How do apps on the HomeView work, and what does CarPlay have to do with it?

Apple has finally announced HomeView (not HomePad), its new multimedia hub for controlling smart homes. While it runs an iOS-based operating system, it isn't exactly the same setup you have on your iPhone — although it looks quite familiar. Though on the app front, there's a major limitation: the HomeView has no App Store. But that doesn't mean third-party apps will be absent.

Instead, Apple has chosen to bring apps from a place you might not have expected: CarPlay. Yes, HomeView can run the same apps you already enjoy in your car when you pair your iPhone with a CarPlay system. It also comes with a set of pre-installed Apple apps.

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Without an App Store on its Home Screen, many people have wondered if it's possible to install third-party apps on HomeView. After all, a device that kind of looks like an iPad should be able to run iOS/iPadOS apps. Apple's own wording is somewhat vague about which apps it supports, with the HomeView page saying it "supports compatible third-party audio and video apps from your iPhone." But after digging through the Apple Developer documentation, we now know that Apple is referring to CarPlay apps.

CarPlay doesn't run natively on your car. Instead, it mirrors the apps you have on your iPhone with a different interface. HomeView will work in pretty much the same way with third-party apps — when your iPhone is nearby, you'll be able to access compatible apps using the smart hub. Everything will be processed on your iPhone, not on HomeView. 

For now, Apple says that only CarPlay audio and video apps will be available. Luckily, there are already several of them, including Spotify and Deezer. Apps in other categories, such as messaging apps and chatbots, will be left out. You don't need to download anything directly from the HomeView, and there's no way to install apps separately. 

The device also comes with some Apple apps preinstalled, such as Safari, Music, Podcasts, Messages, Reminders and Calendar. Thanks to facial recognition, it can show different information depending on the person using it.

For developers who already offer CarPlay-compatible apps, the work involved is minimal; those should work on HomeView with little or no effort. However, audio and video streaming apps that don't currently support CarPlay will need to add that support to work with HomeView. 

Video is a good example of how important this is — iOS 27 added support for video apps on CarPlay, but none of the major players have enabled support so far. There's no Netflix, Disney+ or YouTube on CarPlay, and there won't be on HomeView either. Sure, HomeView has Safari built in, which likely means you can watch videos from the web. But the experience isn't the same as using an app.

In the short-term, HomeView gives developers new reasons to build their apps for CarPlay. This will ultimately benefit both drivers and HomeView owners, who will both gain access to new apps. But without a real App Store, it's hard to know if developers will actually want to embrace this new platform. Besides, Apple's policies for distributing CarPlay apps are much more restrictive than those for iOS apps, which might end up scaring off some developers.