Article · AI translation
IT Home reported on November 15 that Apple's first smart home hub, HomeView, went on sale overseas on November 13. It features a 7-inch Liquid Retina display, an A18 chip and facial recognition, but the long-awaited Siri AI is still in testing. The first media reviews and user reports now available show that Apple still has a great deal of work to do.
NBC chief technology analyst Joanna Stern said the device's Siri AI experience is not particularly good. For example, when you say “Hey Siri,” other devices in the room wake up instead of HomeView. Siri AI also frequently gives irrelevant answers and sometimes even freezes for several minutes.
The Verge smart home editor Jennifer Pattison Tuohy said HomeView's Siri AI often fails to handle requests involving the context of personal information properly. Sometimes it responds slowly, and sometimes it cannot complete the task at all. She said, “If Siri AI were a real personal assistant, I would have fired her long ago for being too slow.”
Meanwhile, a Reddit user said that, despite having updated the device to the latest system, Siri still refused to set a timer for him, saying that a newer version of the operating system was required. Another HomeView user reported a similar problem and could not even open the Safari browser.
Technology publication Tom's Guide offered even sharper criticism: “Siri is less capable than other AI assistants.” The publication said HomeView has limited personalization options, supports relatively few streaming apps, and lacks physical buttons to disable the camera and microphone, among other shortcomings.
In addition, The Verge found a worrying privacy issue in its review: family members' personal information could appear on a shared screen visible to everyone. For example, a testing editor could see the contents of her daughter's text messages on the device. HomeView supports facial recognition for up to 6 users, but the review results suggest that Apple still has room to improve how it switches between personal accounts.
Some outlets, of course, also gave positive assessments. TechRadar praised HomeView's sound quality and personalization features, while AppleInsider recommended buying it despite pointing out the device's software problems. Consumers who love Apple clearly want a polished product, but as things stand, HomeView is unlikely to be a product worth recommending.