Apple has lagged in the smart home race, which Amazon and Google have dominated for a decade with Alexa and Google Assistant (now Gemini), respectively.
But after finally revamping Siri AI this year and turning the butt-of-the-joke voice assistant into a more competitive companion—paired with a more mature Matter-supported ecosystem of smart home gadgets—Apple now has the brains to power the home system it has always envisioned.
That starts with three new devices: the Apple HomeView, the company's first smart display; the HomePod Mini 2 smart speaker; and the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K.
Apple announced the products at a media-only event in New York City, and it also revealed a slew of new smart-home gadgets made in collaboration with LG and Schneider Electric, including a video doorbell, thermostats, and security cameras.
The cornerstone of Apple's latest smart-home push is the Apple HomeView, a countertop gadget made up of a 7-inch square display resting on a speaker base. It operates like smart displays we've seen from Amazon and Google, but it’s an entirely new device category for Apple.
It runs what Apple calls “HomeView Software,” so while the interface may resemble an iPhone or iPad , the HomeView runs a stand-alone operating system and lacks access to the App Store. As an alternative, Apple has curated a selection of apps for the system, including Messages, Safari, and FaceTime, alongside select third-party media apps like Spotify.
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