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iOS 18.4 Could Force Users to Upgrade to Latest HomeKit Architecture

I did the upgrade a while back, and after a reboot of each smart device everything worked perfectly on devices running newer versions of iOS.

MacRumors said:
the new architecture breaks support for the Home app on devices running older versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
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Does anyone have an actual iOS version number that is the cutoff for the upgraded architecture?

Apple doesn’t say on the related page - https://support.apple.com/en-ca/102287

And neither this article nor the previous coverage mentions it.

adrianlondon said:
I have a 1st gen iPad mini (iOS 9) stuck to my wall which I occasionally use to turn lights on/off and other stuff. Now I've upgraded, that no longer works.
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Same, a number of my old devices stopped being usable as camera monitors, even ones running iOS 15 like an iPad Air 2.
 
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Couldn’t remember if I upgraded or not but it seems I did since no update button. I know I didn’t upgrade when it came out and waited for long while since so many have issues.

I know I haven’t upgrade my Philips hue to Matter. It still on HomeKit system since again so many have issues. I am assuming Philips hue part still HomeKit system not Matter if they didn’t do upgrade themselves without me knowing.
 
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Remy149 said:
Apple has offered the ability to be HomeKit compatible without a software only solution for years now. Also any matter device can get plugged directly into HomeKit. More and more stuff is just using matter
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But there is plenty of kit out there that doesn't have a matter interface. My TV's for example, have a WiFi/Network API. Homebridge makes it possible for devs to create little drivers that expose these APIs via HomeKit objects. Very straightforward and means that all manner of kit that you find in a home can be exposed to Home.
 
My invites still fail as they are never received. The proposed solution of deleting and then rebuilding my home, along with all its scenes and automations is a non starter. I’d love to invite a few more people to my Home, but I hate the idea of rebuilding everything even more.
 
Haven't upgraded because I will lose my iPad Hub support. All devices using old architecture work great. Now I am forced to abandon automations or buy Homepod/ATV.
 
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orbital~debris said:
At some point, you gotta upgrade your hardware, and your software.
By now, it's baked in to life.
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Oh, it’s “baked into life,” is it? Funny how that only happened because consumers let companies get away with it. The hypocrisy of corporations like Apple—loudly bragging about being “green” while deliberately engineering obsolescence, generating mountains of e-waste, and stuffing their pockets with cash—is nothing short of repulsive.


What you’re repeating is exactly what these companies want consumers to believe: that this is just the way things are. Meanwhile, they rake in billions, do absolutely nothing for the environment, and burn through even more rare earth materials—all under the guise of sustainability.

There's a word for it: Greenwashing.
 
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noanker said:
Oh, it’s “baked into life,” is it? Funny how that only happened because consumers let companies get away with it. The hypocrisy of corporations like Apple—loudly bragging about being “green” while deliberately engineering obsolescence, generating mountains of e-waste, and stuffing their pockets with cash—is nothing short of repulsive.


What you’re repeating is exactly what these companies want consumers to believe: that this is just the way things are. Meanwhile, they rake in billions, do absolutely nothing for the environment, and burn through even more rare earth materials—all under the guise of sustainability.

There's a word for it: Greenwashing.
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No, a better description for it is pragmatism.

Eventually, if you support configurations going back so far, the complexity either negatively impacts performance or stifles further innovation.

Apple have moved green initiatives forward a great degree – a lot of the changes they've instigated would not have happened across the industry without them. And the impact of their environmental focus is outsized due to their massive stature.
 
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orbital~debris said:
No, a better description for it is pragmatism.

Eventually, if you support configurations going back so far, the complexity either negatively impacts performance or stifles further innovation.

Apple have moved green initiatives forward a great degree – a lot of the changes they've instigated would not have happened across the industry without them. And the impact of their environmental focus is outsized due to their massive stature.
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Ah yes, the classic ‘it’s just pragmatism’ argument, because nothing says ‘practical’ like soldered storage, proprietary parts, and software updates that mysteriously slow down older devices right around the time new ones launch. But sure, let’s pretend this is all about innovation rather than profit maximization."


And as for Apple’s ‘outsized’ impact on green initiatives—you're right, their influence is massive. Which makes it all the more concerning that they choose to leverage it for greenwashing rather than meaningful sustainability. But hey, at least they stopped including chargers in the box, right? I’m sure the extra e-waste from people buying separate ones is just a small price to pay for their ‘commitment’ to the environment.
 
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noanker said:
Ah yes, the classic ‘it’s just pragmatism’ argument, because nothing says ‘practical’ like soldered storage, proprietary parts, and software updates that mysteriously slow down older devices right around the time new ones launch. But sure, let’s pretend this is all about innovation rather than profit maximization."


And as for Apple’s ‘outsized’ impact on green initiatives—you're right, their influence is massive. Which makes it all the more concerning that they choose to leverage it for greenwashing rather than meaningful sustainability. But hey, at least they stopped including chargers in the box, right? I’m sure the extra e-waste from people buying separate ones is just a small price to pay for their ‘commitment’ to the environment.
Click to expand...

The 'mysterious slow down' you mention has been debunked. And even if the first version of a new release is 'slower' on existing non-new hardware, it's seen time and again that subsequent point-release versions are refined and end up running even faster than the previous major release.

And innovation is profit maximisation.

To your point about chargers – just think about for every person who buys one because they need one, there may well be another person who does not need one, doesn't get one, and that's a significant amount of resources saved. Which is then multiplied for a large net positive effect.
And for the people who do choose to buy one – that's itself an improvement as they are encouraged to consider whether they need one or not.
 
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What’s the point? Apple has made HK so difficult for OEMs and has kept it feature limited for so long. Pushing this in users is not a surprise but let’s see a reason for it.

I have over 70 HK devices, but cameras and networking were reluctantly swapped out after years of waiting and faith.

The slow progress seems to still be in full effect.
 
I haven’t upgraded because I don’t need everything to break, the fact that it did break everything when it first launched doesn’t bode well
 
ProbablyDylan said:
I don't want to buy an ATV or Homepod to make use of this. So no thanks, Tim.
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You don't need a home hub - it just means that for you the new architecture will make no difference to how it currently works.

Unless you have devices on iOS 15 or older, in which case it'll have a huge impact as it'll stop working on those.
 
orbital~debris said:
The 'mysterious slow down' you mention has been debunked. And even if the first version of a new release is 'slower' on existing non-new hardware, it's seen time and again that subsequent point-release versions are refined and end up running even faster than the previous major release.

And innovation is profit maximisation.

To your point about chargers – just think about for every person who buys one because they need one, there may well be another person who does not need one, doesn't get one, and that's a significant amount of resources saved. Which is then multiplied for a large net positive effect.
And for the people who do choose to buy one – that's itself an improvement as they are encouraged to consider whether they need one or not.
Click to expand...
All fair points.
 
spazzcat said:
Good for you now go to tie your smart house to something less safe and secure. Also, Apple uses open standards for most hardware in HomeKit, so things you buy will work with other systems.
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Already done, my homes have been smart for decades and it is secure because the smart stuff never "phones home".
 
HylianKnight said:
My invites still fail as they are never received. The proposed solution of deleting and then rebuilding my home, along with all its scenes and automations is a non starter. I’d love to invite a few more people to my Home, but I hate the idea of rebuilding everything even more.
Click to expand...
Try again. I had to have the iPhone in my hand and tap it as soon as I saw it. The first time I sent the invite I couldn’t find it, the second time a notification popped up I tapped it and it processed and works.
 
adrianlondon said:
You don't need a home hub - it just means that for you the new architecture will make no difference to how it currently works.

Unless you have devices on iOS 15 or older, in which case it'll have a huge impact as it'll stop working on those.
Click to expand...
You need a home hub if you live with other people and want them to be able to control things in the house. The architecture upgrade takes away the option of the home hub being an old stay-at-home iPad, so for me the upgrade would also involve the forced purchase of either a HomePod (we use Sonos speakers, so that’s a no) or an Apple TV (don’t really need one of those either). I don’t see any other options if we want to keep using HomeKit.

I’m currently looking at Home Assistant to see if that can give us a better solution than HomeKit.
 
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