pple used to sell you a computer that looked like a sunflower lamp, and now they want to put that exact shape on your kitchen wall to boss around your lightbulbs. Apple has officially unveiled its next-generation smart home lineup, at the center of which is the Apple HomeView — a smart screen home hub whose design evokes that of the classic iMac G4. If you were hoping for a cheap tablet to check the weather, prepare to pay the Cupertino tax instead.
The thesis is simple: Apple is wrapping its ecosystem around your front door with a $299 price tag, facial recognition for six people, and a massive ecosystem push that includes partners like LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. For anyone already drowning in Apple Music and FaceTime, this is the missing piece; for everyone else, it is an expensive glass circle that demands total commitment to hardware you might not even own yet.
The Retro Hub and Your Face
The Apple HomeView is built around a 7" "Liquid Retina" square-format display with a peak 500-nit brightness, which sits proud of the smaller half-capsule-shape main body of the device. That is roughly the size of a paperback book cover, glowing brightly enough to read recipes under harsh kitchen lights, though direct sunlight might wash it out. The look mimics the 2002 iMac G4, trading the giant base for a sleek desktop or wall-mounted footprint. Apple has confirmed that an all-in-one variant will be available for wall mounting rather than desktop use.
Apple HomeView is designed to be shared by everyone in the home yet feel completely personal to each user.
As Greg Joswiak stated, it recognizes your face to shift from a household screen to your own experience, fills the room with incredible sound, keeps you connected with FaceTime, and controls your smart home. Under the hood, facial recognition supports up to six users, while a secure exclave feature in the A18 system-on-chip keeps personal data private according to the assessment of Apple. You walk past it, it scans your mug, and suddenly your personal calendar and messages pop up instead of your partner's grocery list.
Partners, Prices, and Hidden Costs
The hub connects to the HomeKit ecosystem and features Matter compatibility, alongside access to FaceTime, Find My, Messages, Calendar, and Apple Music. Apple's biggest HomeKit refresh ever sees it partnering with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric on cameras, locks, and more, bundled under the Apple Home Collection. But remember that these Home Collection devices will go up for pre-order in December with availability scheduled for "early 2027."
If you want the complete setup today, the financial drag is real. The Apple HomeView is available to pre-order in silver, "starlight," rose pink, and space gray colourways for $299, with shipping scheduled for November 13th. The wall-mounted version costs the same $299 and comes only in silver and space gray. That new Apple TV 4K supports local processing of HomeKit Secure Video-compatible camera feeds from Apple Home Collection cameras, but it has sparked price-hike complaints at $299, or $49.83 a month for six months on credit.
Apple is asking you to finance a TV box that costs as much as a budget laptop just so it can process your door camera locally. In our view, if you do not live inside the Apple walled garden, buying a $299 screen to control third-party smart gear is an expensive exercise in brand loyalty. Save your money unless your entire life already runs on iCloud.