The Vergecast
The Vergecast

Apple's HomeView has an app problem

October 16, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Apple’s HomeView has an app problem

The HomeView, Apple’s new smart home display, ships without an App Store. That is not an exaggeration. When David Pierce and Nilla Patel sat down to parse what Apple actually announced, they kept circling back to the same baffling reality: the HomeView’s app situation is essentially the same as a $299 CarPlay tablet from the TikTok shop. It runs some first-party apps — FaceTime, the Home app, alarms, Calendar, Messages, Podcasts — but there is no way to install anything else. Apple News is absent. Apple Music Classical, which exists as a separate app because classical music metadata is organized differently, is absent. And the apps that do exist? They are CarPlay apps. Apple’s developer terms essentially say: if you build a CarPlay app, it will appear on the HomeView, and you barely have the ability to opt out.

The CarPlay trap

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (02:12) **Welcome and the HomeView App Situation** - David and Neela introduce the episode, noting they'll start by revisiting Apple's HomeView after receiving listener feedback on the confusing app situation.
  • 2 (06:28) **The CarPlay App Model is a Problem** - The hosts argue that tying the HomeView to CarPlay's "second monitor" model is a flawed decision for a stationary, always-on home device.
  • 3 (10:42) **Apple's Hardware Push vs. Software Questions** - The discussion shifts to Apple's broader hardware strategy, questioning whether the software and ecosystem are keeping pace with the new devices.
  • 4 (12:57) **Why CarPlay Works (and Why the HomeView Doesn't)** - Neela explains the two key reasons CarPlay is popular and why they don't translate well to the HomeView.
  • 5 (16:42) **The AI Model Race is Back On** - The hosts discuss the week's major AI news, including Google's Gemini 4 Argon and Meta's new model, signaling a renewed sense of competition.
  • 6 (18:14) **Meta's Consumer-First AI Strategy** - Neela analyzes Meta's approach to AI, particularly the dynamic between Mark Zuckerberg and Alexander Wang at Meta.
  • 7 (24:49) **Muse's Proactive Engagement and the Consumer Experience** - A brief, anecdotal discussion about the user experience of Meta's Muse AI.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

David Pierce

Show Notes

Well, it's been a couple of days, and David and Nilay have some more information — and a bunch of new questions — about the Apple HomeView. They also talk about the latest Gemini model, and whether building the best model matters if you can't build the best products around them. They then debate the merits of returning to X, why none of the supposed Twitter replacements worked, the latest in Brendan Carr nonsense, and more.


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