All the news from Apple’s ‘Welcome Home’ event – The Verge

Apple’s HomeView is just the latest threat to online recipe writers

2026-10-19T04:43:21-04:00

The HomeView can simplify online recipe formatting into easy-to-follow steps. | Image: Apple

When Apple revealed the HomeView to the world, it did so with an unusual ad for the company: Instead of pristine, polished tech in immaculate rooms, it's a three-minute look at the messy, frantic morning routine of a family of five. Apple's new smart display sits in the center of the chaos on the kitchen table, helping the family check their calendars, send messages, and pull up a French toast recipe in seconds, with simple, step-by-step instructions.

The HomeView is just the latest in a long line of websites, browser extensions, and smart home gadgets with the same promise: that it can take an online recipe and strip it down to the essenti …

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Why Apple is finally making its own smart home devices

2026-10-17T08:53:14-04:00

Apple’s Home Collection, codeveloped with partners, is part of the company’s first major push into the smart home category. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

For more than a decade, Apple has told other companies to build smart home devices for its platform. This week, Apple launched its own. The Apple Home Collection is a lineup of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart door lock, and a video doorbell, all codeveloped with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. They arrive alongside HomeView, Apple's first smart display.

Even after 12 years of HomeKit, Apple's smart home ecosystem still felt underdeveloped, especially compared to the competition. Amazon's and Google's ecosystems support more products, and both have popular in-house brands: Ring and Nest. Apple had nothing of its own to point cu …

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The best feature of Apple’s HomeView might be its simplicity

2026-10-15T08:56:28-04:00

Apple’s HomeView smart display seems tailor-made for the kitchen. (That aluminum base looks like it will hold up better than my now off-white kitchen HomePod.)

I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love the approach Apple has taken with the HomeView. I think it's the shared, always-available household interface that my family might finally use. Is Apple's first smart display my dream smart home dashboard? No. But is it the right product for Apple Home at this moment? Absolutely.

A lot of initial reactions to the $299 HomeView (which looks like a giant Apple Watch on a flatter metallic HomePod Mini) ask why you would want it when you can do most of what it offers on your iPhone or iPad. And yes, its features replicate many of the things you already do on the devices you use all the time. B …

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As a TV enthusiast, I was hoping for more from the Apple TV 4K

2026-10-14T18:26:08-04:00

The new Apple TV 4K and remote look just like the old ones and mostly have the same features.

It's been four long years since the last Apple TV 4K was released, and in that time there have been lots of hopes and dreams for features in whatever comes next. A new chip, 4K/120Hz support, audio passthrough, a remote locator, better home control integration - the 2022 Apple TV 4K is a great box, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. With the fourth-gen Apple TV 4K announced on Tuesday, some of those hopes were met, while others were unfortunately left out.

Coloring the announcement is the device's price. Apple eliminated the cheaper 64GB, Wi-Fi-only model, leaving just the 128GB, Wi-Fi and Ethernet model - and bumped up its p …

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HomeView doesn’t natively support any video apps yet — not even Apple’s

2026-10-14T11:10:12-04:00

Apple’s HomeView marketing calls out audiobooks, TV shows, and says you can “keep an eye on the match while you do the washing up,” but shys away about these features needing an iPhone connection. | Image: Apple

Apple says HomeView is "the perfect way" to enjoy its audio and video entertainment apps, but some notable examples like Apple TV only work if you AirPlay it through your iPhone. As noted on the HomeView spec page, Apple TV, Apple Books audiobooks, Apple Music Classical, and Apple News Plus aren't natively supported on the smart hub, so you'll have to use your phone to operate them.

HomeView is foremostly designed as a hub for managing smart home gadgets, but competing smart display hardware like Amazon's Echo Show and Google's Nest Hub devices can natively stream Prime Video and YouTube, respectively, without requiring a phone connection. …

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Apple’s HomeView ad is confusing to everyone except parents

2026-10-14T09:09:04-04:00

Nothing like a little family togetherness in the morning. | Image: Apple

Apple's ad introducing its new HomeView smart display is a little unusual. It's fast-paced and unruly, depicting a family of five as they rush through the morning routine. There's yelling and mess, misplaced keys and discarded eggshells. Apple's typical vibe is clean, simple, orderly; this commercial is chaos.

But the spot has parents - those with teen children in particular - feeling seen.

I'll admit that it stressed me out the first time I watched it, too. Mornings getting my five-year-old out the door are a special breed of chaos, and usually culminate in us playing whatever ad-libbed game will get him to put his shoes on. But it's not …

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I tried out Apple’s HomeView smart display

2026-10-15T09:00:33-04:00

Apple has just announced the HomeView, its first smart home display - and I just got hands-on with the device, which features a gorgeous 7-inch square touchscreen and built-in Siri AI. It's designed as a smart home controller, personal assistant, and home hub for your household, so there was a lot to check out.

The first thing that struck me about the HomeView was its size. It's much smaller than I expected, and the screen almost entirely hides the small aluminum base that acts as a speaker. The Liquid Retina display is bright and responsive to touch, and it displays photos and the HomeView "faces" brilliantly.

You can swip …

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Hands-on with the Apple Home Collection

2026-10-15T08:45:37-04:00

We just got a closer look at Apple's new video doorbell, security cameras, door lock, and thermostats, following the company's "Welcome home" event on Tuesday. The six new devices are part of a new Apple Home Collection, which the company codeveloped with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric.

The new LG smart lock costs $349 and comes with support for Apple's Home Key, including the option to unlock your door hands-free with UWB. You can unlock the door with a PIN code, too, or by using the physical keyhole beneath the keypad.

The doorbell can pull up a live feed on the HomeView when someone ring the bell. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge" data-portal-copyright="Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge">

There's also a new $249 video doorbell from LG. It comes with two cameras that suppor …

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Buying Apple’s wall-mounted HomeView? The mount costs extra

2026-10-13T15:52:57-04:00

Wall mount sold separately, this version being the $59.95 “Power Mount USB‑C Wall Connector.” | Image: Apple

The HomeView smart home display announced by Apple today comes in two models that both cost $299: one with a speaker base, and the other being a self-explanatory "Wall Mounted" version. If you want the latter, however, you'll actually have to pay at least $59 more - the mounts required to actually affix the display to your wall are sold separately. Maybe calling it the "Mountless" version would have been more accurate?

Apple isn't exactly shouting about that sneaky additional premium for wall-mounted HomeView customers. The details are mentioned in the small print at the bottom of the product announcement page:

HomeView (Wall Mounted) wil …

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Apple’s HomeView display is now available to preorder

2026-10-14T10:58:34-04:00

Apple is getting into smart displays with its new HomeView. It has a 7-inch squircle design, looking similar to a gargantuan Apple Watch mounted to a speaker base. The $299 HomeView is meant to be the centerpiece for Apple's big push into the home, as it's capable of controlling a host of smart home tech. Additionally, it can display recipes, show music playback controls, let you make FaceTime calls, and display a variety of widgets.

The HomeView launches on Friday, November 13th, and it'll likely be a popular holiday gift. You can preorder it in multiple colors from Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, and you have the option to either inc …

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