Apple HomeView is a 7-inch square screen on a speaker base that sits on a kitchen counter or a nightstand. It runs your HomeKit and Matter lights, locks and thermostats, takes hands-free FaceTime calls, plays Apple Music and shows your photos when nobody is using it. It recognizes the faces and voices of up to six people, so each person sees their own calendar, reminders and music. It costs $299 and ships November 13, and Amazon sells two of the four colors for $289.99.
HomeView depends on an iPhone or iPad, and it has no App Store. Audiobooks, the TV app and third-party audio and video apps reach it through a paired iPhone. If anyone in your house uses Android, an Echo Show 8 or Echo Show 11 covers the same jobs, for $199.99 or $249.99, and both ship today.
No outlet has reviewed a retail HomeView yet. Specs below come from Apple's spec pages, prices from Amazon, and first impressions from the Gizmodo and MacRumors hands-on reports.
Four screens for the home.
Apple HomeView (Space Gray)
A18 · 7-inch Liquid Retina, 1088 x 1088 · 12MP Center Stage camera · two full-range drivers, woofer, two passive radiators · Wi-Fi 6E · Thread
HomeView recognizes who is in front of it and shows that person's calendar, messages and music, and it runs the Apple Home app from a 7-inch screen. Amazon sells it for $289.99 in Space Gray and Starlight. It ships November 13.
- Recognizes up to six people by face and voice, on the device, and switches to each one's content
- Siri AI answers open questions and, with your iPhone nearby, finds things in your messages and calendar
- Brightness runs from 500 nits down to 0.3 nits, Apple's lowest, so it works on a nightstand
- A temperature and humidity sensor and alerts for smoke and carbon monoxide alarm sounds
- Needs an iPhone with iOS 27.2 or an iPad with iPadOS 27.2
- No App Store; video apps come only through a paired iPhone
- Siri AI is English-only at launch, and Apple says usage limits may apply
- Turns only by hand: Gizmodo found no motorized swivel
- Not sold in the EU at launch, per MacRumors
Buy this if everyone in the house uses an iPhone and you already control lights or locks from the Home app. HomeView puts that control on the counter, with a Center Stage camera that keeps people in frame on FaceTime calls. Gizmodo called the build possibly the highest-quality smart display it has used for a kitchen counter, and said the speaker base produced deep bass with no distortion at full volume.
Between uses, HomeView shows a face: your photos, a calendar, the weather or a Snoopy face, much like an Apple Watch. Silver and Rose Pink cost $299.00 on Amazon.
Amazon Echo Show 8 (2025)
AZ3 Pro · 8.7-inch HD touchscreen · auto-framing camera, 3.3x zoom · spatial audio · built-in smart home hub · Alexa+
Echo Show 8 does most of what HomeView does on a bigger screen for $199.99, and it works whether your family uses iPhones or Android phones. It ships today.
- Works with iPhone and Android through the Alexa app
- Built-in smart home hub for thousands of Alexa devices
- Prime Video and Netflix play on the screen
- Omnisense can start routines from presence, temperature or visual ID
- No HomeKit control of Apple Home accessories
- HD screen, against Full HD on the Show 11
- The adjustable stand costs $39.99 extra
Buy this if your household mixes iPhones and Android phones, or if your smart home already runs on Alexa. Amazon's listing describes a centered, auto-framing camera with 3.3x zoom for video calls, and live view lets you check on the house through the camera while you're out.
It costs $90 less than HomeView, has a larger screen and is in stock now with 8,378 ratings behind it. HomeView wins on build and on keeping six people's calendars and music apart.
Amazon Echo Show 11 (2025)
AZ3 Pro · 11-inch Full HD touchscreen · auto-framing camera, 3.3x zoom · spatial audio · built-in smart home hub · Alexa+
Echo Show 11 gives you an 11-inch Full HD screen, big enough to follow a recipe from across the kitchen or watch a show while you cook, for $249.99.
- 60 percent more viewing area than the Echo Show 8, per Amazon
- Same chip, camera and smart home hub as the Show 8
- Works with any phone
- $40 less than HomeView on Amazon, with more than twice the screen area
- Takes more counter space than a 7-inch display
- No HomeKit control
- The adjustable stand costs $39.99 extra
Buy this if the screen will spend more time showing recipes and video than photos. The jump from 8.7 to 11 inches matters most from a few feet away, at a stove or a sink. Amazon sells a bundle with its adjustable stand for $289.98, the same money as HomeView.
Amazon Echo Show 15 (2nd gen)
15.6-inch Full HD · built-in Fire TV with Alexa Voice Remote · auto-framing camera, 3.3x zoom · camera shutter · wall mount included
Echo Show 15 hangs on a kitchen wall as a 15.6-inch family board, with calendars, lists and the weather as widgets, and Fire TV for shows. It costs $349.99 and comes with the wall mount.
- Wall mount, screws and anchors in the box
- Built-in Fire TV with a remote, for Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video and Apple TV
- Family calendars, to-do lists and weather as home screen widgets
- Mic and camera off button, plus a shutter over the camera
- Mounting it needs a drill
- The tabletop stand is sold separately
- No HomeKit control
- $60 more than HomeView
Buy this if the whole family will use the screen and you have a wall near the kitchen. At 15.6 inches, you can read the shared calendar and shopping list from across the room, and Fire TV turns it into a small TV while you cook.
HomeView's wall model is the Apple counterpart, but it is 7 inches, comes without a mount and loses the speaker base. Echo Show 15 ships today with everything you need to hang it.
The numbers.
| Apple HomeView | Echo Show 8 | Echo Show 11 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 7-inch square, 1088 x 1088 | 8.7-inch HD | 11-inch Full HD |
| Chip | Apple A18 | Amazon AZ3 Pro | Amazon AZ3 Pro |
| Camera | 12MP Center Stage | Auto-framing, 3.3x zoom | Auto-framing, 3.3x zoom |
| Assistant | Siri AI (English at launch) | Alexa+ | Alexa+ |
| Phone needed | iPhone or iPad on iOS 27.2 | Any, via Alexa app | Any, via Alexa app |
| App store | None | Amazon apps | Amazon apps |
| Smart home | Apple Home, Matter, Thread | Alexa, built-in hub | Alexa, built-in hub |
| People recognized | Up to 6 | Visual ID | Visual ID |
| Price | $289.99 to $299 | $199.99 | $249.99 |
| Ships | Nov 13 | Now | Now |
Other displays worth a look.
Amazon Echo Hub ($179.99)
Amazon's answer to the wall-mounted HomeView: an 8-inch control panel for lights, locks, cameras and alarms. Its built-in hub talks to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Matter, Sidewalk and Thread devices, and it mounts on a wall anywhere you have an outlet.
View on Amazon →
Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)
Google's 7-inch display has no camera, which makes it the usual pick for a bedroom. On Amazon US it sells only through third-party importers at $194.99, so buy it from Google's own store if you want one.
Google Pixel Tablet (discontinued)
Google's closest match to HomeView was the Pixel Tablet: an 11-inch tablet that sat on a charging speaker dock and worked as a smart display, then lifted off to use as a tablet. Google pulled it from its store in September 2026 and hasn't announced a successor, and Amazon US doesn't sell it new. If you already own one, Google keeps sending updates through June 2028.
The buying guide.
What HomeView needs from your iPhone
Apple's spec page lists an iPhone with iOS 27.2 or later, or an iPad with iPadOS 27.2, plus Wi-Fi. HomeView has built-in apps for Music, Podcasts, Calendar, FaceTime, Messages, Reminders, Safari and Home. Audiobooks, Classical, News, the TV app and third-party audio and video apps show up only through your iPhone.
Siri AI handles general questions on its own. For personal requests, like finding an RSVP in your messages, MacRumors reports that HomeView needs your iPhone or iPad nearby, recently unlocked and on the same Wi-Fi. Guests can set timers, play music and control lights, and they can't see anyone's personal information.
Tabletop or wall mount
The tabletop HomeView comes in four colors with a 1.5 m USB-C cable and a 30W adapter. The wall-mounted version comes in Silver and Space Gray, with no speaker base, so it loses the woofer and passive radiators. Apple sells it with no mount, cable or power adapter, and it needs at least a 20W adapter.
MacRumors lists three mounts: a USB-C wall connector at $59.95, an AC wired mount for an electrician to install at $79.95, and a power-over-Ethernet mount at $129.95 due in early 2027. Gizmodo notes the wall version has no USB-C port on the bottom, so the cable runs through the wall.
Siri AI on HomeView
HomeView ships with Siri AI, Apple's new version of Siri built on Apple Intelligence. It answers open questions and holds a back-and-forth conversation. It launches in English, and Apple notes usage limits may apply.
Preordering on Amazon
Amazon sells and ships the HomeView preorder itself and charges you when it ships. Space Gray and Starlight are $9 below Apple's price. The Echo Show 8, 11 and 15 ship now.
FAQ.
November 13, 2026, in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India. Preorders are open at Apple and on Amazon. MacRumors reports it won't launch in the EU at first.
No. Apple lists an iPhone with iOS 27.2 or an iPad with iPadOS 27.2 as a system requirement. Third-party video and audio apps and personal Siri requests also come through a paired iPhone or iPad.
No. HomeView has no App Store. It ships with Apple's own apps, and supported third-party audio and video apps appear when a paired iPhone is connected.
HomeView if everyone in your home uses an iPhone and your smart home runs on Apple Home. Echo Show 8 if anyone uses Android, if your devices run on Alexa, or if you want a larger screen for less: it costs $199.99 against $289.99.
$299, the same as the tabletop model, but the mount, cable and power adapter are sold separately. MacRumors lists the mounts at $59.95, $79.95 and $129.95.
HomeView for iPhone homes,
Echo Show for everyone else.
Preorder Apple HomeView if your household runs on iPhones and the Apple Home app. It tells six people apart and runs your lights and locks from the counter, and Space Gray and Starlight cost $289.99 on Amazon. If anyone in the house uses Android, buy the Echo Show 8 for $199.99, or the Echo Show 11 at $249.99 for recipes and shows at the stove. For the kitchen wall, the Echo Show 15 at $349.99 comes with its mount.
Specs from Apple → Hands-on from Gizmodo → Mounts and regions from MacRumors →