Apple’s HomeView hub to ship mid-November, Bloomberg says

Apple plans to unveil its first smart home hub with a screen, the HomeView, at its "Welcome home" event on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Customers will likely wait about a month to get one, though. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported Sunday that the device will ship around mid-November. Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter that the timing holds "at least as of now." The HomeView would follow a new Apple TV 4K and new HomePod mini models, which he expects to reach customers and stores on Oct. 30.macrumors+2

Bloomberg says the launch is Apple's attempt to "close the biggest hole in its ecosystem." Apple has long built smart home software and left most of the hardware to other companies.bloomberg+1

Two Designs, Voice First

Gurman says the HomeView will serve as the Siri command center for a home built around Apple products. It pairs a display with an A18 chip. There will be two versions. A countertop model with a metal speaker base will come in space gray, silver, starlight and pink. A wall-mounted model with a flat, square base will come only in space gray and silver. Gurman also reported that the HomeView will sound better than the new HomePod mini.9to5mac+1

People will mostly control the device by voice, though the screen also responds to touch. It will run a limited set of Apple apps, and it will have no App Store of its own. MacRumors first reported the HomeView name on Friday after finding a trademark filing by a shell company. The "view" part of the name reflects the idea of a display people look at from across the room while speaking to it.macrumors+2

A Broader Home Lineup

Gurman reports that Apple has tested two features for the new Apple TV, the box's first update in years. One is built-in microphones, which would let users "shout Siri commands at the set-top box without needing to speak into the remote or a paired HomePod." The other is a redesigned remote with a speaker so it is easier to find. According to Firstpost's summary of the report, the Apple TV will use an A19 chip. The HomePod mini will get an S10 chip and new colors, including pink, white, green, blue and midnight.9to5mac+1

The HomeView is also expected to work with smart home accessories built through Apple's partnership with LG. Those could include a doorbell, a deadbolt lock, a thermostat, sensors and security cameras, which together would form a kind of starter kit. Apple's earlier efforts, HomeKit in 2014 and the Home app in 2016, depended on outside hardware makers.firstpost

Apple has not confirmed any product details or release dates. It is set to make its announcements on Tuesday.9to5mac