CUPERTINO, Oct. 14 -- The price on Apple's new smart display is $299. The price of the home it is built to run is not on the box.

Apple introduced HomeView on Tuesday, a 7-inch Liquid Retina display on a domed speaker base that recognizes up to six people by face and shows each of them their own messages, calendar and photos. Pre-orders opened the same day in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, with deliveries starting Nov. 13, Apple said in its announcement. A wall-mounted model costs the same $299.

The launch is the payoff for the "Welcome home" event Apple scheduled last week, and its argument is that the device matters less than the assistant inside it. Apple calls that assistant Siri AI,...