Apple HomeView and New Apple TV 4K Go on Sale With Siri AI, as First Reviews Call the Hub a Letdown

AAPL began selling two new home products on Friday, November 13: HomeView, its first smart home display, and a new Apple TV 4K with Siri AI, each priced at $299 in the U.S.. Availability started the same day in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S., which is why the first pre-ordered units reached customers in Australia and New Zealand and why HomeView went on sale in India at Rs 39,900. HomeView is not being sold in the EU because Siri AI is not available there (Apple Newsroom).

HomeView pairs a 7-inch square display with the A18 chip and can recognize up to six household members, with wall mounts sold separately at $59.95 to $129.95. The new Apple TV 4K moves to the A19 chip and adds a new Siri Remote with Find My and support for four-speaker surround sound (Apple Newsroom). Apple labels Siri AI as beta on both devices.

The first reviews were mixed to negative on the software. Wirecutter praised HomeView's crisp screen and FaceTime but said Siri sometimes dropped conversations and gave incorrect results, "fell far short of Alexa+ and Gemini Home," and called the device "a letdown after such a long wait". MacRumors found Siri AI on the new Apple TV "works better than the prior version" but "wasn't great at answering follow-up questions". The Apple Post framed HomeView as most compelling for households already using Apple Home. Apple's Apple TV streaming service also added three originals on November 12, including the heist series 12 12 12.

For investors, the launch is Apple's most visible test yet of Siri AI in the home, a category where Amazon's Echo Show 8 sells for $200 and Google is pushing Gemini Home. Early sell-through, review sentiment on Siri, and how quickly software updates close the gap with rival assistants are the signals to watch heading into the holiday quarter.