![]() And yes, there is more than a passing resemblance here to the tiled Microsoft Windows 8 Metro interface.Īctive tiles for Favorite Scenes and Favorite Accessories are front and center as the Home app launches, and Rooms and Automation tabs are accessible from the dock at the bottom of the screen. On iOS 10, active tiles for Favorite Accessories and Favorite Scenes are front and center as the Home app launches, and users can toggle between the Home, Rooms, and Automation tabs through the dock at the bottom of the screen. Owners of the original Apple Watch will have to upgrade to watchOS 3 in order to get access to the Home app. And for the first time, they are offering a watchOS app for controlling HomeKit accessories, in the form of a micro-sized version of the Home app that can run on all Apple Watch models. Going Home on iOS and watchOSĪs one would expect, Apple provides native Home app versions right-sized for iOS 10-capable iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models. So, the advent of iOS 10, the Home app, and the deployment a home hub can flatten and simplify what can rapidly become an overly-complex smart home automation fabric. Similarly, remote access to these HomeKit accessories (meaning, access outside of the home’s private Wi-Fi network) has generally been dependent upon specific settings within each manufacturer’s app or by virtue of account creation and authentication with the respective cloud-based servers of the manufacturers. These third-party HomeKit apps will continue to work alongside the Home app. And of course, these devices can also be controlled via Siri voice commands.īefore the advent of iOS 10 and the Home app, individual HomeKit apps-such as the iDevices Connected app-were the only way to control and manage HomeKit accessories. By definition, all accessory devices certified through the Works with Apple HomeKit program can be discoverable and operable from any accessory manufacturer’s iOS app-though the depth of controls may be reduced when using an app published by another manufacturer. Prior to iOS 10 and the Home app, HomeKit manifested itself primarily through the individual apps of smart-home accessory manufacturers, such as August, iDevices, iHome, ecobee, Lutron, Philips, Withings, and many more. Coupled with the Home app, this feature can elevate HomeKit to the top tier of consumer-installable smart-home integration platforms, a reasonable alternative to those of Alphabet’s Nest Labs, Samsung’s SmartThings, Wink, and others. Following the activation of one or more home hubs, powerful automations across accessories, universal remote access, and more robust user permissions are enabled. One of the gems in the recent Apple iOS 10 upgrade, the Home app is Apple’s first-ever native integration console for the smart home, and a ready-made onramp to connected living through HomeKit accessories.īut buried even deeper in the HomeKit code base for iOS 10 is the capability to add an optional home hub for the first time, a purely-software component that requires an Apple TV 4th generation set-top box or an iOS 10-compatible iPad. ![]() Nearly lost among the Apple press event hoopla over the iPhone 7, Watch Series 2, and broader iOS 10 features, the upshot of this HomeKit upgrade is the prominence of the Home app on the launch screen of every iOS 10 mobile device-Apple’s first-ever native integration console for the smart home, and a ready-made onramp to connected living. In a concerted effort to elevate the profile of Apple HomeKit-the Cupertino company’s foundational infrastructure for smart-home technology accessory integration-Apple has taken a giant step forward by releasing the fresh Home app concurrent with the launch of iOS 10.
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