Apple Home 2026 Guide: HomeView, HomePod mini 2, Apple TV 4K and Apple Home Collection, Prices and Europe
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- 19 Oct, 2026
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After years of rumours and two missed internal targets, Apple finally made its smart-home move on October 13, 2026. In one day it announced HomeView, its first home display, a second-generation HomePod mini, a fourth-generation Apple TV 4K and Apple Home Collection, a range of thermostats, locks, doorbells and cameras built with LG and Schneider Electric. This guide gathers everything we covered, from the first leaks to the launch, and answers the practical questions: what to buy, when, at what price, what happens in Europe, and how it all fits with Home Assistant.
What to remember
- HomeView: 7-inch display, $299, available November 13, not sold in the EU while Siri AI is unavailable there.
- HomePod mini 2: $149 (€169 in France), October 30; Siri AI arrives later, in English and outside the EU.
- Apple TV 4K (4th gen): $299 (€349 in France), November 13, A19 chip, Wi-Fi and Thread home hub.
- Apple Home Collection: LG and Schneider accessories from December, with Matter and Thread; prices announced for the US and Canada.
- Your current HomePod mini or Apple TV remains a valid home hub; upgrade for sound and Siri, not for Thread.
Prices and dates at a glance
| Product | US price | France | Availability | Smart-home role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple HomeView (tabletop or wall-mounted) | $299 | Not sold in the EU | November 13 (pre-orders October 13) | Display, home controls, up to nine camera feeds |
| HomePod mini (2nd gen) | $149 | €169 | October 30 | Apple Home hub |
| Apple TV 4K (4th gen) | $299 | €349 | November 13 | Home hub with Wi-Fi and Thread |
| LG / Schneider smart thermostats | from $199.95 | Not announced | From December (US, Canada) | Thermostat, Matter |
| LG Smart Deadbolt Lock | from $349.95 | Not announced | From December (US, Canada) | UWB auto-unlock, Matter and Aliro, local |
| LG Video Doorbell Wired | from $249.95 | Not announced | US, Canada, UK | Dual cameras, 2.5K front |
| LG cameras (floodlight, outdoor, indoor) | $399.95 / $299.95 / $199.95 | Not announced | US, Canada, UK | Security cameras |
From rumour to launch: how it unfolded
- September 24: Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported the home display had slipped past two internal targets, partly because of Siri AI.
- September 30: Bloomberg set October 13 as the date, with code names J490 (countertop) and J491 (wall). Part of the press nicknamed it "HomePad".
- October 8: marketing chief Greg Joswiak posted "Welcome home. October 13", and journalists were invited to hands-on sessions in Tribeca, New York, at 9 a.m. ET.
- October 9: leaks relayed by MacRumors described "Proximity Control" (bring an iPhone close to an accessory to open its controls) and an unpowered NFC setup for LG accessories.
- October 13: Apple published press releases for HomeView, HomePod mini 2, Apple TV 4K and Apple Home Collection.
HomeView: Apple's answer to Echo Show and Nest Hub
According to the Apple Newsroom, HomeView has a 7-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone and brightness from 0.3 to 500 nits. The tabletop model sits on a domed speaker base with a stainless-steel tilting hinge and Spatial Audio; the wall-mounted model uses mounts, including Schneider Home mounts from $59.95. It runs on an A18 chip with Secure Exclaves protecting camera and microphone data.
What it does at home
HomeView recognises up to six faces and personalises its Home Screens. The Home Modular face surfaces favourite accessories; the Home Camera face streams up to nine feeds. It works with Works with Apple Home and Matter accessories. Siri AI handles general knowledge on the device; personal context (Messages, Calendar) needs a paired iPhone or iPad with Apple Intelligence.
Who should buy it
Households already invested in Apple Home that want a kitchen or hallway control panel. If your home runs on Home Assistant, a wall tablet with a Home Assistant dashboard remains cheaper and more flexible.
HomePod mini 2: the hub most people will buy
The HomePod mini 2 comes in pink, green, blue, white and midnight, uses an S10 chip and computational audio, and can act as the default speaker for Macs with Wi-Fi 6E or later. Four units can form a surround system with the new Apple TV 4K, with automatic position tuning. Sound Recognition alerts you to smoke and CO alarms. Siri AI will come "via a future software update", in English, in the US, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the UK.
Apple TV 4K (4th generation): the hub for Europe
The new Apple TV 4K moves to an A19 chip (up to 50% faster CPU and up to twice the GPU performance), adds an AV1 decoder, three far-field microphones for hands-free Siri and a Siri Remote with Find My. HomeKit Secure Video gains Apple Intelligence activity descriptions with an eligible iCloud+ plan. Wi-Fi and Thread are built in, which makes it the main Apple hub for European homes that cannot buy HomeView.
Apple Home Collection: LG and Schneider
The Apple Home Collection starts shipping in December, with some accessories in early 2027. It includes LG and Schneider thermostats with on-device wire detection, room sensors from $39.95, an LG deadbolt with Ultra Wideband auto-unlock, PIN pad, Matter and Aliro support, an LG wired video doorbell and three LG cameras. The thermostats need constant 24 V power; if your wall has no C-wire, both brands sell a $24.95 adapter. Our smart thermostat guide explains how to check your wiring.
Proximity Control and NFC setup: what the leaks described
Before launch, code found in iOS 27 betas and relayed by MacRumors described two setup features for the LG accessories. Proximity Control would open a thermostat's controls in the Dynamic Island, or a camera viewer for a doorbell, when you bring your iPhone close; iPhones without a Dynamic Island and iPads would get a 30-second notification instead, and the feature could be turned off in the Home app. It reportedly relies on an NFC identifier in the Matter payload plus a Bluetooth LE broadcast. Unpowered NFC setup would let an iPhone write pairing identity and network credentials into an accessory's secure element before it is even installed, so that it joins Wi-Fi or Thread as soon as it gets power. Treat both as leaks until Apple documents them for the shipping products; standard Matter pairing remains available.
Privacy and security choices worth noting
Apple leans on on-device processing: HomeView's A18 chip uses Secure Exclaves for camera and microphone data, HomeKit Secure Video analysis stays local on the hub, and the LG deadbolt is described as working locally. Those choices matter for a lock or an indoor camera. The trade-off is the usual one with Apple: the best features, from Siri AI to activity descriptions, depend on the right region, language and iCloud+ plan.
Europe: why HomeView is missing
Apple's statement is short: HomeView "is not available for sale in the European Union, as Siri AI is currently unavailable in iOS in the EU", and Apple is "working constructively with the EU". No timeline is given. European options today are the HomePod mini 2, the Apple TV 4K, third-party displays such as Echo Show or Nest Hub (without the Apple Home app), or a wall tablet running Home Assistant.
Should you upgrade? A quick decision table
| You have | You want | Our advice |
|---|---|---|
| A recent Apple TV 4K or HomePod mini as hub | Better Thread or Matter | Keep it: nothing announced makes it obsolete |
| No Apple hub | Cheapest entry into Apple Home | HomePod mini 2 |
| Apple Home in the US or UK | A control screen | HomeView, after first reviews |
| Apple Home in the EU | A control screen | Home Assistant dashboard on a tablet |
| Old Apple TV HD | Home hub plus streaming | Apple TV 4K (4th gen) |
Apple Home and Home Assistant together
Apple does not document any Home Assistant integration for the new devices. In practice, the HomePod mini 2 should appear as an AirPlay speaker, and a Thread network formed by Apple hubs can in principle be shared with Home Assistant using the Thread credentials stored on your iPhone, as with current Apple hubs. Matter multi-admin lets the same accessory live in Apple Home and Home Assistant at once. Read our Home Assistant 2026 guide for this autumn's releases, and our Matter hub guide if you are still choosing a controller. Presence sensors that work with both ecosystems are compared in our mmWave sensor guide.
FAQ
Can I import a HomeView from the US into France?
Apple does not sell it in the EU and Siri AI is unavailable in iOS there, so key features would be missing.
Is HomePod mini 2 a Thread border router?
Apple presents it as an Apple Home hub; current HomePod mini models already act as Thread border routers.
When will Siri AI reach HomePod mini 2?
Through a future update, in English, in eight countries outside the EU.
Do Apple Home Collection accessories use Matter?
Yes. The LG lock supports Matter and Aliro, and Apple says the collection's devices support Thread.
Do I need to replace my current Apple TV?
Not for the smart home. Upgrade for the A19 chip, microphones and surround sound.
Follow all our smart-home coverage on the smart home page.
Sources: Apple Newsroom (HomeView), Apple Newsroom (HomePod mini), Apple Newsroom (Apple TV 4K), Apple Newsroom (Home Collection), MacRumors, 9to5Mac.