The square screen has multiple "faces" you swipe through. You can customize the colors and add complications for glanceable information. Faces range from a clock to photos of friends, family, or pets, shared albums included, plus weather updates and Snoopy animations.
Swipe up and the home screen looks more like an iPhone or iPad, with apps next to widgets. The software goes by HomeView, not iOS or iPadOS, and there is no App Store. Apple curates the apps, including FaceTime, Messages, and Safari. Spotify and a handful of other third-party media apps work, and developers can bring over existing CarPlay apps.
It comes in two versions, a speaker base and a wall-mounted display, at the same price. Preorders are live, and sales start November 13.
Google and Amazon have made countless screen-enabled smart speakers since voice assistants invaded the home a decade ago. Apple stayed with a smaller ecosystem built around HomePod speakers. A few years back it even removed the iPad as a hub device, which forced users to buy an Apple TV or HomePod to get started. Apple hasn't found much success in the home, and the HomeView and several other new smart home devices are its bid to change that.
It's a big year for Apple firsts, from a folding iPhone to a new CEO after 15 years, and now a smart display.