Apple has never made a smart home display, and its first one goes on sale Nov. 13. The HomeView was announced on a Tuesday at the company’s Welcome Home event, and it enters a market where Amazon and Google have had years of head start. CNET’s smart home reviewer, who has used Echo Shows since 2017 and Google Nest Hubs since 2018, tried it in person and came away with mixed feelings. For families deciding where to put their money, the details matter.
A small screen at a $299 price
The HomeView is a 7-inch display on a low, domed base that houses the speakers. The reviewer said it looks great and recalls the Echo Show 11. A stationary design also pleased this reviewer, who found the auto-rotating Echo Show 10, since discontinued, prone to bumping into things.
The screen is the sore point. CNET’s Ajay Kumar, who tested it at a press briefing, reported that others at Apple’s event complained it was too small, and the reviewer agreed that it is notably smaller than rival models meant for the same spaces. Under 8 inches, the reviewer argued, you have to sit a foot or two away. That limits video calls, movies and the on-screen steps of Siri’s “Start Cooking” mode. Keeping the price under $300 may explain the choice.
A wall-mounted version exists too. Kumar said it looks good but needs professional installation to hide the power cable, and the cheapest wall mount Apple sells costs another $60. Amazon’s Echo Show 21 costs $500 and brings a 21-inch touchscreen with Fire TV built in. Google’s Nest Hub line trails on wall mounting.
Siri, Alexa and Gemini
The reviewer still prefers Amazon’s Alexa Plus for smart displays. It offers a choice of personalities, remembers the thread of a conversation on screen, and works with third-party services, from ordering on GrubHub or Uber Eats to booking through OpenTable or buying Ticketmaster tickets. Apple has said little about whether Siri on the HomeView will do likewise, noting only that it supports compatible third-party audio and video apps from an iPhone.
Siri has its own strengths. In Apple’s demonstrations it searched email and messages for recipes and other information, which Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home cannot do on a display, and its voice can be sped up or slowed down, a help for accessibility. It can also personalise through facial recognition. Outside Amazon Prime, Alexa Plus costs $20 a month to fully enable, and Gemini for Home is priced similarly, so a cheap iCloud tier could tip things Apple’s way.
Where Apple’s ecosystem helps
Smart home setup is often fiddly. Devices vanish and need reconnecting, and commands that worked yesterday fail today. Kumar saw the HomeView find and pair with compatible devices as easily as new AirPods, and content hands off between an iPhone and the display. A Find My map can also appear on request. The catch is device support, which is narrower on Apple’s platform. Apple has announced security cameras, a smart lock and a thermostat built for it, but smart plugs, bulbs and many third-party cameras lag, and Ring and Blink products work only with Alexa.
Sound and streaming
The HomeView has two custom full-range drivers, a down-firing woofer and two passive radiators. Kumar called the sound far better than expected, though short of a full-size HomePod. The Echo Show 11 has two full-range drivers and a woofer, and the Nest Hub Max uses two 10-watt tweeters and a 30-watt woofer.
Streaming support may count for more. Apple Music is included, but Apple named no specific music or video services for the HomeView, and its past HomePod record suggests only Deezer and Pandora are easy to add. The reviewer’s Echo Show handles Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Spotify, Tidal, Pandora and SiriusXM, and the Nest Hub covers YouTube Music, Spotify and more. For video, Google Casting brings Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu and others to the Nest Hub, while the Echo Show offers Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube and Disney Plus.
Price comparison
At $299 the HomeView costs the most, but not by a wide margin. The Echo Show 11 starts at $250 and is often discounted around the holidays. The Nest Hub Max sells for roughly $230 to $250 where it can still be found. And CNET raised another option: an iPad on a stand could fill many of the same roles.
