Radar: Apple HomeView lands at R6,299 on 13 November as HomePod mini 2 hits R3,499

Apple's new home devices have South African prices and dates. iStore lists HomeView, Apple's new smart display, at R6,299 with availability from 13 November. The new Apple TV 4K costs the same R6,299 and arrives on the same day, while HomePod mini 2 is R3,499 from 30 October. All three are on pre-order now.

South Africa is one of the few markets where the full set lands at launch. Apple's own release names South Africa alongside the US, UK, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and Singapore as the countries where Siri AI, the rebuilt assistant that drives HomeView, works in English. HomeView is not on sale in the European Union at all, because Apple says Siri AI is unavailable in iOS there.

What the rand prices mean

In the US, HomeView and the new Apple TV 4K are $299 each and HomePod mini 2 is $149, before sales tax. At R16.46 to the dollar plus 15% VAT, the two $299 devices come to about R5,660, so the local price of R6,299 is roughly 11% higher. HomePod mini 2's rand price sits about 24% above the same calculation, a steeper markup for the cheapest product in the line-up.

Those gaps are much smaller than the one on Apple's foldable. The iPhone Duo starts at R47,999 locally, about 27% above its US price on the same basis.

Apple sells these products in South Africa through authorised resellers rather than its own online store. Apple's release says local customers will pre-order HomeView through those resellers. The older Apple TV 4K from 2022 remains on sale at iStore from R4,199.

What each device does

HomeView has a 7-inch display on a speaker base, joined by a stainless steel hinge. It runs on an A18 chip, recognises up to six people by face and switches to each person's messages, calendar and reminders. It comes in silver, starlight, rose pink and space grey, and a separate wall-mounted model uses mounts made by Schneider Home.

The fourth-generation Apple TV 4K moves to an A19 chip, which Apple says is up to 50% faster on CPU and twice as fast on graphics as the previous model. It adds three far-field microphones for hands-free voice control and an AV1 decoder for more efficient streaming. Its Siri Remote now works with Find My.

HomePod mini 2 uses an S10 chip and comes in pink, green, blue, white and midnight. Four of them can act as surround speakers with the new Apple TV 4K. Siri AI only arrives on HomePod mini 2 through a later software update, though Apple lists South Africa among the countries that will get it.

What is still open

iStore's "from R6,299" covers the HomeView range, but no separate local price has been published for the wall-mounted model. Apple's US prices for Schneider's mounts run from $59.95 to $129.95, and there is no word yet on whether those mounts, or Apple's new Home Collection accessories, will be sold here. The Siri AI update date for HomePod mini 2 is also unannounced, so buyers on 30 October get the speaker first and the new assistant later.