Apple takes on Amazon in smart home with HomeView, cameras and smart lock

Apple moves into Amazon's smart home territory

Apple made a multi-front push against Amazon in the smart home market. The company unveiled HomeView, a $299 smart display, along with a camera lineup, a video doorbell and a smart lock made by LG Electronics. That puts Apple into the core categories of Amazon-owned Ring for the first time.

HomeView has a 7-inch screen and comes in a tabletop version with a speaker base and a wall-mounted version. It recognizes up to six household members by their faces and switches to each person's messages, calendar and apps. It runs Siri AI, Apple's rebuilt voice assistant, which the company calls "profoundly more capable and conversational." Pre-orders started Tuesday, and the device ships Nov. 13.

Cameras, doorbell and lock

Apple's Home Collection, designed with LG and Schneider Electric, includes a $249.95 LG video doorbell with two cameras, LG indoor, outdoor and floodlight cameras priced from $199.95 to $399.95, and a $349.95 LG deadbolt that unlocks automatically as its owner approaches using ultra-wideband technology. The accessories are set for release starting in December, with some arriving in early 2027. Camera video history requires an iCloud+ storage plan, and Apple says there is no separate camera subscription.

Amazon's commanding lead

The road ahead is steep. About two-thirds of U.S. smart speaker owners have an Amazon device, compared with about a quarter for Google and 7% for Apple, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners data covering the 12 months ending in June. Apple's share has stayed in the mid-single digits for years. CIRP's Michael Levin and Josh Lowitz wrote that Apple may go after people who don't own a smart speaker rather than try to convert Amazon and Google customers.

Not sold in the EU, and AI may cost extra

HomeView won't be sold in the European Union because Siri AI isn't available there. Apple is also hinting that its AI won't stay free: a footnote in the announcement says certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily limits, with expanded access "available for a fee in the future." Amazon's Alexa+ is free with Prime or $19.99 a month on its own.