Apple pitches HomeView on natural Siri controls

Apple says its HomeView smart-home hub is designed to make everyday household tasks easier through natural-language Siri requests that act promptly and avoid unnecessary follow-up questions. The company plans to begin selling the device in the United States on November 13, 2026, with a starting price of $299. In interviews, Apple vice presidents Kaiann Drance and Lilian Rincon described Siri as central to the product’s appeal. Users can ask it to perform tasks such as changing a thermostat setting in ordinary speech, the executives said. Rincon said the assistant is intended to take an action, provide relevant information and then stop, rather than prolonging an exchange. Apple presents HomeView as a shared household screen, not a device defined by a long list of smart-home features. The company says it can recognize as many as six household members and personalize information for each. Its functions include smart-home controls, music playback, video calling, messaging and calendar information, according to product descriptions. Drance linked the product’s timing to Siri’s personal-context capabilities and Apple’s approach to privacy. She said the combination of the assistant...