Apple's HomeView is trying to do a lot, so much that the writer wonders whether Apple ever asked if it was doing too much. When Apple announced the HomeView, the writer was neither surprised nor impressed. The device had been expected for two or three years, and the writer is clearly not the target market, having little interest in home automation.
The writer's own smart home use is minimal. A window air conditioner that turns on at 10:00 pm when the room is above 75 degrees and off at 7:30 am can be scheduled directly from a phone app or the unit's remote, with no hub needed. That raises the question of who the HomeView is actually for. The writer describes a practical, low-friction approach to technology, having switched from Windows phones to an iPhone and later from Windows to macOS because the Apple products simply worked better.
The HomeView starts at $300, but that is not the full cost. It plays music, shows text messages and calendars, and handles FaceTime calls, functions an iPhone or iPad already performs. Owning a HomeView also requires an iPhone or iPad that can run the required software. The wall-mounted version, which starts at $300, lacks a power cord and wall mount, so buyers face at least $360 to make it usable. It is also not VESA-compatible.
The writer notes that some colleagues are excited about the device and is glad they are, since uniform enthusiasm would make the publication less interesting. For this writer, though, the HomeView's cost, overlap with existing devices, and unclear purpose make it hard to see the appeal.
Source: AppleInsider · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing