Apple launches HomeView hub, HomePod Mini 2, Apple TV 4K and Home Collection

Apple’s first dedicated smart home event

Apple used its “Welcome Home” event in New York City on October 13 to make its biggest push yet into the connected home. According to The Verge, the centrepiece was HomeView, the company’s long-anticipated smart display and hub, unveiled alongside a second-generation HomePod Mini, a fourth-generation Apple TV 4K and the Apple Home Collection, a line of partner-built accessories. It was Apple’s first event focused entirely on the smart home, and, as The Verge observes, arguably its first major Apple Home hardware since the HomeKit platform debuted in 2014.

HomeView: Apple’s answer to the Echo Show and Nest Hub

HomeView pairs a 7-inch square Liquid Retina screen with a rounded speaker base and comes in silver, starlight, rose pink and space grey. It can rest on a counter or be wall-mounted, and The Verge compares its silhouette to the 2002 iMac G4. The display adapts to ambient light and can dim to 0.3 nits so it stays usable on a nightstand, while a 12-megapixel camera handles FaceTime calls and lets the device tell apart as many as six household members, switching from a shared screen to a personalised one when recognition is switched on.

As a hub, it manages lights, thermostats and other devices, shows live feeds from up to nine security cameras, and works as a Matter controller and Thread border router. It costs $299, is available for preorder now and ships November 13 in eight countries: the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and India. There is a notable constraint, though. The Verge reports that the Apple Intelligence-backed Siri features, such as personal context and text descriptions of camera feeds, run through a connected iPhone, and every person in the household must have an iPhone on the latest OS — a hurdle for mixed iOS and Android homes or older handsets.

HomePod Mini 2 arrives before its AI does

The updated HomePod Mini keeps the familiar ball shape and costs $149, though The Verge’s own coverage is inconsistent on the increase, quoting both $20 and $50 over the original, which is being discontinued. It runs the same S10 chip as the Apple Watch Series 10, supports Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6, Thread and Matter, and adds a “sound glow” effect that matches the top-panel lighting to album art. Colours are pink, blue, green, white and midnight, matched to the current iMac line.

It can serve as a Mac’s default speaker, and four minis (or two second-generation HomePods plus two minis) can team up with the new Apple TV 4K for surround sound, with automatic calibration based on where each speaker sits in the room. Siri AI support will arrive in a later software update, again via a connected iPhone. Preorders are open now, with shipping from October 30.

Apple TV 4K gains hands-free Siri

The fourth-generation box builds far-field microphones into the device itself, so you no longer need the remote or a nearby HomePod to summon Siri; since it does not speak back, answers appear as on-screen text. The remote gains Find My support using Bluetooth channel sounding, and pairing an iPhone unlocks Siri AI features, including show recommendations informed by what a friend suggested in Messages.

Pricing is muddled across The Verge’s reports: the roundup lists $149, which it describes as $20 above the third generation’s launch price, while separate event coverage states $299 — $50 more than the discontinued top-of-the-line model, with 128GB of storage, an Ethernet port, Thread and Matter, plus Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Both agree it ships November 13 with preorders open now.

Apple Home Collection

Built with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, the collection spans a $199 indoor camera that tilts down when you get home for privacy, a $299 outdoor camera (motion-activated floodlights push it to $399), a $249 video doorbell, an LG door lock and two thermostats, one from each partner. The cameras offer HomeKit Secure Video detection of people, pets, packages and vehicles, with Apple Intelligence features routed through an iPhone. Setup is NFC-based, similar to pairing AirPods: bring an iPhone close, follow the prompts and the device joins the Home app. Apple gave no date beyond “coming soon.”

Why it matters

Apple is arriving late to a category Amazon and Google have long dominated with the Echo Show and Nest Hub lines. The differentiator this time is software: Siri AI and Apple Intelligence threaded through the hub, the TV box and the speaker line may matter more than hardware specs. The approach also tightens ecosystem lock-in, since HomeView requires iPhones for everyone in a household and its AI features depend on one. With the Home Collection, Apple has moved from platform operator to co-developer of accessories, a sign it intends to stay in the home for the long haul.