I can’t believe nobody’s brought this up yet, but the HomeView fundementally exists for one reason: to be a Matter hub for smarthome stuff. No iPad – or any portable Apple device - can be configured as a home hub for managing Matter-protocol devices. There’s no significant advantage to a HomeView over an iPad if you don’t have any Matter devices.

That’s why this device has multi-user support: you’re only supposed to have one of them, which everyone uses. The Apple TV also has good multi-user support, because Apple doesn’t expect you to connect one Apple TV per user to your television.

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turtlebits an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Any portable device as a Matter hub would be pretty useless.

The Apple TV and Homepod mini already support Matter.

	▲	ssl-3 36 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		How so? A Matter controller just needs to be powered on and exist somewhere on the [wireless] LAN to do its job. An old iPad on a stand on the table in the breakfast nook is conceptually fine as a Matter controller until someone picks it up and leaves with it, or unplugs it and lets it run out of battery. Apple forbids this kind of use because it defiles the majesty of their garden and its walls (or something), but that's just Apple doing Apple things.

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notatoad 44 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

>No iPad – or any portable Apple device - can be configured as a home hub for managing Matter-protocol devices.

hasn't apple been shipping thread radios in devices for a few years now, with no actual use for them? the only thing blocking iPads from being a home hub for managing matter protocol devices is that apple hasn't turned that feature on.

	▲	coded_monkey 34 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		iPads used to be able to function as home hubs but they explicitly removed that feature a few years ago and made it Apple TV exclusive .