Home is where Apple's new screen is

TL;DR: Yesterday, Apple made its biggest push into home devices yet, with experts saying it’s finally catching up to the competition. And today, Tech Brew is on the ground at Apple’s briefing on these new products. The centerpiece is the new Apple HomeView (essentially a command center for your house), which has some interesting quirks. But the main selling point overall? Privacy.

What happened: Alongside the usual upgrade to existing devices (in this case, the HomePod mini and Apple TV), the company also unveiled a slew of new devices. This includes the Apple Home Collection—smart cameras, a video doorbell, a deadbolt lock, a thermostat, and temperature sensors—created in partnership with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, as well as the aforementioned Apple HomeView.

A home with a view: As the name suggests, the HomeView is a hub where you can quickly see everything to do with your house and life. It comes in two versions, tabletop and wall-mounted, both of which include a 7-inch screen. But you may be wondering, given Amazon and Google released similar devices almost a decade ago, “What makes this one different?” Here are some of the main differentiators:

• Price: At $299, it’s $100 more expensive than its closest competitor, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (which released last year and has an 8-inch screen). But as many news outlets have pointed out, Apple’s device feels a lot more premium.
• Setup: You must have an iPhone or iPad running the latest software to set it up and use a lot of the features.
• Face-gated personal content: Because it’s paired with your iPhone and iPad, it can pull your messages and other details for you when it recognizes your face (unlike competing products, which can only pull things like your calendar).
• Ads: Literally no one wants ads on every smart device they own. Unlike Amazon’s device, Apple’s has no ads.
• Wall-mounted: The cable connects at the back of the device, so you’ll likely have to drill a hole in your wall so it’s flush. This version also doesn’t include the base (without which you’ll get less bass and slightly different audio, Apple tells us), but is the same price. Plus, the purpose-built mounts will actually cost you extra—up to $129.95.

The big one: But really, the biggest thing that sets these devices apart is privacy—at least, that’s what Apple’s trying to hammer home. For the HomeView, it says camera and microphone data is processed by an isolated software system that even the rest of the OS can’t access—let alone Apple, the apps, or even the users. And because you can have up to six users connected, it also uses Face ID to isolate what’s on the screen by triangulating which devices are around and still connected to the same wi-fi network. For the Home Collection devices, the data from each device is end-to-end encrypted, so even LG, Schneider, and Apple can’t see it, the company tells us.

Bottom line: Given you need to have an Apple device to use these products, it’s likely not trying to compete with Amazon and Google for market share (especially since a high percentage of Apple buyers don’t have a smart speaker of any kind)—but instead trying to entice its existing customers to stay within the ecosystem. —SM

Also at Apple…

• Good news for the HomeView maker: A federal judge just approved Apple’s motion for expedited discovery in its trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI.