Apple HomeView and Home Collection: Prices and iCloud+ Math

Apple announced its first smart home display and its first co-developed accessory line on October 13. Most coverage reads like a spec sheet. I went through Apple's two press releases, one for HomeView and one for Home Collection, looking for the details that change what you'd buy or pay, and the footnotes turned out to be the interesting part.

HomeView

HomeView is a 7-inch Liquid Retina display. It's $299 in the U.S. for the tabletop model and $299 for the wall-mounted model. Pre-orders opened October 13 in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, the UK and the U.S., and October 15 in Singapore. Both models go on sale Friday, November 13 in those countries, and in South Africa through Apple Authorized Resellers.

It isn't sold in the European Union. Apple's line: "Apple HomeView is not available for sale in the European Union, as Siri AI is currently unavailable in iOS in the EU." A footnote adds that Siri AI is in beta in HomeView software version 27.2.

Apple says it recognizes up to six people by face, detects the sound of smoke and CO alarms, and that its Home Camera face can livestream up to nine camera feeds at once.

The wall mounts come from Schneider Home: Power Mount USB-C Wall Connector at $59.95, Power Mount AC Wired at $79.95, and Power Mount PoE Wired at $129.95. The PoE mount doesn't arrive until early 2027, so it won't be an option at launch.

Home Collection

The accessories are made with LG and Schneider Electric. Availability starts in December, with select accessories in early 2027. U.S. starting prices:

Item	Price
LG Video Doorbell Wired	$249.95
LG Floodlight Cam	$399.95
LG Outdoor Cam Plug-In	$299.95
LG Indoor Cam Plug-In	$199.95
LG Smart Deadbolt Lock	$349.95
LG Smart Thermostat / Schneider Home Smart Thermostat	$199.95 each
LG Temperature Sensor / Schneider Home Room Sensor	$39.95 each
LG or Schneider Home C-Wire Power Adapter	$24.95
Schneider Home Trim Plate	$14.95

Regions differ by product. The cameras are listed for the U.S., Canada and the UK. The lock, thermostats and sensors are U.S. and Canada only.

The part that matters if you care about local control: Apple says the lock is Matter compatible and supports Aliro, "working entirely locally so core access functions continue even without an internet connection." The thermostats and sensors are Matter compatible and, in Apple's words, DIY-friendly. Every device supports Thread. Apple Retail also offers third-party installation from ADT in the U.S., for an extra charge.

The iCloud+ math

The cameras record up to 2.5K, and Apple says they get 10 days of event video history with iCloud+, "so there's no separate camera subscription."

That's true, but read the footnote. HomeKit Secure Video event history needs iCloud+: the 50GB plan supports one camera, the 200GB plan up to five, and the 2TB plan an unlimited number. So there's no camera plan, but your storage tier decides how many cameras you can record. A second camera puts you past 50GB. Apple also says supported camera counts "may change over time," and that some Apple Intelligence features like video summaries are limited to a number of cameras based on your plan.

The footnote says "cameras." Apple doesn't say whether the video doorbell, which has two cameras of its own, counts as one, two, or none. I'd want that answered before buying a doorbell plus several cameras on a 200GB plan.

What Apple hasn't said

Apple's releases don't say whether Home Collection accessories expose their full feature set to controllers other than Apple's. They're Matter devices, but "Matter compatible" and "everything works in Home Assistant" aren't the same claim, and Apple has only made the first one. That question gets answered once people pair them with other controllers after the December launch.

My take

For an Apple Home household, the number to watch isn't HomeView's $299. It's your camera count against your iCloud+ tier, plus whether HomeView is sold where you live. For everyone else, the item I'd keep an eye on is a Matter and Aliro lock that Apple says keeps working without the internet, and how much of it works outside Apple's ecosystem.