Apple apparently intends to soon unveil its new smart home hub, likely called HomeView; a product set to compete with Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub smart displays.
According to EITNA quoting Phonearena, based on a report by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, the name, design and some specifications of this device have leaked ahead of the unveiling, and it is expected to be officially introduced on October 13 with availability reaching mid-November.
It is said that HomeView is equipped with a display and uses Apple’s A18 chip. The device will be offered in two versions. A basic desktop model has a metal speaker and will be available in Space Gray, Silver, Starlight and Pink. The second model is designed for wall mounting and has a square, flat base that will be offered in Space Gray and Silver.
Unlike the iPhone and iPad, HomeView apparently will not have a dedicated App Store and a limited set of Apple apps will be installed on it. The device’s main focus will be the Siri voice assistant, the Home app, and control of smart home devices. Users will be able to manage compatible accessories via voice commands and Apple’s software interface.
One of the most important potential features of this product is support for the Matter and Thread smart home standards. These standards improve interoperability among products from different brands and could make migrating from the Google Home or Amazon Alexa ecosystems to Apple products easier; however, the device’s precise compatibility with various accessories still needs to be determined.
The price of HomeView has not been officially announced, but earlier reports indicate a price tag of about $350. This figure seems relatively high compared to the Echo Show 8 at $180 and the Echo Show 11 at $220. For this reason, the main buyers of this product will likely be iPhone owners who already have Matter- or Thread-compatible equipment and want to entrust control of their smart home to the Apple ecosystem.