about it.