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The more I dive into the facts around Apple's new home view, the more I am unsure if I should put it in my home. Now, don't get me wrong, it looks slick. It's got potential to rock, but I just have so many questions still about this brand new Apple product. You see, I'm both hyped and hyperventilating over the fact that I pre-ordered one so early because I paid $300 for what is basically a giant Apple Watch without an app store that goes in my kitchen. What was I thinking? I'll tell you what I was thinking. I was pulled in by this insane Apple ad. I think it was the
most realistic ad that I've ever seen from Apple. Not everyone on the internet agrees with this, but let me tell you, this was not a perfectly polished, aesthetically pleasing home. We are seeing a chaotic family rushing to get ready in the morning while criticizing the thermostat, while making breakfast, while arguing over some French toast facts, and then a call comes in from extended family. There's batter spilled all over the stove top. The mom can't find her keys and makes a little ping. The doorbell rings, there's a friend outside who wants to go to school
with the kids. Then a few moments later, a sun starts blasting music. I'm not kidding. All of that happened to me in the past 2 weeks. That is a very real life morning. And if you didn't like that ad, if you thought it wasn't helping sell the product, you're not the target audience. Whatever messy stage of life I am in right now, that is what Apple is targeting. That said, it did not answer every question. I have some things to poke at. Right now, Apple is pushing harder into the smart home with the Home View and a suite of new home products. Before you go broke trying to
update your whole home setup, let's go over the biggest changes that Apple made this week, what products you could hold off on upgrading right away, and what challenges Apple is up against as these devices roll out. I'm Bridget Carey. This is One More Thing, the weekly show on all things Apple. And maybe you're streaming this episode on an Apple TV 4K box. So, why don't we start there? Let's talk about that new Apple TV 4K. I hope you're sitting down because Apple's new fourth gen streaming box went up in price by $50. It is now $300. Yes, it is $300 like the Home View is also
$300 to $300 devices for the home at once. But I don't think you need to jump on upgrading the TV box right away if you have the second or third gen Apple TV box. You see, the more recent models are said to be getting Siri AI in a software update. And if you want your older TV box to feel fresh, well, there's the option of buying the new Siri remote and that will make pings when you need to find it. You see, it has precision tracking. That said, that new fourth gen TV box, okay, it does have more going for it than just playing movies. It is a smart home hub, of course.
With the update, you're getting a faster A19 chip. It is better at streaming, yes, but you can now talk to your Apple TV. There are three microphones that pick up your voice commands. Yes, it's a new way to yell at your TV, but really, you're just yelling at Siri AI. The most unique feature, the one that really gets you into spending a lot into Apple's ecosystem, is the ability to now make a surround sound entertainment system when you use HomePods. The previous Apple TV box was limited to two HomePods. But now you can use four HomePods for this surround sound. There's a catch though.
You need to have two of the same models in the front and two of the same in the back. It needs to be either that taller model of HomePod, the latest gen tower, or you can get the new HomePod Mini 2 that was announced this week. And these new minis, they're on the top of my wish list. I love the blue and the green colors. And yes, they are getting new chips to support Siri AI, but Siri AI is a software update. It might not be there at launch on October 30th. Apple says it's coming later. Maybe it'll be ready when the new Apple TV 4K box lands on November 13th, which is also
when the Home View is hitting stores. And that to me, the Home View is the star of the week. And I really have been excited for this kind of product for a while. My family is always using the HomePod in the kitchen for all sorts of things. But the Home View, this screen with a speaker, it does need to be lived with to really understand how it's going to shape the home dynamic, especially if you have kids. We all want fewer screens in our lives. So, will this ease folks into picking up their phone less when they can just glance to see their calendar or events or ask Siri a
question? Or will having Snoopy play all the time just lure everyone's eyes to a screen and distract you? Because, like I said last week, Apple's going to have a lot of Snoopy for you to play on this thing. It's like a little screen saver. We saw it in a preview. A big perk for putting the home view in a kitchen is going to be the camera for FaceTime calls when you're multitasking. This home view has the ability to keep subjects in the center of the frame even if people are moving around. That is handy. Right now, I do this by keeping a Mag Safe stand in the kitchen to prop up
iPhones when someone calls. What's really unique about the Home View is that it can have multiple users. It can support up to six profiles and it uses face unlock to keep things private. Now, some teenagers of course might have their own iPhones and they want to have private conversations, but my kids are in elementary school and they don't have iPhones yet and I don't want them keeping anything private. Anyways, it'll be interesting to see how this works out in a family when a kid has an iPad profile or maybe you have a kid who just wants to jump in and play with it.
Maybe they want to play some music or ask Siri questions. I right now never move my HomePod speaker around in the kitchen, but is everyone going to be grabbing at this home view thing in the morning and tugging at the 5-ft cable at our breakfast nook? Unlike the advertisement, I do not have a magical kitchen island with a hole in the center for the power cord to be hidden. So, people may need to find the right spot for this depending on their home layout and their outlets. There is a version that you can mount to the wall and make it your permanent hub control center, but
for the same price, it doesn't come with a speaker and doesn't come with cords. It's a bigger project because now you need to get something to mount it. I do not think that is for most folks that are just dipping their toes into the smart home space. And then there's the fact that Home View is not like other Apple systems. There are a set number of apps that are going to work on it. Right now, Apple says there are 15 built-in apps. There's no App Store. This is just basic stuff, but it does say a few more apps will be available that are tied to the iPhone, like being able to read the
news and play Apple TV or play audiobooks. I don't see games on here, but will we even want to use it for that? I am sure Apple rather push you to buy an iPad or Apple TV to play games. We're going to have to see how the home view experience shapes out when you actually live with it. If adding another screen to the kitchen makes that home life work balance easier or if I just added another distraction to the mix. If you want a review from a real family that's trying to figure it all out, please subscribe. I'm going to keep you posted and we're going to see how it works with my existing
smart home devices or we'll see if it's a better experience to use the new devices that Apple is pushing out from third parties. Spoiler alert, you're not going to see Apple talk about Google Nest or Amazon Smartome products, but obviously so many people have these devices already. It would be good to know how they work together with the new Home View Hub. It's a very busy October. There's one more thing to follow every week as the iPhone Duo hits stores next week on Friday the 23rd. And I'm going to be reporting from Apple's Fifth Avenue flagship store. So,
come back here. I'll catch you then. and let me know what questions you have about Apple's many new fall products and if you're going to pick up one of these new home devices.
