The first reviews of Apple’s HomeView are in ahead of its on-sale date of Friday 13 November. The three outlets that score it land close together: The Verge gives it 7/10, CNET 8.0/10 and PCMag 4/5 with an Editors’ Choice award. Six Colors and Wirecutter do not score. The hardware is strong and suits Apple households; the software and the shared-screen privacy still have rough edges at £299 or $299.
HomeView review scores
| Outlet | Score | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| The Verge | 7/10 | Best smart home controller the reviewer has tested, but family texts can be read on the shared screen |
| CNET | 8.0/10 | Lovely display, but it will not fix a jumbled smart home |
| PCMag | 4/5 (Editors’ Choice) | The best smart display for Apple-centric homes |
| Six Colors | No score | Promising hardware, software still showing seams |
| Wirecutter | No score | Headlined “It’s … Fine” |
What the reviewers say
The Verge: 7/10
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy calls HomeView “my new favorite smart display”, and says it is superb at controlling the smart home and an excellent hands-free kitchen companion. Her complaints: Siri AI can be slow, clunky authentication checks interrupt hands-free use, wall mounts cost a lot extra, and she could easily read her teenage daughter’s text messages on the shared screen. Her verdict is that it suits households deep in the Apple ecosystem, especially with younger children.
CNET: 8.0/10
Ajay Kumar scored the HomeView 8.0 after about two weeks of testing. He praises the premium design, loud room-filling audio (which he rates as good as the HomePod mini 2), working HomeKit and Matter support and personalised profiles for up to six family members. On the downside he lists the $299 price, Apple’s walled garden and a screen that “felt a little small at times”. He adds that the wall-mounted model loses the woofer and passive radiators while costing the same.
PCMag: 4/5, Editors’ Choice
PCMag’s review is headlined “The Best Smart Display for All-Apple Households”. It praises intuitive touch and voice controls, balanced sound, facial-recognition profile switching and helpful recipe assistance. It dislikes the awkward aspect ratio for streaming video, the limited app selection and the need for an iPhone or iPad to set it up.
Six Colors: no score
Jason Snell likes the hardware and the Apple integration, but concludes the software is not yet ready at this price. He found it frustrating that the device relies on a recently unlocked iPhone on the same Wi-Fi network to recognise who is in the room. He is keeping it in his kitchen.
Wirecutter: no score
Wirecutter’s review is headlined “I Spent a Week Testing Apple’s New HomeView. It’s … Fine.” It says that inside the Apple ecosystem the core experience is familiar and convenient, and singles out hands-free FaceTime.
Where reviewers agree and disagree
The reviews we read praise the hardware and the way HomeView fits into an Apple home. The split is over the software and privacy: The Verge and PCMag are happiest, while Six Colors and CNET stress that the value depends on how deeply you already use Apple’s ecosystem. CNET says Android users and mixed-device households may prefer Echo or Nest.
The faces, similar to Apple Watch faces, are one of the main draws. We covered the five named faces Apple announced separately.
Price and availability outside the US
Both models cost £299 in the UK and $299 in the US. Pre-orders are open in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, the UK and the US, with both models available from 13 November; in South Africa HomeView will be sold through Apple Authorised Resellers from the same date. HomeView is not on sale in the EU because Siri AI is currently unavailable in iOS there, Apple says. See our original HomeView report for the full launch details.