Apple's Smart Home System Drops Cupertino Ingenuity in Your Living Room

Remember the smart home? Way before AI, the metaverse, and longevity-maxxing, this was the tech industry’s next big thing. The guy who designed the iPhone made a thermostat. Amazon created a Pringles can you could talk to. Some guys thought decking out their sheds in Philips Hue lightbulbs was a great idea. Then we all thought better of it until 2026.

With the Apple HomeView’s launch, the smart home is back. If not with a vengeance, then at least an array of dinky new products, a modicum of respect for your privacy, and just the one damn app to run them all through. So if you’re the kind of person whose world revolves around iPhone and Mac, bar the glitchy doorcam you use to deter would-be intruders, you’ll want to lock into all the new gear here. From a refreshed HomePod mini to a whole slate of LG-made accessories, I’ve gotten hands-on with all the latest gear at its launch event in New York. Here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s next smart home era.

HomeView: Made for real Apple heads

Anyone who has nabbed a discounted Amazon Echo Show during Black Friday will know the deal with Apple’s HomeView. Designed to be a focal point for all your home’s connected devices, it’s essentially a square, 7-inch iPad display that’s been transplanted onto a speaker stand. Recognize the aesthetic? That’s because it's been cribbed from Jony Ive’s legendary iMac G4 from 2002. You know, the one where the screen floats out over its stand, making the device seem way more thin and elegant than its more chunky base might imply.

Naturally, there’s a lot more to the HomeView than a faint tinge of retro-futurism. Set it up on a kitchen island or mount it to a wall, and it’s there for the kind of call-and-response voice assistant questions that are Siri’s bread and butter nowadays. What’s that recipe my girlfriend texted me yesterday? What’s her ETA back from work this evening? How do I know when I’ve put too many chili flakes in this pasta? Other non-culinary-related examples are available, but you get the vibe.

Aside from handling Siri AI, Apple Music and FaceTime calls, the HomeView exists as a showcase for all your other smart home tech. It’s compatible with both Apple’s own Home accessories and any other gear that uses the widely adopted Matter and Thread connectivity standards, meaning it should play nice with even Amazon, Samsung, and Google-made kit, too. As with any new smart home device, you’re really gonna need to live with the HomeView (or at least get a verdict from someone who already has) to figure out how it fits into your life. For now, it looks like Apple’s most compelling effort in the space to date.

HomePod Mini: A killer stocking filler

If the HomeView is Apple’s smart home headliner, then the HomePod Mini is its more mobile sidekick. You’ll still have to plug this thing into a power socket, but its recycled mesh exterior is compact enough to sit quietly anywhere in your space, from a bedroom dresser to your WFH office desk. And when you need to turn up the volume? It’s loud enough to fill a room with reasonable fidelity and is powered by Apple’s recent S10 chip to handle the Siri AI side of things. If you’re not signed up to Apple Music, a lack of Spotify Connect compatibility means you’ll have to rely on AirPlay to get your playlists up and running.

Aside from that ongoing hassle, this latest HomePod Mini remains a killer Christmas stocking filler. I’ve gifted a couple of them in recent years and their ease of setup and low-key profile means they feel like a “proper” present while costing less than you might expect for an Apple-made speaker.

Apple TV 4K: Finally, a Find My remote

Since every TV worth owning now comes with all the major streaming apps built in, Apple has flirted with a couple of visions for its TV 4K box in recent years. This time, the latest 4K TV isn’t taking shots at games consoles like the PS5 and Nintendo’s Switch. Instead, its skills are rooted around the (you guessed it) smart home with an A19 chip for faster performance and smooth navigation through the endless Netflix scroll, as well as a far-field microphone array so that you can speak to Siri from a distance. Just in case you don’t have your iPhone, Apple Watch, or MacBook to hand already.

As much as all this added connectivity does matter, anyone who's been waiting four years or more for a new Apple TV is going to be most hyped for its remote control. Why? It’s got Find My connectivity, just like an AirTag, so it can play a ringtone and give directions to its location when you’ve lost it underneath the sofa. I’m a sucker for Apple’s slimline design ethos, but it’s a living nightmare when all you wanna do is watch Pierce Brosnan chew some scenery in Mobland and you can’t find the remote to physically tune into that new episode.

Apple Home Collection: LG does the rest

So that’s all of Apple’s new launches, but there’s plenty more to its new smart home push. Specifically, a whole ecosystem of products that LG and Schneider Electric have made in collaboration with the iPhone’s creator, including a doorbell, thermostat, and array of home cameras. Even though lots of gear can work with the new HomeView, HomePod mini and TV 4K, this gear is meant to be the gold standard. If it turns out to be on par with LG’s peerless OLED TVs, then that’ll be a big deal. If it’s more like the brand’s home audio kit, the execution may vary.

Apple's HomeView and 4K TV release 13 November. The HomePod Mini 2 releases on 30 October. At apple.com