iOS 16 Introduces Entirely Overhauled Home App to Focus More on Reliability and Ease of Use

[AppleInLVX]

I bought a *lot* of Hue stuff when it came out, and have had nothing but troubles with it through the home app, which is how I wanted to use it because I was supposed to be able to. All the "updating" and "not responding" and Siri telling me things can't be done or reached or whatever. I gave up and just use the Hue app which never fails. It's highly frustrating to not have this work. I hope the update fixes things a bit.

 

[satchmo]

Is this underlying architecture simply the app or an overhaul of the OS?
Is there even an HomeOS or does that fall under tvOS?

 

[TravelsInBlue]

Looks nice, but so much wasted space UI wise, I don’t want to have to scroll around to find what I need.

Home Assistant is still miles better.

 

[Devnul0]

Yea. I say play KQED and get something by Kiki Dee on Spotify, or that it can't find Kikki Dee in Apple music; instead of launching the KQED app and playing NPR.

Does it work if you do “Hey Siri, open KQED” ?

 

[JM]

I saw Google and Amazon in the list of companies that are pledging to work with the Matter open source so that I can use Home for Nest and Alexa devices.

I’m assuming that’s how Matter will work? :/

 

[sdwaltz]

But will this new architecture FINALLY work with Ring and Nest? That's what I want to know.

 

[bsbeamer]

I'll wait to see what the advertised SmartThings integration is really like. If they support the entire hub with connected devices, it might finally be a reason to keep the Home App.

 

[munpip214]

But will this new architecture FINALLY work with Ring and Nest? That's what I want to know.

Matter protocol was designed with low power devices than previously ran on bluetooth. I’m guessing high bandwidth items like cameras might not be compatible, at least initially.

 

[munpip214]

So from pictures it looks like I lose two things here. 1 a list of favorites accessories. 2 ability to select a room. How is this better?

 

[joecomo]

I bought a *lot* of Hue stuff when it came out, and have had nothing but troubles with it through the home app, which is how I wanted to use it because I was supposed to be able to. All the "updating" and "not responding" and Siri telling me things can't be done or reached or whatever. I gave up and just use the Hue app which never fails. It's highly frustrating to not have this work. I hope the update fixes things a bit.

You might consider using homebrigde for that - the hue integration is rock-solid.
You could even move to an alternative hub using conbee - even better.

 

[4jasontv]

I bought a *lot* of Hue stuff when it came out, and have had nothing but troubles with it through the home app, which is how I wanted to use it because I was supposed to be able to. All the "updating" and "not responding" and Siri telling me things can't be done or reached or whatever. I gave up and just use the Hue app which never fails. It's highly frustrating to not have this work. I hope the update fixes things a bit.

I have Hue house and I 100% agree with your experience. I haven't had any issues in 2022. Sure, that's not very long, but it's the longest I have ever gone without an error. I can only assume they pushed an update that fixed it.

 

[joecomo]

Looks nice, but so much wasted space UI wise, I don’t want to have to scroll around to find what I need.

Home Assistant is still miles better.

For complex automations I am with you - for end-user access (specially for cameras, keys etc.) I actually prefer the Home App. Even the current deplorable status of the App is more sellable to my wife than Home Assistant.

 

[poopiebabies unite!]

The overhaul is useless without a Siri overhaul. I get tired of asking Siri to turn on "all lights" and then she plays The Thermadors song "All Blights" Siri is so stupid.

How many times have I used the phrase,”Siri is so stupid”? Almost as many times as I’ve asked Siri to do something.

 

[joecomo]

I have Hue house and I 100% agree with your experience. I haven't had any issues in 2022. Sure, that's not very long, but it's the longest I have ever gone without an error. I can only assume they pushed an update that fixed it.

Well the Hue-App has a great GUI, but restricted to Hue-Lights. If you have just one IKEA bulb - your are lost
(I know you can put them in, but they don't work right - no Homekit, no Firmware-Update, other restrictions).

Apple would do well and copy some GUI elements from the HUE app.

 

[AppleInLVX]

You might consider using homebrigde for that - the hue integration is rock-solid.
You could even move to an alternative hub using conbee - even better.

I haven't looked into either of these. I'll see if I can educate myself on this one. It's been such a first-world pain point. Every day this irks me. If I can solve it without tossing tons of cash at it, I'll do it.

 

[AppleInLVX]

Well the Hue-App has a great GUI, but restricted to Hue-Lights. If you have just one IKEA bulb - your are lost
(I know you can put them in, but they don't work right - no Homekit, no Firmware-Update, other restrictions).

Apple would do well and copy some GUI elements from the HUE app.

Also Hue's automations aren't as robust as homekit, to say nothing of using voice commands.

 

[joecomo]

I haven't looked into either of these. I'll see if I can educate myself on this one. It's been such a first-world pain point. Every day this irks me. If I can solve it without tossing tons of cash at it, I'll do it.

It is more the time to invest in these setups - you have to enjoy that a little bit, otherwise just stick, with whatever stuff you got from the vendor (e.g. Hue-App)

 

[tothemoonsands]

So from pictures it looks like I lose two things here. 1 a list of favorites accessories. 2 ability to select a room. How is this better?

The way I see it: Favorite accessories for a given room are the ones that are shown in the "all rooms view". For the rest, you click into the room. So I think we'll both retain favorites accessories AND still have the ability to dive deeper into a specified room.

If you're like me and have TONS of accessories, this new app makes a lot more sense. Right now, I had to manually group my favorite accessories to be near other accessories for a given room. And even still, without a divider (etc.) it is still a bit tedious to find what I'm looking for.

 

[babalougots]

HomeKit is great for me. Use Hue hub and Lutron hub and have several HomePods. Also use Starling Hub for Nest products. Works great! Stay away from overburdening your network (use proven hubs) and stay away from Wemo. YMMV.

 

[ipedro]

I know there's always an adjustment time needed for major UI updates to anything, but already I'm getting annoyed at having to scroll down the home screen just to get to a particular room rather than just be able to select it from a list. Maybe I'm missing something though?

Are favourites gone?

Apple can solve this for most use cases by detecting which room you are in by proximity to devices in that room and positioning the scroll automatically.

 

[JohnApples]

But will this new architecture FINALLY work with Ring and Nest? That's what I want to know.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with it, but the Starling hub allows you to use Nest products with HomeKit/Siri.

It is a bit pricey, but for being an unofficial solution to Nest HomeKit support, I am shocked at how well it works. Never had an issue since setting it up a year ago.

My Nest cameras and thermostat are accessible via HomeKit now (and even show up on my Apple TV). My Nest smoke detectors can give critical and motion alerts via HomeKit. And all my Google Home devices are now AirPlay compatible.

I usually don’t like promoting products on the forum, but the Starling hub works so well integrating Nest and HomeKit that I had to mention it. If you don’t mind shelling out some money to add the functionality, I highly recommend it.

 

[4jasontv]

Well the Hue-App has a great GUI, but restricted to Hue-Lights. If you have just one IKEA bulb - your are lost
(I know you can put them in, but they don't work right - no Homekit, no Firmware-Update, other restrictions).

Apple would do well and copy some GUI elements from the HUE app.

The hue app is better, and it demonstrates how bad Homekit was because when home kit became inaccessible the hue app often continued to work. But lights aren't something I want to use an app for. We also invested in smart switches, and we use them most of the time. Homekit is mostly limited to turning off lights once we are in bed, or if we want to simulate being home.

 

[AppleInLVX]

It is more the time to invest in these setups - you have to enjoy that a little bit, otherwise just stick, with whatever stuff you got from the vendor (e.g. Hue-App)

At a cursory glace, this is something I could take a stab at some rainy afternoon. I have a synology and it has docker (although I don't use it for anything right now) so that would be a good candidate to see. If it makes voice commands through siri do what the Hue light should do and is solid, then it's worth the couple hours to get it rolling. Thank you very much for the suggestion.

 

[EricOSU]

Major overhaul is useless if I still have to reset HomePods to turn off alarms on kids HomePods Minis during the summer because the database in iCloud sucks.

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[bigjnyc]

Amazon was listed as a partner on the list for HomeKit support in yesterday’s presentation. I wonder is Ring will ever be brought over as they have been saying so since 2019.

Was wondering the same thing... Also saw google on there. Hoping to get Ring and my Nest thermostats integrated