Apple Moves Siri Into More of Your Home
Siri’s moving in. Apparently, it needs several rooms.
Apple unveiled HomeView and a broader smart home lineup yesterday, officially deciding your house needs more screens and its own dedicated Siri AI.
The $299 HomeView arrives Nov. 13 in tabletop and wall-mounted versions. Its 7-inch screen handles FaceTime and home controls, recognizing up to six household members. But to keep your snooping roommate out of your texts, personal data only appears if the camera recognizes your face and your recently unlocked, Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone is nearby. Because nothing says “ambient computing” like needing your phone in your pocket anyway.
The $299 Apple TV 4K also arrives Nov. 13, adding hands-free microphones so you can finally yell at Siri from the couch, plus a remote you can track down via Find My. Meanwhile, the $149 HomePod mini 2 lands Oct. 30, though its promised Siri AI injection won’t arrive until a future update. So, you’re buying the speaker now and getting the actual brains later.
You can preorder all of these Apple products starting yesterday.
On the accessory front, a new Home Collection of cameras, locks, and thermostats drops in December. Built with LG (which we already knew about from last week) and Schneider Electric, they bypass separate manufacturer apps entirely. LG’s indoor camera even tilts down to stop monitoring when the first person gets home—a rare win for not feeling constantly watched.
The inevitable catches: HomeView has no App Store and is ghosting the EU at launch thanks to regulatory drama. Worse, Apple’s fine print quietly mentions daily limits for certain cloud AI features, with a paid tier planned for heavier users. So before you start budgeting for Tim Cook’s dream house, just remember that the real cost of entry is a fresh subscription.
Welcome home. Please keep your iPhone and wallet nearby.
Apple’s Secret Blocklist Shuts Out Major Ad Tech Firms
Apple used its iOS 27 update to quietly block a list of ad tech firms, including The Trade Desk and LiveRamp, from tracking users or serving ads in Safari. The move was the talk of Advertising Week New York, though most of those conversations happened off the record. Apple didn’t respond to Digiday’s request for comment. Every iPhone browser runs on Apple’s WebKit engine, so the block reaches Chrome and Firefox on iPhone too. For publishers and advertisers, that means less data on some of the web’s most sought-after audiences, from a list only Apple controls.
Meta Bans TikTok Ads From Instagram and Facebook
Meta has banned TikTok parent ByteDance from advertising on Facebook and Instagram in seven countries, including the US, Bloomberg first reported. The ban took effect immediately and also covers any advertiser whose ads send people to TikTok or other ByteDance apps. Meta calls refusing a competitor’s ads normal business practice. For marketers, the ban means Meta ads can no longer drive traffic to TikTok in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Global Ad Spending Beats Forecasts With 11.9% Growth
Global ad spending will grow 11.9% to $1.34 trillion in 2026, according to WARC’s latest outlook, up from the 11.5% it projected in June. AI investment and live events like the Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup are lifting the market, though WARC expects growth to cool to 8.4% in 2027. eMarketer separately projects AI ad spending will more than double, from $32.03 billion in 2026 to $68.25 billion in 2030. Overall, the ad market looks steadier than expected, despite ongoing economic and geopolitical risks.