Apple HomeView is a $299 smart display that knows who you are

Apple finally has a dedicated smart home display. The HomeView is a 7-inch screen that costs $299 and launches November 13th, with preorders open now.

The standout feature: it recognizes up to six people in your household using face and voice recognition. Walk up to it, and it knows who you are. That means personalized calendars, messages and HomeKit scenes without tapping a profile switcher.

Built for FaceTime and security feeds

HomeView includes a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera—the same tech that keeps you in frame during video calls on iPads. FaceTime calls should look solid, and the camera follows you if you move around the kitchen.

The screen itself runs from 0.3 to 500 nits of brightness and adjusts automatically depending on the room. That's bright enough for a sunny counter but dim enough not to glare at you from the nightstand.

You can pull up live feeds from multiple security cameras at once, though reports differ on the exact number—somewhere between five and nine feeds depending on the source.

Who it's for

This is an Apple product through and through. It ties into HomeKit, iCloud, FaceTime and the rest of the ecosystem. If you've got HomePods, Apple TVs and a house full of HomeKit-compatible gear, HomeView slots right in.

If you don't? It's a tough sell at $299. Amazon and Google offer smart displays for half that, and they work with a much wider range of devices.

But if you want a central control panel for your Apple-powered home—and you value the privacy and recognition features—HomeView delivers what other displays don't.