Apple just dropped new hardware on Apple.com, the first of (allegedly) two hardware drops happening this month. This event focused on Apple Home, alongside the new Apple HomeView module (screen? home hub? idk what category this is exactly), a new Apple TV and HomePod mini. Like always, let's start with the most important stuff.
HomeView
The new Apple HomeView
I really like the name HomeView. Some of the rumors said it would be called "HomePad" but that sounds too similar to HomePod (which already sounds too similar to AirPods in my opinion). The HomeView is basically an iPhone 16 (because it has an A18 Chip) with a 7-inch squircle touch display and a camera. It has most of the basic Apple apps and controls for smart home devices.
The trailer video showed off the three main differentiators from HomeView with other home hubs: Customization, Privacy and Apple Intelligence. Like the rumors said, each member of the family can have a "profile" that switches on the fly based on who is using it and lets each person access their own music, photos, messages, and more. The switch happens based on who is looking at it. It should be noted that "Face ID" isn't mentioned anywhere on the product page. Mark Gurman had reported that the face recognition was not going to be as secure as Face ID which really worries me. How "secure" is it actually? Can someone unlock it with a picture of a person? I hope someones tests this.
What Apple is probably going to target the most in their advertising is going to be Privacy: the HomeView is a lot more respectful of your privacy than an Amazon Echo Hub or Google Nest Hub, which really matters for a product that is going to be creeping into your conversations all the time and in the privacy of your own home. This alone makes the HomeView more worth it than most other smart hubs in my eyes.
There is also Apple Intelligence of course, as part of John Ternus's vision of an "Intelligent Personal Hub" for each Apple user. It seems to work just about the same as Apple Intelligence on other devices so I won't dwell here too much.
I don't own any smart home devices or home hubs, but I know people who do. A friend of mine has an Echo Hub in her kitchen, which we use to play music on Spotify and (I believe) to check smart cameras in her home. A HomeView will basically do the same things but within the Apple Ecosystem, which may be favored by families like hers where everyone has an iPhone.
With that said, the HomeView will definitely be a very niche product. It costs $300 USD (it doesn't even appear in Apple Mexico's website so who knows how much it will cost here, or if it's even coming over at all) which is more expensive than similar Amazon and Google Hubs with similar screen specs at least. It also doesn't seem to have 3rd party support for popular apps like Spotify, Google Calendar, WhatsApp, and other alternatives to the Apple Ecosystem. There is a common saying that Apple products and services get worse the further away from Cupertino you are, and I fear this will probably be the case with the HomeView.
Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini
There's also a new Apple TV (not to be confused with the app of the same name, or the service of the same name that you can only access on the app of the same name). It is a mere spec bump to an A19 Chip to give it Apple Intelligence support (or full Apple Intelligence support, as some of the older Apple TVs will apparently also support it in some capacity).
The new HomePod mini 2 is also, probably, a spec bump. I say probably because there isn't a mention on Apple's website of what SOC the thing has, which is kind of crazy. The original HomePod mini had an S5 chip (the same as on the Apple Watch Series 5 from 2019) so I would guess this also has an S-series chip, maybe from the Series 11 or Series 12 watches. This is also a very boring upgrade.
Apple Home Collection
Apple also presented its "Apple Home Collection" initiative, which consists of a vast array of smart home devices that work best with the new HomeView and the Apple Home app. This rounds up the "Apple" smart home with the devices that Apple can't (or doesn't want to) make themselves. These include stuff like smart doorbells, smart cameras, lights, thermostats, and more. There were already a lot of smart home devices compatible with the Apple Home app on the iPhone and iPad, but this should be a guarantee that stuff will work with any and all of your Apple "Home" devices, from the new HomeView to your phone, TV or any other.