Apple's HomeView brings personalized Siri to smart home, takes on Amazon and Google

HomeView recognizes up to six voices and faces to switch between users' private data Private data stays on iPhone and requires same home-network connection, Apple says Device runs on Apple's A18 chip and its own operating system By Stephen Nellis NEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) — Apple on Tuesday unveiled a smart-home hub that taps iPhone user data to make Siri more personal, but promised privacy safeguards designed to keep that information out of the company's hands. The HomeView smart-home hub, which took center stage at an event in New York, is an important test of Apple's AI strategy as it tries to close the gap with rivals Amazon and Alphabet's Google, while reinforcing its reputation for user privacy. In a series of demonstrations, Apple showed Siri AI recognizing a user's face and performing personalized tasks such as fetching recipes from text messages, finding a nearby farmer's market for missing ingredients and then updating shopping lists. When a different member of the household steps in, the HomeView recognizes that user's face and switches to their personal data, for example fetching information from text messages about when a friend's early morning flight lands and how lo