Apple launches HomeView, its first smart-home display, at $299 — recognizes up to 6 household faces with a new Siri AI

Apple unveiled Apple HomeView at its "Welcome home" event on October 13, 2026 — its first-ever smart-home display, long rumored under the name "HomePad." The announced price is $299, below the up-to-$350 estimate Mark Gurman had previously floated.

Design and display

HomeView features a 7-inch Liquid Retina display in an aluminum housing, connected to a dome-shaped speaker base by a smooth-tilting stainless steel hinge. It comes in 4 colors — silver, starlight, rose pink and space gray — with a matching charging cable, while the wall-mounted version is available only in space gray and silver, attached via a mount from Schneider Home that can be self-installed or professionally fitted.

The display adjusts brightness from 500 nits down to 0.3 nits, suited for a nightstand, with True Tone to match ambient light and awareness of how far the user is standing — showing simple glanceable info from a distance and more detail as someone approaches.

Face recognition and privacy

The headline feature is recognizing up to 6 household members by face, each getting their own home screen with a choice of Faces themes, from Photos using real family pictures to minimalist clock faces. Personal data in Messages, FaceTime, Calendar, Reminders and Find My stays hidden from other people, while shared photo albums and playlists can be viewed together, including by visiting guests.

On security, the A18 chip in HomeView includes Secure Exclaves — an isolated processing area for camera and microphone data that no other software, app, user, or even Apple itself can access. Personal content only appears once a face is recognized, and a paired iPhone or iPad must be nearby and recently unlocked.

A new Siri AI

An entirely new Siri AI is powered by a new generation of Apple Intelligence and newer Apple silicon, holding more natural conversations and answering a wider range of questions. It can be used even without a paired Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, but when paired with an unlocked iPhone or iPad nearby, it draws on personal context like calendar, messages or playlists to answer. Conversations can continue across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch or Apple Vision Pro via iCloud. FaceTime gets automatic framing with Center Stage.

Sound, smart home and kitchen

Two full-range speakers sit inside the display, with a downward-firing woofer and two passive radiators in the base boosting bass. Apple Music plays with animated artwork and lyrics, Handoff works by holding an iPhone near the screen, and it joins multi-room playback with HomePod, HomePod mini and AirPlay speakers.

Cameras, thermostats, lights, door locks and blinds can be controlled by tapping the screen or with Siri AI. The Home Camera view shows up to 9 live camera feeds at once. iCloud+ subscribers get end-to-end encrypted recognition of people, pets, packages and vehicles, and the device listens for smoke or gas alarms and alerts iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. In the kitchen, HomeView converts web recipes into step-by-step instructions and sets hands-free timers.

Pricing, accessories and the smart-home collection

The device is priced at $299 for both tabletop and wall-mounted configurations; wall mounting requires a separate Schneider Home mount, available in 3 versions — a USB-C-tethered version from $59.95, an AC-wired version at $79.95, and a PoE (power-over-Ethernet) version at $129.95 arriving in early 2027.

Apple briefly mentioned an "Apple Home Collection" at the event — a line of cameras, thermostats and door locks made with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, compatible with HomeView, launching December 2026 with some models following into early 2027, though model names, pricing and product images have not been revealed. Pricing figures reported earlier by foreign media did not come directly from Apple and await confirmation.

When will Thailand get it?

Thailand is not yet on the pre-order list, which currently includes Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, the US and South Africa (via authorized resellers). The new Siri AI also supports English only at launch, with no Thai language support yet. Anyone wanting one now would need to import it and handle warranty and import duties themselves.

Compared with existing smart-home displays like Amazon Echo Show or Google Nest Hub, which also lack official retail channels in Thailand, HomeView isn't the first hard-to-access device in this category for Thai buyers — but it does mark Apple's first serious entry into the smart-home display market.

Based on Apple's official announcement dated October 13, 2026; pricing and release date are subject to change.

Source: Oops Tech (summarized from Apple's announcement)