Apple HomeView review roundup: is the $299 (₹39,900) smart display worth it?
What reviewers loved and disliked about Apple HomeView, tabletop vs wall-mounted, a checklist before you buy, and the real cost in India.
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Transcript
Intro
Apple HomeView, Apple's first smart display, is on sale now, at two hundred and ninety-nine dollars, or thirty-nine thousand nine hundred rupees in India. The first reviews agree: lovely hardware, unfinished software. Here's who should buy it, who should wait, and the real cost in India.
What it is
It's a seven-inch square screen on a speaker base, with an A18 chip, a twelve-megapixel camera for FaceTime, and a built-in home hub with Thread, so it can run your whole Apple Home.
What reviewers loved
Reviewers loved how fast it is for smart home controls and camera feeds. It recognises up to six people, and shows each their own messages and calendar. And it makes a great photo frame, with a handy cooking mode for recipes.
The cooking mode turns recipes from Safari into steps, ingredient checklists and timers you can tap.
What they didn't like
The complaints: there's no App Store, so third-party apps only appear if they work with CarPlay. Siri AI is still in beta, and stumbles at times. Voice control of door locks only arrives in a December update. And the best features need a recent iPhone nearby.
Tabletop or wall?
Both models cost the same, but the wall version has smaller speakers, and comes without a mount, cable or charger. For most people, the tabletop is the better buy.
Before you buy
Before you buy, check four things: your gadgets work with Apple Home, everyone in the family uses an iPhone, your iPhone is a 15 Pro or newer, and you're happy using it in English.
HomeView in India
In India, it's thirty-nine thousand nine hundred rupees. It's English only, you'll say Hey Siri, and the new Apple Home cameras and locks aren't coming to India yet. Amazon's Echo Show 11 costs twenty-six thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine rupees.
The verdict
The verdict: buy it if your home already runs on Apple Home. Wait if it's mixed, or you want video apps. And skip it if your family uses Android.
The full roundup, with the India costs and our checklist, is on geekygoo dot com. The link's in the description.