I tried Apple’s new smart home hub – the brand faithful will love it

HomeView can control smart lights, heating, security cameras and video doorbells via touch or voice, but devices must support Matter – the cross-brand smart home standard. That means you aren’t confined to Apple-approved gadgets, but you are still limited – Ring video doorbells, for example, aren’t Matter-compatible, so they won’t work with HomeView, which could be a deal-breaker for even the biggest Apple fan. But for anyone put off by the complexity of setting up a smart home, Apple is trying to simplify things. It has partnered with LG on Home Collection – a range of devices, including security cameras and a video doorbell – that connect with a single tap, just as AirPods do with an iPhone. They won’t be available until later in the year, but they could mark a major step towards making smart home set-up less complicated. My early verdict HomeView is built for the Apple faithful: set-up requires an iPhone or iPad, personalised AI features need a recent Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, and some apps work only when your phone is nearby. In a household split between iPhone and Android, Android users will get a much thinner experience, and Apple’s own services come first at every turn. Still, HomeView is the most polished smart display I have seen. Face recognition makes it both a great shared and personalised device; the sound quality is excellent; and Siri AI is finally worth talking to, especially when it can draw on your personal context. I’ll need to live with it for a few weeks before giving a final verdict, but so far it’s a beautifully designed device I’d be happy to invite into my home. Apple HomeView is available to pre-order now.