Apple finally has a smart display for the home. After years of rumors, HomeView arrives on November 13 to compete in a space Amazon has dominated for almost a decade with its Echo Show, which it has just strengthened with the new Echo Show 16. US tech outlets have already started comparing them, so I’ve gathered what they say and checked every spec against Apple’s and Amazon’s official pages. Here’s the result.
The contenders
- Apple HomeView: a 7-inch square display on a speaker base. There’s also a wall version, HomeView (Wall Mounted), at the same price but with simpler sound.
- Amazon Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11: the most direct rivals in size and price, the ones almost every outlet compares it with.
- Amazon Echo Show 16: just announced, bigger and more expensive, designed to hang on the wall as the house’s control panel.
Specs compared
| Apple HomeView | Echo Show 8 | Echo Show 11 | Echo Show 16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 7″ square, 1088 × 1088 | 8.7″, 1340 × 800 | 10.95″, 1920 × 1200 | 16″, Full HD |
| Chip | Apple A18 | Amazon AZ3 Pro | Amazon AZ3 Pro | Not specified |
| Camera | 12MP, Center Stage | 13MP, auto-framing | 13MP, auto-framing | 13MP wide, night vision |
| Sound | 2 full-range speakers, woofer and 2 passive radiators | Front stereo and woofer | Front stereo and woofer | 8 micro-woofers and 2 tweeters |
| Assistant | Siri AI (beta, English only) | Alexa+ | Alexa+ | Alexa+ |
| Smart home | Apple Home, Matter and Thread | Zigbee, Matter and Thread | Zigbee, Matter and Thread | Alexa-compatible accessories |
| US price | $299 | $179.99 | $219.99 | $499.99 |
The Echo Show 8 and 11 prices are the official launch prices; Amazon discounts them often. The wall version of HomeView also costs $299, but the mount is sold separately, starting at $59.95.
Display and design
This is the most obvious difference. HomeView goes with a 7-inch square display (1088 × 1088, 500 nits and True Tone) on a tilting aluminum base, in four colors: silver, starlight, pink and space gray. It’s more of a design object for the countertop than a small TV.
Amazon goes the other way: bigger widescreen displays, at 8.7, 10.95 and 16 inches, designed for watching video. The Shortcut summed it up when the Echo Show 16 was announced: it has “more than double” the screen of HomeView.
Assistant: Siri AI vs. Alexa+
Both debut a generative AI assistant, but on very different terms:
- Siri AI arrives in beta and, for now, only works by voice in English. Personal context features require a linked iPhone or iPad that supports Apple Intelligence, and Apple warns that some features will have usage limits and, in the future, paid access.
- Alexa+ is included with Prime and, without Prime, costs $19.99 a month in the US. It works with any phone, iPhone or Android.
Apps and entertainment
Here Amazon clearly wins. The Echo Show devices play services like Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube natively, and the Echo Show 16 has Fire TV built in with a remote. HomeView has no App Store: it comes with Apple apps like Music, Podcasts, FaceTime and Messages, and other content (Apple TV, audiobooks or compatible third-party apps) depends on sending it from your iPhone. As The Independent pointed out, HomeView lacks native Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube.
Smart home and personalization
Both are good smart home hubs. HomeView works with Apple Home, Matter and Thread, can show your home cameras and even detects the sound of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Its big advantage is personalization: it recognizes the faces of up to six people and shows each one their own home screen, with their messages and calendar.
The Echo Show 8 and 11 include a Zigbee, Matter and Thread hub, so they also control bulbs and plugs that don’t support Matter, and add Omnisense, Amazon’s sensor platform that triggers routines based on temperature or when it detects someone in the room. They also recognize who’s approaching with Visual ID.
Privacy
Apple processes your face and voice in Secure Exclaves, isolated areas of the A18 chip that, according to the company, neither the system, the apps nor Apple itself can access. Amazon offers a physical button that turns off the camera and microphones, and a dashboard to review and delete what’s been recorded. Two different approaches: Apple promises it can’t see anything; Amazon lets you turn everything off.
Availability
HomeView launches November 13 only in the US, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the UK. It’s not coming to the European Union because Siri AI isn’t available there. The Echo Show devices are sold in many more countries, although the Echo Show 16, for now, has only been announced for the US.
Which one should you buy?
- Pick HomeView if everyone at home uses an iPhone and what you want is FaceTime, Messages and Apple Home on a shared, well-designed display. iClarified calls it “the top choice for a family that wants FaceTime, Messages and Apple Home on a shared display.”
- Pick an Echo Show 8 or 11 if you want a better price, a bigger screen, shows and videos, or if there are Android phones at home.
- Pick the Echo Show 16 if you want a big wall-mounted control panel for the whole house and have the budget for it.
My take
On paper, Amazon gives you more for less: more screen, more apps and an assistant that works in more languages and with any phone. The Independent summed it up with a line I agree with: Amazon offers “almost the same features for less money.” But HomeView isn’t competing on the same terms. It’s a device designed for the Apple family, with better design, better personalization and a commitment to privacy that’s very hard to match.
My doubt is Siri AI: if it already impresses in beta and in English only, HomeView could be a hit; if not, it’ll be a very pretty screen for very few things. Either way, it’s worth waiting for the first real-world tests, because none of these comparisons has been able to try HomeView yet. Which one would you pick? Let me know in the comments or on social media.
Sources: Apple (HomeView specs), Apple Newsroom, Amazon (Echo Show 8 and 11), Amazon (Echo Show 16), iClarified, AppleInsider, The Shortcut, 9to5Mac, PhoneArena. Images: Apple and Amazon.
