Apple Homeview Impressions: Not Convinced! | Marques Brownlee

The Gist

Apple Homeview fails to justify its three hundred dollar price tag due to limited software features, lack of standalone apps, and missing voice recognition capabilities.

Quick Overview

Apple Homeview is a smart home hub featuring a seven inch square touchscreen and an A18 chip running Homeview OS. Priced at three hundred dollars for both stand and wall mounted versions, the device struggles against established competitors like Amazon and Google. Despite a bright five hundred nit display and fast account switching via facial recognition, the hardware lacks convincing real world value for advanced smart home users.

Key Points: Apple Homeview is priced at three hundred dollars for both the stand and wall mounted configurations. The device runs an A18 chip and a custom operating system named Homeview OS. The seven inch square touchscreen reaches a peak brightness of five hundred nits. The wall mounted version lacks built in woofers and does not include a wall mounting adapter in the box. Homeview supports up to six users and switches accounts automatically using facial recognition from its twelve megapixel center stage camera. The device relies entirely on Siri AI for voice commands and lacks third party app support. Audio quality is rated as fine, though the maximum volume is lower than expected for its footprint.

Context: Apple expanded its smart home ecosystem by partnering with manufacturers like LG and Schneider Electric to release a matching suite of smart home accessories, culminating in the release of the Homeview display.

Detailed Analysis

Marques Brownlee shares his initial impressions of the Apple Homeview after spending time testing the new smart home hub. While the device attempts to bridge the gap in Apple ecosystem offerings against competitors like the Google Nest Hub Max and Amazon Echo Hub, the high price point and software limitations make it a difficult recommendation. The system includes features like customized clock faces, iPhone screen mirroring via carplay standards, and fast multi user account switching, but falls short due to the complete absence of third party apps, lack of native voice recognition per user without camera sight, and high accessory costs.