Apple's new $299 HomeView smart display raises an obvious question: why not just put an iPad on a stand instead?
HomeView runs on the same A18 chip found in recent iPhones, a generation newer than the chip in the iPad mini and two generations ahead of the base iPad. It supports FaceTime, Apple Music, Messages, Safari, and the Home app for controlling smart devices, and it ships with an on-screen keyboard despite leaning mostly on gestures and Siri. The stand model includes two full-range drivers, a down-firing woofer, and passive radiators for sound an iPad can't match without extra gear. Apple says it can also recognize up to six household members and load a personalized home screen and data for each one.
That multi-user support is the real pitch, since iPadOS still has no concept of separate profiles the way macOS does. Combined with dedicated full-screen "faces" for clocks, weather, and smart-home controls, plus built-in audio, HomeView bundles features that would cost more to replicate with an iPad, a stand, and a Bluetooth speaker. Apple's cheapest iPad alone starts at $449, before factoring in any of that extra hardware.
Really, HomeView is less a new product category than Apple finally admitting the iPad was always a half-hearted smart hub, and charging less to do the job properly.