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Really hope they fix remote access to HomePod alarms in this version. Not being able to manage alarms remotely makes HomePod alarms completely useless, especially recurring ones.

I live in an apartment so if I go travelling and have forgotten to turn my recurring morning alarm off then f**k my neighbours I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


Try months, it'll be 2 months since the "new architecture" launched on monday.
This is one of the things that bugs me the most about the Apple ecosystem. For as much progress as they've made tying into iCloud to make "everything work with everything," there are still significant gaps when it comes to remote access and feature parity between the Apple TV and HomePod in the realm of a device that sits at home and services home automation while you're away.

Why can I upgrade HomePods remotely in the Home app, but not Apple TVs?

Why can't I view alarm settings when off network, but I can see if someone is playing music at home?

Why can't I choose to have my HomePods not be Home Hubs, but (until recently) disable this for an Apple TV?

Why can't I reboot HomePods remotely? Or reboot Apple TVs through the Home app at all?

I'll give credit where credit is due. You can now reboot HomePods that aren't connected to Wi-Fi if you are close enough to have Bluetooth connectivity. But it sure would be convenient to be able to do the same with Apple TVs.
 
I'm one of the lucky ones, I upgraded the day it came out and have zero issues, but then again I've never had any issues with HomeKit. 3 HomePods, about 20 lights, 1 smart lock, couple cameras, 4 ATVs. Everything responds so much faster
On the one home I updated and didn't get locked out of before the update was pulled, you're right, it is faster - one HomePod is quicker telling me that there's a problem connecting!😂
 
I'm pretty sure the main thing the new architecture does is implement Matter, along side HomeKit's proprietary architecture. There's nothing user facing, except for the ability to use Matter devices. The interface and the experience are the same from my use with the new architecture. I am one of the lucky ones that didn't have any issues making the upgrade.

thanks.

It still gets weird given this is tied to an iOS update. What if my macs are not updated or my homepods or apple TVs. do they all have to be updated or things get weird?

-d
 
The BIG question is if all current accessories will function correctly and "convert" to the "new architecture".....

Another question for me is..... what about HomeBridge???

I have several temperamental accessories that make me very nervous about a major change like this. I think I am going to wait a bit to see what happens.....
 
Mine is pretty stable with Homebridge so far, I just hope the next update won't break anything.
 
I upgraded and at different locations everything worked fine and more responsive. A few days ago I added a Thread enabled device and it shows no response and have done the same as everyone else it sounds like and no luck. I also have had a Nanoleaf Essentials Light strip (don't recommend even before the new architecture) as they'll lose connection and if you can't get them to rejoin it's a reset for them. Lost connection again after the update and it to also shows a No Response. Oddly enough when on wifi at my second location both are accessible. Eve even shows them as reachable and both as Thread routers. Wondering if you got lucky upgrading to the new architecture you were fine until you wanted to add a new device. Absolute show.
 
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The BIG question is if all current accessories will function correctly and "convert" to the "new architecture".....

Another question for me is..... what about HomeBridge???

I have several temperamental accessories that make me very nervous about a major change like this. I think I am going to wait a bit to see what happens.....
Everybody who upgraded to the new architecture when it was available has said that there is no impact on accessory support or HomeBridge compatibility.
 
I could (almost) forgive Apple for releasing an update that borked HomeKit - if they'd had a solution or rollback available within a matter of hours. However, the fact that they've so far taken weeks to fix what has been a catastrophic failure for some users has probably done irreparable reputational damage to HomeKit and home automation itself.

It also gives a very clear message on how serious Apple is about HomeKit.
Yes, it’s insane how they’re handling it.
It’s crazy they broke HomeKit, crazy they haven’t fixed it in the betas before the public release, crazy they’re taking so much time to fix it instead of rolling it back with a minor point update…

Once upon a time they cared enough to issue a public apology and fire Scott Forstall because maps was bad. Now it’s just another broken feature to add to a long list, such as notifications, Home Screen, autocorrect, Siri, etc…
 
Why can't I view alarm settings when off network, but I can see if someone is playing music at home?
The thing is, you used to be able to, until the "new architecture" was applied and/or iOS 16.2...
 
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I'm in the same boat, but since 16.1. That and a whole slew of issues with Home, and I did not even update to the new architecture. None of my automations work, and all of my scenes only work halfway - always get a "failed" message.

Everything in my Apple ecosystem is a complete mess right now. I ask Siri on my Apple Watch to turn on X lights, and it tells me that I have no Homekit items set up yet. Funny, I have probably 20+ in Home. I always get notifications that I left my Airpod Pros behind even when I'm using them. Then I get notifications that an unknown Airpod Pro is with me... yeah, mine!

Don't even try to contact Apple Support. They are clueless and make promises that they simply have not intention and cannot keep. Since 16.1 and not being able to add anyone to my Home (even my son that is in my Family Share!), they told me engineers would look into it and I would get a phone call back. That was 5-6 weeks ago.

Then there's the promised "features" that either never materialize or come 6-12 months later.

Their SW releases are becoming a complete joke.

You aren’t wrong there. Apple Support has been a nightmare and I don’t understand how they continue to let it be so. Why am I as the consumer responsible for troubleshooting your faulty devices that costs me hundreds and thousands of dollars with no resolution or compensation?
 
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Actually, if you read the fine print of the beta releases, Apple does say that any feature may be pulled at any time. For the most part, WWDC is a preview of the next release and anything they deem that may not be ready or doesn't fit the overall roadmap anymore can be pulled (something like that).

I'm not trying to defend them in saying that it's fine, I'm just trying to point out that any feature can be pulled or changed at their whim, one example is Stage Manager.
You mean Stage Manager that was touted as coming in iPadOS 16 which itself (the whole OS) was delayed at least 1 month due to Stage Manager, then released anyway and it was a steaming pile?
 
You aren’t wrong there. Apple Support has been a nightmare and I don’t understand how they continue to let it be so. Why am I as the consumer responsible for troubleshooting your faulty devices that costs me hundreds and thousands of dollars with no resolution or compensation?
Yup and it's more and more, "start from scratch and reinstall and see if that fixes it." Sounds a lot like my experiences with MS in late 90's early 00's. I made the decision to spend more money for a better experience.

Speaking of spending a decent amount of money (at least for me), here are my purchases (all currently in use) within just the last year where I would expect a seamless experience for the cost: iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 14, Studio Max, Studio Display, (3) Apple TV 4K, Apple Watch SE2, Apple Watch 7, multiple Homekit devices. Add that up and tell me I shouldn't be p-ssed off when Support has zero answers for simple functionality failures.
 
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While Microsoft is releasing Bing with ultra impressive AI features, Apple is releasing software for the smart home that can’t even turn on a light without answering “hmmmmmmmmmmmm something went wrong”.

I don’t see this ending very well. And before someone jumps on me, I am not saying “Apple is doomed” just because they sold 3 iPhones less than last year. I am talking about fundamental issues here.
 
Would be great if my two lightbulbs with my two automations would actually start working. Apparently having a lightbulb turn on a certain time of day is too much for Apple to figure out.
 
I had so much trouble after upgrading that I unpaired all my devices, deleted the home, and then restarted from scratch. It was a huge pain, but I live in a small NYC apartment, so likely not as many devices as most of you have. Everything does work now though, so I hope another upgrade doesn't break things again.
I did the exact same thing and my basic two automation still can’t work properly
 
If one has successfully upgraded their architecture in 16.2 - no need to do it again in 16.4, right?
I would assume you won't be asked to DO the convert to new home architecture step again, but whatever fixes/corrections will certainly be applied.

Because there are a ton of people who DID upgrade, I'm confident (I know, I know) they'll make sure that the reintroduction has the same end result for people who already upgraded HomeKit and are now applying 16.4 and for people who are applying 16.4 and then upgrade HomeKit.

But this is just my guess based on what "makes sense"... We shall see!
 
That's leetcode interviews for you, and Apple (and other big guys) do them. They favor people (generally college grads) who can answer tricky questions (since tricky questions are how you learn to code) over people who build real world, scalable systems each day for years.

I'm not pushing back. I'm honestly interested in your opinion. I'm a senior dev with 25 years of experience. I don't often get asked to interview candidates, but when I do, here's what I do.

I tell the candidate that we're going to pretend we've been hired to write the backend for an online poker site. His immediate task is to write a method for evaluating 5 card poker hands with the goal of being able to compare any two hands and determine a winner, loser or tie.

I leave the language as the candidate's choice. I don't sit back and just stare at him, it becomes a conversation about how to tackle what is a reasonably trivial and relatively familiar task for people, but one which almost nobody considers how to translate into code (as it happens, I did do this exercise for fun once, so I know at least two solutions).

It also has the benefit of being entirely divorced from the job the candidate is applying for, so he doesn't feel like he's being asked to work for free.

Only once did this fall completely flat because the candidate did not know anything about poker, so I had to do something else. But for the most part, I feel like this has resulted in my making pretty quality decisions - that is, they either resulted in a good hire, or if not a hire then it agreed with other evaluations I heard about later.

What do you think?
 
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