Apple announced HomeView on October 13, 2026, at its "Welcome Home" event, so it's two days old rather than one. It's a 7-inch Liquid Retina touch display on a domed speaker base, or a wall-mounted version, priced at $299 with preorders open and shipping November 13 in eight countries (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and India), according to 9to5Mac and Bloomberg. The spec sheet is more interesting than the screen: it works as a Matter controller and Thread Border Router, so it can run Matter devices from other brands, and it recognises up to six faces to switch to each person's own Home Screen. Its Siri AI can draw on personal context from a paired iPhone, which is where the privacy claims will matter most. Everything so far is from the launch coverage and early hands-on impressions, not long-term testing, so the questions worth watching are how reliable face recognition is in a shared room, how well Matter devices pair in practice, and what the Siri AI features do without an iPhone nearby. Has anyone seen it in person, or does your current smart display setup make you want to wait?
