Apple has opened preorders for HomeView, a 7-inch smart display with a speaker priced at $299. It acts as a control hub for the smart home and can recognise up to six family members through its camera. Users can ask Siri to close blinds or lock doors by voice. It can also show up to nine security camera feeds at once.
What it means: HomeView is Apple's first smart display and arrives in a category where Amazon and Google have been present for years, which means the company is betting not on a new idea but on integration with the rest of its ecosystem and on its reputation for being more careful with privacy. The features described, voice control for blinds and locks and up to nine security cameras on screen at once, position the device as a home control hub rather than just a speaker with a display. The most sensitive element is recognising up to six family members through a camera, because that is biometric data inside the most private space, and user trust will depend on where that data is processed and who can reach it. In Europe, where GDPR treats biometric information strictly, Apple will need to explain clearly how recognition works, while for smart home device makers the entry of such a large player raises the bar on security and ease of use.
Read the original on Ars Technica
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