Apple’s HomeView Sells Siri AI. Siri AI Is Still in Beta

Apple’s HomeView goes on sale on November 13 for $299, after Apple opened pre-orders on October 13. It has a 7-inch square Liquid Retina display, an A18 chip, a 12MP Center Stage camera and, in the tabletop version, a domed speaker base with a woofer. The camera recognizes up to six people in a household by face and shows each person their own Home Screen, with Messages, Calendar and Reminders only when that person’s paired iPhone is nearby and was recently unlocked. A wall-mounted version also costs $299, but it needs a separate Schneider Home mount from $59.95 to $129.95 and has no woofer.

Siri AI launches on HomeView in beta, in English only, in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore and South Africa. Personal context needs an iPhone or iPad with Apple Intelligence, which means an iPhone 15 Pro or newer. Apple’s fine print says some server-side features have daily usage limits and that expanded access will cost a fee in the future, and camera recognition of people, pets, packages and vehicles needs an iCloud+ plan. Over the weekend, developers Steve Troughton-Smith and Guilherme Rambo showed that HomeView runs software based on tvOS, the system of the Apple TV.

In this article: A device that sells Siri, with Siri in beta · English only, in 8 countries · Everything only with an iPhone 15 Pro · Limits nobody explains · Why not a $50 box? · Ternus, stop talking · A camera that knows your face. A 2D camera · Kitchen clocks on Apple TV software · The same standard as a smart lamp · Buy the wall version, call an electrician · I already have an iPad, an iPhone and an Apple Watch · “Mostly sold out”, just like the Vision Pro · Outside the US, you pay even more · “One of Apple’s strongest products”? Lost in space · FAQ

A device that sells Siri, with Siri in beta

Imagine this. The Siri that has to sell this device is in beta. How are we supposed to understand that? Every new piece of Apple news is more bizarre than the last.

This hub waited more than a year and a half for Siri. So why the rush now, before Christmas, if you can’t make AI yourselves, and you can’t even properly connect someone else’s AI to your own gadgets? Or maybe Apple simply couldn’t sell a home hub without calling it the best device for Siri AI.

In my opinion, Apple is at least five years behind the world. So why talk so much about these gadgets? Yes, they look beautiful from the outside, and they cost like a rocket. But when you are this far behind, what is the point?

English only, in 8 countries

The US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore and South Africa.

That’s it. Canadian French comes “later”. And where is the rest of the world? Where are the other languages? You really are late.

Everything only with an iPhone 15 Pro

Yes, you can set it up with an older iPhone. But if you want everything HomeView offers, your messages, your calendar, Siri that knows your life, you need an iPhone 15 Pro or newer. And the device is sold mainly because of Siri. So where is the difference?

What are you selling us? A camera that can recognize the whole family and works fully only with the most expensive iPhones. Where is that super wow effect we got used to getting from Apple? Where?

Limits nobody explains

And now maybe the main thing of all. The hub sold with Siri AI has limits. Apple doesn’t say how big. So let’s imagine a family of six, and everyone asks two questions. Bingo, the limit is gone, and for more time with Siri AI you will have to pay. I already wrote about this line of fine print in my HomePod mini 2 article, and now it sits in a device built for a whole household.

So not only do we pay a lot for the display, Apple also wants to earn on Siri AI right away, like a company with truly innovative and smart AI. On top of that, recognizing people and pets on your cameras is not free either. For that, it wants an iCloud+ subscription. Bingo again. Apple shows a master class in how to make money.

Amazon and Google have ads, but at least they play fair. Alexa+ has a price, Gemini has a price, and you know it before you buy. Apple sells us the box first, and only then do we learn about limits, and nobody knows what limits. And iCloud+ on top. Apple plays in the dark, and we just have to suffer, while the poor fans believe blindly, so Apple can do whatever it wants.

Smart display	Price	Screen	Assistant	What you pay later
Apple HomeView (tabletop)	$299	7-inch square	Siri AI, beta, English only	Fee for expanded Siri AI (price unknown), iCloud+ for camera recognition
Apple HomeView (wall)	$299 + $59.95 to $129.95 mount	7-inch square, no woofer	Siri AI, beta, English only	Same, plus a power adapter or an electrician
Amazon Echo Show 11	$249.99	11-inch	Alexa+	Alexa+ $19.99 a month without Prime
Amazon Echo Show 8	$199.99	8.7-inch	Alexa+	Alexa+ $19.99 a month without Prime
Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)	$99.99	7-inch, no camera	Google Assistant	–

Why not a $50 box?

Honestly, I just read this news and smoke is coming out of my head. What do you have that is so precious that you keep pulling money out of us, when you want to earn on AI and on iCloud anyway?

Why didn’t you sell the box for $50 and then earn from our subscriptions for years, if it is all so great? You would have plenty to collect from. But no. You make a miserable home hub, cut down from every side, that works only with the most expensive gadgets.

Ternus, stop talking

John Ternus, nobody knows how to pluck people the way you do. I don’t want to insult anyone. And then you tell us you live for hardware and gadgets, and your passion is “product”. For heaven’s sake, stop talking.

A camera that knows your face. A 2D camera

All of you who write such poetry for Apple in your articles and on social media, think about the camera. It is just a 2D camera. This is not Face ID. What if somebody fools it with a photo? Or will you jump on that too and find a way to defend Apple?

And it keeps watching us. We don’t know yet what happens when somebody breaks into this hub, which sees everything in the house, and we don’t know how it stores the data. What Apple claims is one thing, that everything is under control. But today, when AI can break into banks and bigger institutions, what will a home hub be for them?

Kitchen clocks on Apple TV software

And that it runs a system based on the Apple TV is cute. So you could have given it everything the Apple TV has. You could have given us apps to download. But no YouTube, no Netflix, and nothing without an iPhone. These are clocks for the kitchen.

The same standard as a smart lamp

And why is nobody talking about the fact that the smart home standard in this hub, Matter, is the same one your smart lamp uses, and the same one the competitors use? It’s almost the same, no matter who makes your home hub. Here you just overpay for the bitten apple. That is the point.

Buy the wall version, call an electrician

The wall version costs the same $299, but it has no woofer, so it sounds weaker. Without a mount it doesn’t work at all, and the mount costs $59.95 to $129.95 more. The USB-C mount comes without a power adapter, the wired one is meant for an electrician, and the PoE one comes only in 2027. So buy the wall version and call an electrician. Lovely.

I already have an iPad, an iPhone and an Apple Watch

Google and Amazon have better devices anyway. And if you have an iPad at home, why buy this gadget on top? The iPad has a camera for calls. And why do I need a camera that recognizes me, just to show me my calendar and mail? I hold my phone in my hand 24/7, and the notifications come to my Apple Watch. Buying another device for that is useless.

“Mostly sold out”, just like the Vision Pro

Apple was “mostly sold out” for November 13 and moved deliveries to December. To me, that is rather a sign that we should wait for the numbers. It is strange that everything that wouldn’t sell is sold out. Maybe they made only 100 units again. Or it’s like the Vision Pro, which sold out at the start, and then nobody wanted it anymore. It’s absurd.

Outside the US, you pay even more

Never forget: the prices Apple shows are for the USA. In other countries you have to do the math. In Canada, HomeView costs C$429.

That it is not sold in the EU is understandable. Apple is slowly losing the EU with such huge prices. Apple says it is working “constructively” with the EU. Fine, but believe me, people in the EU have their feet more on the ground, also about what they spend their money on. I think that with what is happening in the world now, every Apple gadget there will lose market share and value. A home display that works fully only with an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, even at the American price, is, honestly, throwing money away.

“One of Apple’s strongest products”? Lost in space

TechRadar calls HomeView one of Apple’s strongest new category entries in quite some time. Did you get lost in space with that statement? What is wrong with you people, when you write such nonsense?

And it still doesn’t give me peace. They praised Siri AI so much, and in the end we got an assistant that is still like a silly baby.

Also on Evolt News: HomePod mini 2 and the Siri AI fine print · Siri AI speaks only six languages · Ternus says his word is “product” · China gets the crumbs of WWDC

Photo: Apple.

This article is opinion.

Apple HomeView: FAQ

When does Apple HomeView come out?

Pre-orders opened on October 13, 2026, and HomeView ships on November 13, 2026, in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore and South Africa. Apple has moved some deliveries to December.

How much does HomeView cost?

$299 in the US for both the tabletop and the wall-mounted version. The wall version needs a Schneider Home mount from $59.95 to $129.95. In Canada, HomeView costs C$429.

Does HomeView work with Android or older iPhones?

Setup needs an iPhone or iPad running the latest software, so Android is not supported. Personal features with Siri AI, such as your messages and calendar, need an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, or an iPad with Apple Intelligence.

Is Siri AI on HomeView free?

For now. Siri AI launches in beta and in English only. Apple says some server-side features have daily usage limits and that expanded access will be available for a fee in the future. Camera recognition of people, pets, packages and vehicles needs an iCloud+ plan.

Does HomeView use Face ID?

No. HomeView recognizes up to six people with its 12MP camera, not with the 3D Face ID system. Apple says camera and microphone data are processed separately in Secure Exclaves and that Apple cannot access them.

Is HomeView sold in the EU?

No. Apple says Siri AI is not available in iOS in the EU and that it is working with the EU to find a path forward.

Does HomeView need an Ethernet cable?

No. HomeView connects over Wi-Fi. Only the wall version needs a mount for power, and one of the mounts, the PoE version, uses a network cable and arrives in early 2027.

Sources: Apple, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, Bloomberg (Mark Gurman), Macworld, Gizmodo, TechRadar, Tech Advisor, Memeburn, OSXDaily, Fox News.

Our Take

HomeView is a beautiful kitchen clock that sells a Siri in beta, in English only, in eight countries, and works fully only with an iPhone 15 Pro or newer. Then come the limits, the iCloud+ plan and a fee nobody has named yet.

Google and Amazon have ads, but at least you know what you pay. If you already have an iPad, an iPhone and an Apple Watch, I would keep the $299.