Apple’s new HomeView smart display will not ship with an App Store. After spending time with the device, Wired reports that Apple is instead relying on a curated set of apps, with existing CarPlay apps filling out the rest of the lineup.
Apple’s own picks include FaceTime, Messages and Safari, and a handful of third-party media apps such as Spotify are also available. Developers can bring their existing CarPlay apps to the device, and if your iPhone already has one of those CarPlay apps installed, it can appear on HomeView automatically after setup.
Video streaming is the notable gap for now, as YouTube, Netflix and Disney+ apps are not available on HomeView, though Wired notes those could appear if the companies adopt the CarPlay framework. Until then, video on the display goes through the Safari, which is not the best experience.
The approach fits the device’s first-generation nature. HomeView runs its own HomeView software rather than iOS or iPadOS, with watch-style faces you can swipe through and an iPhone-like home screen of apps and widgets that appears when you swipe up. Getting the most from the display also requires an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, meaning an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, and an iPad cannot be used for setup.
So why does one want HomeView instead of say, an iPad with full access to the App Store?
HomeView costs $429 in Canada and goes on sale November 13, and it debuted alongside the new Apple TV 4K and the HomePod mini 2 at Apple’s Welcome Home event. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman previously reported HomeView would skip an App Store, and this media hands-on confirms what Apple is doing instead.
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