Apple's "Welcome Home" event has arrive and gone. Unlike the company's latest iPhone event, this one wasn't livestreamed. Instead, Apple welcomed choose members of the media to see the announcements firsthand in New York City. Concurrently, the business posted all of its updates to its Newsroom. If you weren't at the event in individual (I wasn't), you can inspect out everything that's new below—including a appearance at the company's archetypal astute hub, new Apple TV 4Ks and HomePod minis, and a new row of astute residence devices.
Apple HomeView is the company's archetypal dedicated astute hub
Without a doubt, the biggest notice of the day is the new "Apple HomeView." This is Apple's archetypal dedicated astute hub, complete alongside a seven-inch quadrate display attached to a domed speaker by a stainless alloy hinge. While it doesn't resemble item in Apple's current gathering of devices, it is vaguely reminiscent of the iMac G4. Like Apple's another screens, the display comes alongside True Tone, and during it reaches a respectable 500 nits of brightness, it can additionally autumn to as low as 0.3 nits, which Apple says makes it awesome for nightstands. It is additionally marketing a display-only HomeView that mounts to your wall.
Apple isn't positioning HomeView as a individual device—the astute hub can acknowledge up to six people, so all associate of a family can set their own Home Screens alongside tradition apps and widgets, during shared data (like photos and music) can be accessed by anyone, equal guests. Apple additionally designed Apple Watch-like faces for HomeView: You can customize your HomeView visage to contain things akin calendars, clocks, full-screen images, the weather, and more.
Like another astute hubs, HomeView uses an AI aide to answer questions and run tasks. As such, it seems well-timed alongside the initiate of Apple's new Siri AI. If you have an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone or iPad, you can ask Siri AI to obtain act in the app or drag applicable info from Messages, Calendar, and Apple Music. Any conversation you have alongside Siri on HomeView syncs throughout the Siri app on your another devices.
Apple is additionally touting the HomeView's speakers. The business says the equipment has two tradition full-range drivers in the display, as fine as a down-firing woofer and two force-cancelling passive radiators in the base. You can stream audio and video from Apple's many services, including Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple News, Apple TV, as fine as several third-party apps. If you have additional than one HomeView, HomePod, or AirPlay-compatible device, you can beam audio to all. It equal plant alongside Handoff, so if you're listening to or observing item on your iPhone, you can choice it up on your HomePod.
The HomeView's top power power be as an always-available FaceTime receiver. It has a camera built into the top bezel alongside Center Stage, which makes it easier to remain in example whenever strolling about the room. HomeView can peruse your messages and let you react alongside your voice, but there's additionally an on-screen keyboard. If you have another HomeViews or HomePods, you can use Intercom to dispatch an audio communication to everyone in the house.
This is a astute hub, so HomeView comes alongside a astute residence dashboard to authority all of your astute devices. You can inspect on video feeds (including up to nine at once), modify lights, or alter the thermostat, in supplement to a figure of another tasks. Apple is adamant that the A18 part in the HomeView, including its Secure Enclave, ensures all data passing through the equipment is protected. It equal notes that individual data, akin Messages, is not accessible until the person verifies themself via Face ID.
How much volition the Apple HomeView cost?
Apple is charging $299 for HomeView or HomeView (Wall Mounted). If you choose the latter, you can choice from three distinct wall-mounting options, all sold separately. You can preorder either starting today. A note: You need an iPhone or iPad operating iOS 27.2 or iPadOS 27.2 or afterward to use the HomeView, so don't command one if you don't.
Apple TV 4K doubles as a residence hub
Apple additionally announced its next-generation Apple TV 4K this morning. At archetypal glance, you wouldn't cognize anything's changed. Both the Apple TV and its distant appearance fair concerning the identical as the former model. But the important changes are inside, not out. Apple is positioning this Apple TV 4K as a residence hub of its own, pairing an upgraded processor alongside Siri AI to recommendation new astute capabilities.
Like another astute devices, you can ask Siri AI on Apple TV 4K questions in natural tongue and get results in kind. Apple says you can petition things akin "What Apple TV shows won at the Emmy Awards this year?" or "What are several nature documentaries accessible on Apple TV?" While observing content, you can ask Siri AI concerning what's on screen, including questions akin "Where was Pluribus filmed?" or "Is this movie suitable for a 14-year-old?" Apple says Apple TV 4K won't halt your satisfied to answer a question; it volition location answers in a subtle overlay, so you can keep observing during getting your answer. Apple equal recommends trying to authority Apple TV 4K hands-free now, which I assume is a reply to complaints concerning how uncomplicated it is to endure the remote.
If you do endure the remote, you're in luck: It now comes alongside Find My assistance alongside Precision Finding. You can perform a audio on the distant from your iPhone to create it easier to find, or you can get guided directions to cognize exactly anywhere it is. (Spoilers: It's between your couch cushions. It's continually between your couch cushions.)
Inside, the Apple TV 4K runs Apple's A19 chip, which Apple says improves the CPU achievement by up to 50% and offers up to twice the GPU achievement of the former model. Apple says the new Apple TV 4K offers a new AV1 decoder, which should enhance the norm of streams during using small data. You can additionally brace the new Apple TV 4K alongside four speakers if you have Apple's new HomePod mini 2 (more on that below). Apple's AI calibrates the speakers to your area by analyzing their stance in your room.
While Apple would affection for you to buy a HomeView too, you can additionally authority all your astute devices from the new Apple TV 4K. You can see who's at your forefront entrance and unlock it if necessary, and equal set the Apple TV 4K to visitant manner if you desire your allies to be capable to modify the lights whenever you're not around.
How much is the new Apple TV 4K?
Apple's newest Apple TV 4K starts at $299, or $49.83 for six months. You can pre-order it today, and it volition go on transaction starting Friday, Nov. 13.
HomePod mini 2 has an upgraded part and adorable new colors
Apple's second-generation HomePod mini is now official. While the new HomePod mini 2 isn't as extreme a alter as the HomeView or equal the Apple TV 4K, it does have several upgraded hardware and comes in new colors: pink, green, blue, white, and midnight.
Apple says the new HomePod mini 2 comes alongside its S10 chip, fairly an upgrade from the S5 part used in the first HomePod mini. While we'll need to delay for evaluation to verify audio quality, Apple says the S10 part powers the mini's new computational audio, which automatically optimizes things akin energetic range, loudness, and acoustics to fit your space. As mentioned above, you can now brace four HomePods together alongside the Apple TV 4K, including any assortment of HomePods and HomePod mini 2s.
While the first HomePod mini has a glowing touchpad, the new HomePod mini 2 takes it a stage additional alongside "Sound Glow." This new characteristic glows and pulses in sync alongside your audio, and reacts to the two bass and triple in genuine time. Sound Glow pulls the color scheme from the current gathering art. Of course, this notice is all concerning astute home, so Apple additionally touted how you can authority your astute residence from your HomePod mini 2 as well. You can ask Siri AI on the speaker to configure your astute residence devices, and you can discover manual controls from the Home app as well.
How much is the HomePod mini 2?
HomePod mini 2 is $149, and is currently accessible for preorder. You can buy the component in stores starting Oct. 30.
Apple Home Collection includes third-party devices designed to activity together
Finally, there's "Apple Home Collection." This is a sequence of devices not made by Apple, but by partner companies that now market their devices through Apple. The idea is that these devices were all designed alongside Apple's astute residence cognition in mind, which method you can buy them knowing they'll activity alongside HomeView, Apple TV 4K, and the HomePod mini 2. (Apple also seems fairly arrogant of how all equipment matches the company's general look.) Here's what's in the collection:
LG Video Doorbell: This bell has dual cameras (one 2.5K camera, one 1080p camera), a built-in spotlight, and a chime that plays on HomeView, HomePod, and HomePod mini. ($249.95).
LG Floodlight Cam: This camera comes alongside dual floodlights that automatically rotate on whenever it detects motion. It additionally supports low-light color night vision. ($399.95.)
LG Outdoor Cam: This camera supports low-light color night imagination alongside elastic angles. ($299.95.)
LG Indoor Cam: This camera can automatically modify itself, including tilting out of example whenever person comes home. ($199.95.)
LG Smart Deadbolt Lock: This fastener uses Ultra Wideband to automatically unlock whenever the person approaches it. You can additionally tap to unlock alongside your iPhone or Apple Watch, use the hardware keypad, or use the hidden bodily key slot. The fastener alerts users if it detects tampering. ($349.95.)
Smart Thermostat: Apple is operating alongside the two LG and Schneider to market two distinct thermostats. Schenider's is square, during LG's is round. Both drag from iPhone data to automatically modify the heat according to certain scenarios, specified as whether anyone is home, period of day, or person preferences. There are additionally optional heat and humidity sensors. ($199.95 per thermostat, $39.95 per sensor.)
With an iCloud+ plan, you can admission up to 10 days of video event history, alongside automatic video descriptions and summaries of those events. You can use natural tongue to hunt your event former for particular clips, and there are built-in retention options to keep data whenever a association goes down.
Covering tech news, how-to guides, explainers, and more.