I test smart home devices for a living, but even I find it challenging to use and manage the ones in my home. I have Hue bulbs, Govee lamps, Dreo smart ceiling fans , TP-Link plugs, Eufy cameras, Whisker smart litter boxes and robot vacuums , among many other devices, all “bolted” together, with an Amazon Echo Show 8 and Alexa integration layer to interact with them. The result is… functional, which is the highest praise I can offer it. Apple promises that its HomeView smart display will be different. I recently spent over an hour at Apple’s Welcome Home event in New York, where I got to view and interact with the HomeView across a variety of scenarios and environments. I’m not easily convinced that a new smart screen is the solution to my problems, but after seeing the $299 Apple HomeView in action, I’m on board as long as the company can pull off the promised integration with third-party apps
