Apple’s smart home products are now official, with Australian prices attached, and iPhone Duo pre-orders opened on Friday only to slip months into 2027.
HomeView, from $449, arrives in November
Apple this week introduced HomeView, a 7-inch Liquid Retina display on a speaker base, designed to sit on a table or mount on a wall. It can recognise up to six people by face, play music, make FaceTime calls and control a smart home, with Siri AI built in. Personal context — your calendar, messages and the like — needs a paired Apple Intelligence iPhone or iPad. Setup also requires an iPhone or iPad on the latest software.
The tabletop model comes in silver, starlight, rose pink and space grey, and the wall-mounted version in space grey and silver. Both start at $449 including GST. The wall-mounted model does not include a bracket: mounts from Schneider Home start at $94.95 for a USB-C connector, or $124.95 for a hardwired AC mount. Pre-orders are open now, with availability from Friday, 13 November. Siri AI on HomeView works in English in Australia from launch.
A new Apple TV 4K, and HomePod mini 2
The fourth-generation Apple TV 4K also starts at $449 including GST, up from the previous model, and is due the same day as HomeView. It uses an A19 chip, which Apple says is up to 50 per cent faster than the previous generation, has far-field microphones for hands-free Siri, and a Siri Remote that can play a sound and work with Find My. It can also drive four HomePod mini 2 or second-generation HomePod speakers as a surround setup.
HomePod mini 2 is $229 including GST, in pink, green, blue, white and midnight, and goes on sale sooner: Friday, 30 October. It adds Sound Glow lighting on the top, an S10 chip, and can be used as a Mac speaker. Siri AI is coming later in a software update, with no date attached.
The new cameras and locks are not coming here, for now
Apple also announced Apple Home Collection, a line of cameras, a video doorbell, a lock and thermostats designed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, set up with a tap on iPhone and managed in the Home app. At launch, the doorbell and cameras are limited to the US, Canada and the UK, and the lock and thermostats to the US and Canada. Availability there begins in December. There is no Australian date.
iPhone Duo pre-orders, and a long wait
iPhone Duo pre-orders opened at 11pm AEDT on Friday. Delivery estimates slipped quickly, and in the US settled around late January 2027 within half an hour. The phone starts at $3,499 including GST. Apple has said some stores will have limited walk-in stock on Friday, 23 October. If you missed a reasonable delivery window online, launch day or a later pickup reservation may be the better bet — if any stock appears.
What to watch next week
iPhone Duo goes on sale on Friday, 23 October, with Australia among the first countries to get it. Later in the month, more hardware — possibly new Macs and an iPad mini — is still expected, though Apple has not confirmed those plans.
