A look at Apple's smart home strategy, centered on a HomeView display hub, with a new HomePod mini, Apple TV, and second-party accessories from LG and Schneider
Fresh details on Apple's HomeView, HomePod mini and new Apple TV, including release dates, colors, chips and features.
The HomeView framing matters because it makes the display a voice-led control point rather than an iPad substitute: Gurman said it would lack an App Store and center Siri and connected accessories. That places LG and Schneider products inside an Apple-curated home system, not merely alongside Apple hardware.
First-order effects
HomeView gives Apple a shared control surface for its refreshed HomePod mini, Apple TV, and connected-home accessories, making the devices more interdependent at purchase and setup.
LG and Schneider gain a designated Apple-aligned accessory route, while Apple takes responsibility for the hub, voice interface, and core software experience.
Second-order effects
Accessory makers seeking visibility in the HomeView experience face a more curated route than an open app marketplace, concentrating differentiation in compatible hardware and Apple integration.
Apple TV and HomePod mini become components of a home bundle rather than standalone upgrades, increasing the importance of cross-device features over individual hardware specifications.
Third-order effects
If Apple maintains the no-App-Store, voice-led model described in reporting, its smart-home strategy favors a controlled accessory ecosystem in which Apple owns the interface and partners supply the physical endpoints.
The approach points to competition among smart-home platforms shifting from single devices toward ownership of the household control layer and its accessory relationships.
The trend: Apple is assembling a curated smart-home control layer that ties displays, voice devices, television hardware, and partner accessories into one managed experience.
Apple's Fifth Avenue store is expected to have more than 150 iPhone Duo demo units for the Oct. 23 launch. Apple Park Visitor Center will have nearly 100. There's also a new fixture showing the phone opening and closing. More in Power On: https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Also in Power On: Apple's upcoming OLED iPad mini will be considerably more expensive than today's $599 model. My guess is closer to $799. Expect an A20 Pro chip, a relocated FaceTime camera and a revamped speaker system. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Why HomeView, not HomePad? Apple wants you to look at the display and control it primarily with your voice. It supports touch, but “Pad” would suggest an iPad-like experience. That isn't the point of the product. More in Power On: https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Apple's new HomeView smart home hub won't have an App Store. It will run a limited set of Apple apps, with Siri and connected accessories at the center of the experience — not third-party apps. More in Power On: https://www.bloomberg.com/...
NEW: The chips powering Apple's new home devices — HomeView: standard A18; Apple TV: standard A19, up from A15; HomePod mini: S10, up from S5. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
NEW: The countertop HomeView with a speaker base will come in space gray, silver, starlight and pink. The wall-mounted version: space gray and silver. The new HomePod mini: midnight, green, white, blue and pink. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
NEW: Apple has tested two features for its new Apple TV: built-in microphones in the set-top box itself for hands-free Siri AI without the remote, and a refreshed remote with a speaker for Find My. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
NEW: Apple's HomeView smart home display isn't expected to ship until around mid-November. The new Apple TV and HomePod mini are on track to arrive Oct. 30, with preorders opening this coming week. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Power On: Apple spent a decade losing the smart home. Now it has a plan to compete: HomeView, a new Apple TV and HomePod mini, and LG-built accessories. Tuesday's unveiling is about protecting the iPhone as much as outfitting your house. https://www.bloomberg.com/...