<\/p>\nArticle jumplist<\/p>\n
<\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n\n1. Design<\/li>\n 2. How does it sound?<\/li>\n 3. What can it do and how does it work?<\/li>\n 4. What else can it do?<\/li>\n 5. Final thoughts and buying advice<\/li>\n 6. Availability and pricing<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/section>\nDesign<\/h2>\n\nThe 7-inch LCD display has a square aspect ratio. It can get as dim as 0.3 nits.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
As far as smart displays go, the HomeView makes a strong case for being the most stylish. Essentially, it\u2019s a small display attached to a round aluminium base. It has a strong resemblance to the iconic iMac G4, which is no bad thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Measuring just 14.5cm wide and about 17cm tall, it\u2019s a compact little thing too. The first time I laid eyes on it, I was surprised by how small it was. It also comes in four colours: Silver, Starlight, Rose Pink, and Space Gray. The colours are quite mild. Starlight, in particular, is very close to Silver. At any rate, the unobtrusive colours, coupled with the HomeView\u2019s diminutive size, should make it an easy fit into most people\u2019s homes.<\/p>\n
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Play<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe screen is a 7-inch Liquid Retina display<\/b>. It uses an IPS LCD panel and has a square aspect ratio and a resolution of 1088 x 1088 pixels. Its pixel density count is 220 pixels per inch. It\u2019s a decent display that looks good when viewed in isolation, but it\u2019s noticeably off the mark in terms of sharpness and colours compared to the ones you find on modern iPhones, iPads, and Macs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maximum brightness is 500 nits, and since the HomeView lives indoors, I\u2019ve found it to be sufficient. Apple is keen to point out that this display can go down to just 0.3 nits<\/b>, which it said was a conscious design decision because it wanted the HomeView to also work as a bedside accessory. Indeed, I didn\u2019t find it distracting to sleep with, and this is coming from someone who loves blackout curtains and sleeping in absolute darkness.<\/p>\n\nLike all Apple devices, the HomeView is made of premium materials and looks well-made.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The display attaches to the base via a stubby polished stainless steel arm that lets users adjust the amount of tilt on the screen. Though the amount of tilt adjustment is sufficient, it\u2019ll be great if it could also adjust for height.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You can also get the HomeView as a wall-mounted unit, but in that form it loses the base (which houses speakers), and you\u2019ll need a separate power solution for it. It makes for a very clean setup, but it\u2019s probably best for homes that are being built or in the midst of renovation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How does it sound?<\/h2>\n\nThe display houses two full-range drivers, while the base is home to a down-firing woofer.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The primary use case of the HomeView surely should be as a speaker, and it excels in that role. The display houses two custom full-range drivers<\/b>, while within the base is a custom down-firing woofer<\/b>. For something this small, it\u2019s incredible how loud it gets. It\u2019s surely enough to fill the living rooms of most apartments, and will have no problems providing music for parties and get-togethers.<\/p>\n
The sound signature of the HomeView should be familiar to anyone who has owned AirPods. It\u2019s a slightly V-shaped sound with elevated bass, slightly recessed mids, and somewhat neutral treble. The bass response is impressive for its size. It\u2019s impactful and clean as long as you stay sensible with the volume control. Go past 80% volume, however, and distortion starts creep in, and the bass response has a tendency to become loose.<\/p>\n
Clarity is good, and there\u2019s palpable texture and detail to the sound. For something of this size and price, the audio performance is remarkable. If I had to rank Apple\u2019s smart speakers, I\u2019d say the HomeView performs better than HomePod mini 2, but isn\u2019t up there yet with the larger and pricier HomePods.<\/p>\n
What can it do and how does it work?<\/h2>\n\nIf you swipe up on the screen, you\u2019ll be greeted with a home screen that\u2019s customised for each user.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The HomeView is powered by the A18 chip and runs a software that is best described as a mix of iOS and watchOS. It\u2019s a whole new thing, and yet if you have an iPhone or Apple Watch, you\u2019ll know instinctively how to navigate it, get to menus, and customise it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One thing I must point out is that it doesn\u2019t have its own App Store<\/b>, so there\u2019s no way to manually install apps on it. Instead, apps that support the CarPlay framework will automatically appear on HomeView. This might be tricky if you rely on third-party apps. Spotify, for instance, is available, but there\u2019s no Netflix or Messenger, just to name a few.<\/p>\n
The screen defaults to \u201cfaces\u201d when you are not interacting with it, and these faces resemble the faces you get on Apple Watches. There are 10 to choose from, and they are all customisable to varying extents.<\/p>\n\nThe way you customise faces is similar to the Apple Watch.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
My favourites are Photos, Weather, and Modular. Photos turns the HomeView into a giant high-quality digital photo frame, while Weather \u2013 you know \u2013 shows weather info. Modular houses four customisable widgets which you can change to show the information you want. I find it useful to show the world time, and the weather forecast of the place I\u2019m going to be travelling to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Apple primarily markets the HomeView as a device to manage your smart home, and indeed, if you have lots of HomeKit-compatible devices, it can be helpful in managing and controlling them. Some will point out that you can already do that on your iPhone or iPad, and they would be right, but the iPhone and iPad are personal devices; the HomeView is handy because it lets everyone in the home access and control these devices.\u00a0<\/p>\n\nSurely most people will use the HomeView for playing music and podcasts.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
With Siri AI, HomeView can also act as your personal assistant. Apart from managing and controlling your smart home devices, you can use Siri AI to recall messages, create reminders, set timers, create notes, and a lot more. I know Siri hasn\u2019t had the best couple of years, but it\u2019s really quite good and useful now. As an example, I was able to get it to look through all my hotel bookings and create a note that lists all of their check-in and check-out times.<\/p>\n
Since Siri now understands personal context, privacy is naturally a major concern. Happily, there are protections put in place. You can register up to 6 users on the HomeView, and for any query that requires access to personal information, HomeView must detect the user either by face or voice<\/b>. Additionally, their paired iPhone or iPad must have been recently unlocked and connected to the same Wi-Fi network. I put this to the test by asking my kid to open my Messages app on the HomeView after I had just accessed it and walked away. She couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n
Play<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhat else can it do?<\/h2>\n\nHomeView automatically takes recipes and breaks them down in an easy to follow format.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The HomeView has a special recipe mode that can help with cooking. If you open a recipe on Safari, you can hand it off to the HomeView; it will take that recipe and break it down with step-by-step instructions. Additionally, if the instructions require a timer, it can even generate it for you. Finally, since Siri AI now has world knowledge, you can ask it to suggest substitute ingredients if you are missing any. I don\u2019t cook, but I can see how all of this can be helpful.<\/p>\n
So, to sum things up, here\u2019s a list of things HomeView can do:<\/p>\n
\nManage HomeKit-compatible smart home accessories<\/li>\n AI assistant<\/li>\n Music and podcast player<\/li>\n Cooking assisannt<\/li>\n Digital photo frame<\/li>\n Watching videos<\/li>\n Facetime calls\u00a0<\/li>\n Timers and alarms<\/li>\n Intercom to other Apple home devices<\/li>\n The 12MP Centre Stage camera can be used for fit checks<\/li>\n Sound recognition lets HomeView detect alarms when you are away<\/li>\n Built-in temperature and humidity sensors can be paired with air-conditioning and dehumidifiers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nFinal thoughts and buying advice<\/h2>\n\nJust because you can watch videos on it doesn\u2019t mean you should.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The HomeView is an attractive, interesting ,and competent device, but it\u2019s also one that doesn\u2019t appear to have a very clear or strong use case.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anyone who has tried setting up smart home devices and creating scenarios and automations will know that it\u2019s not a straightforward task. It involves trial and error, and if they already have a system that works, I cannot see them giving that up to accommodate the HomeView in their smart home setup.\u00a0For smart homes, the HomeView only makes sense if you are already deep into the Apple Home ecosystem.<\/p>\n
And if you don\u2019t have smart devices around the house, what can you use the HomeView for? It certainly has many uses, but none of them are particularly compelling. It can be used as a speaker for music or podcasts, but how many people will pick it over the cheaper and smaller HomePod mini 2 or the better-sounding standard HomePod? It can play videos, but why gather around it to watch on its small square screen when a TV exists? You can use it for FaceTime calls, but then you could also do the same on your iPhone, iPad, or even Mac. For most use cases I can think of, most people will have something else that does a better job.<\/p>\n\nIt might not have a compelling use case, but the HomeView is a nifty and attractive device to have in the home.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
It\u2019s not without its merits, but they are arguably pretty niche. I\u00a0like it by my bed, where it can double up as a speaker to unwind before I sleep and an alarm clock to help me wake up. It\u2019s an excellent digital photo frame too. I also think it makes for a cool desk accessory, or simply a piece of home decor. S$399 is probably a lot to pay for any of these things, but then homes are deeply personal and private places, and if the HomeView can spice up your living space and brighten your mood, who am I to tell you otherwise?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Availability and pricing<\/h2>\n The Apple HomeView costs S$399<\/b> and is available to pre-order now. It goes on sale tomorrow. You can find it on Lazada, Shopee, and the Apple Online Store.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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