Apple’s $299 HomeView Hub Software Gets a Close Look Before Its November 13 Launch

Apple’s upcoming HomeView smart home hub has had its software picked apart days before it goes on sale. Developer Steve Troughton-Smith, who makes the Broadcasts app, shared a walkthrough of the device’s interface using a virtualized copy created by Guilherme Rambo. The HomeView launches on Friday, November 13, and Apple is already taking pre-orders at a U.S. price of $299, as reported by MacRumors.

What the tour shows

Apple has already demonstrated the HomeView to selected tech reporters and content creators. Troughton-Smith’s tour goes into more detail on several parts of the system. He looked at the home screen and Control Center, plus clock faces including Flow and Snoopy. He also showed everyday apps such as Timers, Alarms, World Clock and Settings.

He also covered the music player, the video player in both wide and square formats, and the interface for pairing with AirPlay, Apple’s wireless streaming feature. The day before, Rambo and MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris shared a look at the wallpapers and the “hello” setup screen, among other things.

Face recognition and personal content

The HomeView supports up to six users. A built-in camera can recognise people and then show their personal content in apps such as Messages, Calendar, Reminders, FaceTime and Find My. That means a shared device in the kitchen or living room could show each family member their own information instead of a single generic view.

In the virtualized version, those personal apps are locked. Rambo and Troughton-Smith have not yet found a way to get around the recognition requirement, so they could not show what the apps look like inside.

Design and typing details

Troughton-Smith reported that the HomeView will have a Liquid Glass slider. Liquid Glass is Apple’s translucent interface style, and the slider lets you choose how clear or tinted its elements look. If you find see-through menus hard to read, that is a setting you can expect to adjust. He also confirmed that the device’s keyboard supports QuickPath swipe typing, where you slide a finger across the letters instead of tapping each one.

What it means for buyers

There is one detail worth noting if you are planning a purchase. The virtualized HomeView shows an Ethernet menu, but the actual device supports Wi-Fi only. So if you were hoping to connect it with a network cable, the tour should not be taken as a sign that you can. This is a good example of why a virtualized copy is not a perfect stand-in for the real hardware.

Rambo and Troughton-Smith also said the HomeView’s software is based on the Apple TV’s tvOS. For people who already use an Apple TV, much of the look and feel of the interface may therefore seem familiar. This comes from the developers’ own findings rather than an Apple announcement.

What is still unknown

Apple released the HomeView’s software ahead of the launch, which is how these details came to light. The most interesting parts, the personal apps that rely on face recognition, are still hidden. We will have to wait until the hub is in people’s hands on November 13 to see how they work in practice. If the $299 price and the Wi-Fi-only design suit your home, pre-orders are open now, but waiting for early reviews is a reasonable choice given how much is still unseen.

Source: MacRumors