Apple’s Latest Product Launch Goes Full 'smart House'
Another body for Siri just dropped: Yesterday, Apple unveiled the HomeView, a $299, seven-inch display that marks Apple’s first true foray into the smart home market—and its second major release under new CEO John Ternus.
It’s like “CarPlay for the home” or “a giant Apple Watch,” per the Wall Street Journal and Wired. The HomeView is expected to compete with Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub, both of which launched last decade. But Apple’s new voice-activated gizmo may have a leg up on the competition, because it syncs with the iPhones in your household:
- Powered by Siri AI, the HomeView supports apps including Safari, Messages, FaceTime, Calendar, and Reminders, and can answer questions like, “What recipe did Mom send me yesterday?”
- Facial recognition personalizes the experience to whomever (of up to six people) is using the tablet at a given time, meaning your nosy roommate shouldn’t be able to read your texts after you walk away.
Big picture: Apple wants HomeView to be the central hub of its walled-garden smart house. The company also launched a smart door lock, video doorbell, thermostat, and security camera in partnership with LG and Schneider Electric.
Not everyone’s excited: “I don’t trust the technology companies, and I don’t need things recording what I say and do in my home,” Apple shareholder and wealth manager Ross Gerber told Yahoo Finance. Apple says it can’t access the data HomeView processes.—ML
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