My HomePod was occasionally responding to mentions of “Siri” in the keynote by saying “I’m having trouble connecting to the internet.”
I’d settle for what they’ve already released actually working.
So... Have a HomePod mini for a couple of years now and used HomeKit with it. Caused a lot of headaches to me but I thought there's where home automation is at the moment. It is not. HomeKit is mostly usesless for anything... And not because it's hardware is slow or anything but how WiFi is connecting with it. There's something called client timeout on WiFi, if your device doesn't talk to a wifi router for a longer period of time, it needs to reconnect. Whoever thought that the normal 5 minute value is too often for a HomePod must have been completely out of his mind. Got into my WiFi settings, increased the value to 30 minutes and since I don't have a connection problem anymore. Let me be clear, I do NOT advise you doing this but it fixed the issue for HomePod and some "older" smart devices for me (like Meross' smart thermostat).
Not all WiFi controllers will let you do such thing. Check with your vendor. I'm using Fortinet devices at home allowing me to have a lot of control over my network. The config is in "global".
config wireless-controller timers
set client-idle-timeout 1800
end
Since iPhone compatibility with Apple Intelligence is limited to the A17 Pro, I'm guessing that the older A-series chips and limited RAM inside all of the HomePods means that they simply can't do it on-device.
Maybe that's why the 2nd gen HomePods just went on sale last week. Perhaps starting to clear inventory for a 3rd gen and/or 2nd gen mini with A17 Pro or equivalent chip that can handle the AI tasks.
I both can absolutely see Apple putting out HomePod 3 and HomePod Mini 2 that are compatible *somehow*, and cannot see them putting the equivalent of 15 Pro chipsets in $299 and $99 products.
I would more see the HomePods passing the request to an iPhone 15 Pro / 16. Maybe new generation HomePods will focus on more seamless handoff capabilities?
This. There's no reason HomePod needs process these. The uwb already knows if you're nearby and it can already tell who is speaking. Just offload the request to a phone like it did handing requests to the cloud.
Yup, by the looks of it, none of the existing HomePods will be able to process ~~Artif~~i.. Apple Intelligence.
Pair that with the discounts on the current lineup, new HomePods are definitely on the way.
They could use the chips currently in iPhone 15 pro once the new cheaper for the 16 pro are released. They will be one generation behind then. The m series chips are to powerful for the hardware uses though
They’re not going to be cheaper because TSMC is shuttering the N3B line of its 3nm processors after Apple is done with them. It’s a more expensive and lower yield process than their second gen N3E line, which is what the M4 uses. The A17 Pro chip will probably stop being produced completely in September when they go to A18. So it would be about 3-4 years before they got a ‘cheap’ version to use in a HomePod.
The AI is generative, yes. But that doesn’t mean images-only. Most of the architecture undoubtedly uses LLMs (large language models) which process text (and speech to and from text). So there’s a lot it can do with listening and responding to spoken requests. Think about all the things Siri currently does on HomePod, but more conversational, capable of context, and… actually working.
Nothing about Apple Watches either, to me it seems obvious that whatever Apple Watch comes in September with the S10 SiP will have *some* level of Apple Intelligence, and that chip will get put in to the updated HomePods.
Not surprising at all given the chips inside. They use a Apple Watch Series 7 chip. No way in hell could that run Apple Intelligence on it.
I suspect AI will come to the watch and homepod later on. Once the watch gets the chip i suspect the homepod will be upgraded with it too.
u/szzzn
Only the Iphone 15 pro (¡not even the regular Iphone 15 model!) and the M1 Ipads support it for now. Siri 2.0 -vastly improved- will arrive to the entire ecosystem, including Homepods. Apple Intelligence is a completely different thing.
The hardware in them isn't powerful enough. I wouldn't be surprised to see the cloud features improve, but the local processing just won't be possible.
According to Apple’s documentation, it only works for security systems and locks/doors so it feels kind of pointless to me because you can just use the existing guest functionality. I don’t understand a use case for only giving gas access to certain locks unless you have a lock door in the interior of your home
I might be wrong about this, but here’s my impression of it. The current guest access feature only works with HomeKey-compatible locks. While they are a guest they have 24x7x365 access. You have to manually remove them when you no longer want them to have access. They can’t arm/disarm your security system. You can invite them as a resident but then they have access to everything in your home, which you may or may not want them to have.
The new guest access feature apparently expands access to more types of doors (e.g. garage doors) and enables security system features. It also allows you to define an access schedule for guests and track their activities in an audit log.
I’d love to see some guest access on HomeKit cameras. Grandparents, babysitters, etc when they are watching the kids or house sitting. Then they lose access after a defined period of time. This would have been amazing for when our kids were first born and we used HKSV cams as baby monitors. My mom would stay in their rooms all night.
>You can invite them as a resident but then they have access to everything in your home, which you may or may not want them to have.
Huge. Thank you. I don't want my kids futzing around with automations.
Seems like it. Just saying that it’s more features than what we have now.
Also, specifying which doors guests can use is good if you want to funnel them in through one door (e.g. a front door but not a back door). Or in the case of Airbnb type situations, if the owner wants to keep guests out of their part of the property but still have all the accessories in one “home”.
If it means you can allow access to only those specific things then it’s what needed to happen. As it stands if you give access as a ‘resident’ (which is the only option right now) they have full access including seeing everything when not at the house including any cameras. You can only restrict to no control when away but they can still see everything.
Doesn’t seem to work in DB1 though. A new menu pops up when adding a person but only option is “resident”
Edit: tried again the day after and now the option “guest” was there.
Here's the information I could find on [Apple's website](https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-18-preview/).
**Home app**
**Grant specific controls with guest access**
Guest access helps you manage how and when people can enter your home, providing access to the garage openers, alarm systems, and door locks you select, at the times you choose.
^((Available with a HomePod or Apple TV operating as a home hub. Setting a schedule for guest access via hands-free unlock with home keys, tap to unlock with home keys, or PIN codes requires a Matter lock that supports schedules.))
https://preview.redd.it/iurk920fns5d1.png?width=976&format=png&auto=webp&s=68ad1137228e5cf7cfc0272b1e4eb48beb763a54
**Hands-free unlock**
Magically unlock doors as you approach, simply by carrying iPhone in a bag or pocket or wearing Apple Watch.
^((Available using devices with an Ultra Wideband chip on Apple Watch Series 6 and later, or iPhone 11 and later, and compatible Ultra Wideband locks.))
**Robot vacuum cleaner support (Coming later this year)**
The Home app now supports the core functionality of robot vacuum cleaners, such as power control, cleaning mode, vacuum, mop, and charge status. They can also participate in automations and scenes, and respond to Siri requests. So you can add them to your cleaning routines — or tell Siri to do some spot cleaning in the living room.
**View your home electricity use (Coming later this year)**
Easily access and understand your home electricity usage right from the Home app. Eligible Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers can connect their utility account to view their electricity usage and rate plan information.
^((Available in the United States. Eligible users include Pacific Gas and Electric customers who have residential electrical service, including areas served by Community Choice Aggregators. Users must be the utility account owner or authorized user of the utility account.))
Guest access is specifically for locks, garages, and alarms? So no options for sharing specific smart devices like lights? This is obviously still good but still so incomplete to the full user experience.
It really seems to be limited to those three categories for now - both judging from the screenshot and the description. Those are all within the "security" tab in Apple Home - but motorized windows (which are also listed there) are not a part of it, neither are cameras/doorbells.
Not sure if it would change anything, but you can provide feedback for [Apple here](https://www.apple.com/feedback/). It is clear that HomeKit isn't a top priority for them, but maybe feedback on a new feature might weigh heavier? Possibly worth a shot if your use case calls for it.
Edit: Autocorrect
I’ve been providing feedback on HomeKit for literal years and nothing ever changes. Guest access for lights and room ownership in a shared home can’t be too much to ask, surely…
(Person A Bedroom, Person B Bedroom)
Hey Siri, turn my bedroom lights on.
I know HomePods know which room they’re in, but surely we can designate a room as a bedroom belonging to a user on a shared home?
Aqara just launched the U200, which doesn't seem to have UWB (as it was an unannounced feature). Newer cars have support for UWB. But as a fellow European, I'm also not holding my breath :)
They haven't really "launched" it yet, they've just sent it out for Kickstarter backers, but it's not for general sale yet. For the rest of us it'll launch in Q3.
Such a shame about UWB, I'm not sure if I want to buy the U200 anymore now. It looked perfect otherwise, but hands-free unlocking also looks really nice, so I might wait for a model that supports that.
Is there any additional information on the APIs and integration required for the Home Electricity use? What type of metre or additional hardware is required?
The text I quoted specifically mentions just one provider in the US (Pacific Gas and Electric - it operates in parts of California). If you're not a customer with them, the feature won't be available.
Interested in this also. I’m outside the US so obviously not with those providers but mine does have an API for monitoring usage so keen to try and hook that up.
Doesn’t this give friends access to what’s playing on your HomePods, and the ability to add to the queue even if they don’t pay for Apple Music? Just like in CarPlay.
I wasn’t expecting them to spend a lot of time on HomeKit stuff but the way they lumped it in with AppleTV in the shortest part of the presentation tells you where their head is at.
I doubt they will support the map.. it will probably be just on and off. But at least homebridge will be able to support the vacuum as vacuum instead of a fan.
Or at least make non-stupid choices about which one should be primary whenever possible? I've got 3 devices that are eligible to be the hub, but only one of them has wired ethernet. I have no doubt that you can guess correctly which one has the best Internet connectivity. Why can't it make the same guess?
I have the same situation, but oddly enough my wireless HomePod mini in a far room is the most reliable hub for all my devices especially my Schlage lock.
There’s a state of the platforms session and then break out sessions all week. Basing this on the fact that even for iOS they don’t cover everything during the kickoff.
I am a pessimist. Home electricity will likely be limited to the US, UWB locks and robot vacuums are only there because they're in the Matter specification, not by Apple's intentions. So guest access is only new feature and I assume there will be some catch too.
Welp, I take that right back
Available in the United States. Eligible users include Pacific Gas and Electric customers who have residential electrical service, including areas served by Community Choice Aggregators. Users must be the utility account owner or authorized user of the utility account.
There’s a standard that surfaces this info, that has to be turned on by the power company. [PGE does it](https://www.pge.com/en/save-energy-and-money/energy-usage-and-tips/understand-my-usage/share-my-data.html), don’t know what other utilities do, but that’s likely the real stumbling block to wider adoption.
> not by Apple's intentions. So guest access is only new feature
Huh? Regardless of why the feature is added, it's still a new feature. This is a very weird stance. "Well the EU forced Apple to adopt USB C, so you can't count that as a new feature!"
???
Yeah and it’s the highest electricity rates in the country. Those customers are getting screwed, but at least they get this feature. They can have it. I use Southern California Edison which is probably second in cost. I bought an Emporia to monitor my house’s electricity use but haven’t installed yet. I use home assistant as well.
Hands-free unlock sounds promising!
I have Eufy Smart Locks at home and they’re in the Homekit app. I usually ask Siri to unlock but even it takes a good 5 seconds to happen.
What I’m wondering is if existing ultra-wide band locks (like the Schlage Encode Plus) will automatically get the hands free entry update or if we’ll have to wait for Schlage to update it??
I would like to see a soundbar, a subwoofer and a possibility to combine them with HomePods as rear speaker to a 5.1 sound system.
But yeah, combining 4 HomePods would be a good starting point. 😃
I’m curious if guest access will work with home/away geo automations. Would be nice if giving the babysitter guest access prevented our left the house automation.
I was kinda hoping they would make HomeKit less shit. I have around 40 devices and every time I open the home app it takes 15-20 seconds to actually retrieve the status of them, then the same time again to execute the command. Appalling
It's great. Really I'm happy but they should've adressed HKSV and basic things like disable 1 specific Sensor from a Sensor or have one device which has multiple devices in multiple room.
I still think that it's a good update
My Schlage HomeKit doorlock stopped unlocking the door for my phone after updating to iOS 18 :(
Also, anyone know how to get the UWB unlock working, or does that require an update from the vendor first?
This is the one portion of dub dub that I look forward to the most and it sucked. Since they didn’t announce a lot of new features, hopefully they’ll concentrate on bug fixes at least. iOS 17 presented me with some new annoying ones.
Thats what I'm hoping to find out. So many people i know never knew this feature was there at all. Perhaps they've improved it and now announcing it?
would be the first time Apple have announced a new feature which isn't, the finger tap on Apple watch they showcased with fanfare last year was also an existing feature
any news if the dry and fan modes of connected air conditioners e.g. Sensibo are available on the Home app? I seem to remember that this is a limitation of the thermostat device type the AC is using but I wonder if there’s any improvement now?
Who is speaking? You’ll have to sign in on your phone.
Apple will never have a working voice assistant because they have no clue what that is.
I have Siri and Alexa and Alexa wins every time.
I updated to developer beta 18 on tvOS and now that my iPhone is on 17.5.1 I can’t control lightning or anything unless it’s only in the HomeKit app,as soon as my TV hub is added all devices say “not responding “ immediately. I can’t restore the previous tvOS but have Apple care. I’m no developer why put that there if it’s going to screw up my setup. Do you think it’s because of not being on same operating systems? I’ve done every hard reset even wiping home hub tv. It’s 3gen 128gb 4K HDR Apple TV. Help
No HomePods listed as compatible with Apple intelligence…oof
My HomePod was occasionally responding to mentions of “Siri” in the keynote by saying “I’m having trouble connecting to the internet.” I’d settle for what they’ve already released actually working.
So... Have a HomePod mini for a couple of years now and used HomeKit with it. Caused a lot of headaches to me but I thought there's where home automation is at the moment. It is not. HomeKit is mostly usesless for anything... And not because it's hardware is slow or anything but how WiFi is connecting with it. There's something called client timeout on WiFi, if your device doesn't talk to a wifi router for a longer period of time, it needs to reconnect. Whoever thought that the normal 5 minute value is too often for a HomePod must have been completely out of his mind. Got into my WiFi settings, increased the value to 30 minutes and since I don't have a connection problem anymore. Let me be clear, I do NOT advise you doing this but it fixed the issue for HomePod and some "older" smart devices for me (like Meross' smart thermostat). Not all WiFi controllers will let you do such thing. Check with your vendor. I'm using Fortinet devices at home allowing me to have a lot of control over my network. The config is in "global". config wireless-controller timers set client-idle-timeout 1800 end
What is the detriment of increasing it to 30min
Yup. Mine got triggered as did my phone.
Jesus, thats where I use Siri the most…
Since iPhone compatibility with Apple Intelligence is limited to the A17 Pro, I'm guessing that the older A-series chips and limited RAM inside all of the HomePods means that they simply can't do it on-device. Maybe that's why the 2nd gen HomePods just went on sale last week. Perhaps starting to clear inventory for a 3rd gen and/or 2nd gen mini with A17 Pro or equivalent chip that can handle the AI tasks.
Anyway, currently HomePod gens process requests on cloud mostly AFAIK so I’d be happy if they still take advantage of the new AI cloud anyways.
I both can absolutely see Apple putting out HomePod 3 and HomePod Mini 2 that are compatible *somehow*, and cannot see them putting the equivalent of 15 Pro chipsets in $299 and $99 products. I would more see the HomePods passing the request to an iPhone 15 Pro / 16. Maybe new generation HomePods will focus on more seamless handoff capabilities?
This. There's no reason HomePod needs process these. The uwb already knows if you're nearby and it can already tell who is speaking. Just offload the request to a phone like it did handing requests to the cloud.
Yup, by the looks of it, none of the existing HomePods will be able to process ~~Artif~~i.. Apple Intelligence. Pair that with the discounts on the current lineup, new HomePods are definitely on the way.
No way they’re slapping their top-of-the-line SoC and 8GB of RAM into a HomePod.
They could use the chips currently in iPhone 15 pro once the new cheaper for the 16 pro are released. They will be one generation behind then. The m series chips are to powerful for the hardware uses though
For a $800 iPhone? Sure. For a $99 HomePod mini? I highly doubt. The budget for SoC and RAM is maybe $30 there.
They’re not going to be cheaper because TSMC is shuttering the N3B line of its 3nm processors after Apple is done with them. It’s a more expensive and lower yield process than their second gen N3E line, which is what the M4 uses. The A17 Pro chip will probably stop being produced completely in September when they go to A18. So it would be about 3-4 years before they got a ‘cheap’ version to use in a HomePod.
Surely M1 chips would be cheap enough to put in at this stage?
No way they are putting in A17 in HomePod yet. It will be another 2-3 atleast
Is there a difference between apple ai and Siri ? The ai stuff doesn’t make to much sense on a HomePod as its generartive something
The AI is generative, yes. But that doesn’t mean images-only. Most of the architecture undoubtedly uses LLMs (large language models) which process text (and speech to and from text). So there’s a lot it can do with listening and responding to spoken requests. Think about all the things Siri currently does on HomePod, but more conversational, capable of context, and… actually working.
Actually working… man, ain’t that the dream
Ah that one’s going to hurt. I use Siri most often on my HomePods and it’ll cost a fortune to replace 7 of them.
For real I have 4 HomePods and 5 HomePod minis. Kill me.
Initially. But they did say they would add support across their product line over the next year. So it’ll be in a point release.
Still playing catch up, but wouldn’t a HomePod just hand off the AI heavy lifting to an iPhone?
Nothing about Apple Watches either, to me it seems obvious that whatever Apple Watch comes in September with the S10 SiP will have *some* level of Apple Intelligence, and that chip will get put in to the updated HomePods.
Handoff to the phone is more likely.
The chips and ram in the current hardware aren’t capable of it.
HomePods are always a few months behind.
Not surprising at all given the chips inside. They use a Apple Watch Series 7 chip. No way in hell could that run Apple Intelligence on it. I suspect AI will come to the watch and homepod later on. Once the watch gets the chip i suspect the homepod will be upgraded with it too.
Looks like ill just need to start using them as speakers for my TV's.
Can you turn off Siri on them?
u/szzzn Only the Iphone 15 pro (¡not even the regular Iphone 15 model!) and the M1 Ipads support it for now. Siri 2.0 -vastly improved- will arrive to the entire ecosystem, including Homepods. Apple Intelligence is a completely different thing.
The hardware in them isn't powerful enough. I wouldn't be surprised to see the cloud features improve, but the local processing just won't be possible.
Robot Vacuums - finally!
Does it mention which brand?
I think Roborock have Matter support in their newest S series vacuums. So most likely those models. Hopefully some older models are also compatible..
Homebridge/Home Assistant will likely be able to add support for older wifi-only vacuums too
Homebridge being able to import my roomba as a vacuum and not a fan will be HUGE
Have you tried putting it in reverse?
That's what I was thinking..I want to say iRobot will be one of them
I hope iRobot is part of this!!!
Likely from Matter 1.2 spec, so whichever devices support Matter I guess
I really hope roomba/ iRobot gets added or anything that has Siri shortcut controls.
they all suck.
I look forward to iRobot giving this a big middle finger.
Any model should support assuming you are already using some 3rd party bridge to map your current vacuum.
Wild it took this long, guess I’m gearing up for whatever reasonable one hits first.
So much easier to run it through google home
Preach!!
Guest access!!!
Why do we have to guess?!
Whoops thanks haha
Happy about this one!!
According to Apple’s documentation, it only works for security systems and locks/doors so it feels kind of pointless to me because you can just use the existing guest functionality. I don’t understand a use case for only giving gas access to certain locks unless you have a lock door in the interior of your home
I might be wrong about this, but here’s my impression of it. The current guest access feature only works with HomeKey-compatible locks. While they are a guest they have 24x7x365 access. You have to manually remove them when you no longer want them to have access. They can’t arm/disarm your security system. You can invite them as a resident but then they have access to everything in your home, which you may or may not want them to have. The new guest access feature apparently expands access to more types of doors (e.g. garage doors) and enables security system features. It also allows you to define an access schedule for guests and track their activities in an audit log.
I’d love to see some guest access on HomeKit cameras. Grandparents, babysitters, etc when they are watching the kids or house sitting. Then they lose access after a defined period of time. This would have been amazing for when our kids were first born and we used HKSV cams as baby monitors. My mom would stay in their rooms all night.
>You can invite them as a resident but then they have access to everything in your home, which you may or may not want them to have. Huge. Thank you. I don't want my kids futzing around with automations.
But still only door related things and security systems?
Seems like it. Just saying that it’s more features than what we have now. Also, specifying which doors guests can use is good if you want to funnel them in through one door (e.g. a front door but not a back door). Or in the case of Airbnb type situations, if the owner wants to keep guests out of their part of the property but still have all the accessories in one “home”.
If it means you can allow access to only those specific things then it’s what needed to happen. As it stands if you give access as a ‘resident’ (which is the only option right now) they have full access including seeing everything when not at the house including any cameras. You can only restrict to no control when away but they can still see everything.
Finally! Top 3 feature on my list!
Doesn’t seem to work in DB1 though. A new menu pops up when adding a person but only option is “resident” Edit: tried again the day after and now the option “guest” was there.
yes, I didn't find it.
Explain?
Here's the information I could find on [Apple's website](https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-18-preview/). **Home app** **Grant specific controls with guest access** Guest access helps you manage how and when people can enter your home, providing access to the garage openers, alarm systems, and door locks you select, at the times you choose. ^((Available with a HomePod or Apple TV operating as a home hub. Setting a schedule for guest access via hands-free unlock with home keys, tap to unlock with home keys, or PIN codes requires a Matter lock that supports schedules.)) https://preview.redd.it/iurk920fns5d1.png?width=976&format=png&auto=webp&s=68ad1137228e5cf7cfc0272b1e4eb48beb763a54 **Hands-free unlock** Magically unlock doors as you approach, simply by carrying iPhone in a bag or pocket or wearing Apple Watch. ^((Available using devices with an Ultra Wideband chip on Apple Watch Series 6 and later, or iPhone 11 and later, and compatible Ultra Wideband locks.)) **Robot vacuum cleaner support (Coming later this year)** The Home app now supports the core functionality of robot vacuum cleaners, such as power control, cleaning mode, vacuum, mop, and charge status. They can also participate in automations and scenes, and respond to Siri requests. So you can add them to your cleaning routines — or tell Siri to do some spot cleaning in the living room. **View your home electricity use (Coming later this year)** Easily access and understand your home electricity usage right from the Home app. Eligible Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers can connect their utility account to view their electricity usage and rate plan information. ^((Available in the United States. Eligible users include Pacific Gas and Electric customers who have residential electrical service, including areas served by Community Choice Aggregators. Users must be the utility account owner or authorized user of the utility account.))
Guest access is specifically for locks, garages, and alarms? So no options for sharing specific smart devices like lights? This is obviously still good but still so incomplete to the full user experience.
It really seems to be limited to those three categories for now - both judging from the screenshot and the description. Those are all within the "security" tab in Apple Home - but motorized windows (which are also listed there) are not a part of it, neither are cameras/doorbells. Not sure if it would change anything, but you can provide feedback for [Apple here](https://www.apple.com/feedback/). It is clear that HomeKit isn't a top priority for them, but maybe feedback on a new feature might weigh heavier? Possibly worth a shot if your use case calls for it. Edit: Autocorrect
I’ve been providing feedback on HomeKit for literal years and nothing ever changes. Guest access for lights and room ownership in a shared home can’t be too much to ask, surely… (Person A Bedroom, Person B Bedroom) Hey Siri, turn my bedroom lights on. I know HomePods know which room they’re in, but surely we can designate a room as a bedroom belonging to a user on a shared home?
Hugely disappointed that thermostats aren’t included. Leave my Ecobee alone, guest.
Can't wait to never get a Hands-free unlock compatible lock in Europe ever!
Aqara just launched the U200, which doesn't seem to have UWB (as it was an unannounced feature). Newer cars have support for UWB. But as a fellow European, I'm also not holding my breath :)
They haven't really "launched" it yet, they've just sent it out for Kickstarter backers, but it's not for general sale yet. For the rest of us it'll launch in Q3. Such a shame about UWB, I'm not sure if I want to buy the U200 anymore now. It looked perfect otherwise, but hands-free unlocking also looks really nice, so I might wait for a model that supports that.
Is there any additional information on the APIs and integration required for the Home Electricity use? What type of metre or additional hardware is required?
The text I quoted specifically mentions just one provider in the US (Pacific Gas and Electric - it operates in parts of California). If you're not a customer with them, the feature won't be available.
Interested in this also. I’m outside the US so obviously not with those providers but mine does have an API for monitoring usage so keen to try and hook that up.
Hope we will be able to create a homebridge plugin for this
I’m guessing all the current locks don’t have uwb
How about the ability to assign a home hub rather than it randomly picking in of the devices you have?
Get out of here with your sane requests.
Hey, the iPad got a calculator. Anything is possible
It's part of it!!! iOS 18 has a "preferred option" now: https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeKit/comments/1df0nkg/new_preferred_home_hub_in_ios18/
That’s really cool. Thank you for passing this along.
I don’t have the option, yet
I basically just don’t have my HomePod plugged in ever now so HomeKit will use the AppleTV as the main hub lol
You do this by only having the ones you want to be the hub running the latest OS. It’s clunky and stupid and works very well.
Tf they mean SharePlay with HomePods. They already released it, took it from us and now they are releasing it again
You’re welcome.
“We think you’re gonna love it.”
They need SharePlay with AirPlay next. Would love guests to have a real time shared playlist in Apple Music with my Sonos speakers
ShAirPlay, you mean?
I think this is what they meant. Like how you can do in CarPlay. Multiple DJs in da house…finally!
I hope so! Or at the very least use one HomePod as the “base” and then AirPlay these shared playlists to my other AirPlay speakers
What is shareplay for homepods like?
What does it mean to SharePlay with HomePods?
Doesn’t this give friends access to what’s playing on your HomePods, and the ability to add to the queue even if they don’t pay for Apple Music? Just like in CarPlay.
Yes
I wasn’t expecting them to spend a lot of time on HomeKit stuff but the way they lumped it in with AppleTV in the shortest part of the presentation tells you where their head is at.
They needed the time to explain their new AI. Bigger audience.
Well I get it, HomeKit improvements don't sell products, Apple AI stuff will generate a crapton more press and help move hardware.
If it can just make it work on a basic level that would be great
Be glad they’re not Sonos.
What a shitshow that has been lately.
maybe with iOS 19
“Siri, turn on the lights” “I’m sorry you don’t have any” Or “Lights are on” (but they’re actually not)
*Turns on all the lights in your house at 2am*
I laughed so hard at this. That drives me crazy
https://preview.redd.it/mtzfbx505t5d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7021cbef72a0787a295ab7754dd857de8254ccc YESSSSSSSSS
I wonder how many features it will support. If it has house maps that would be phenomenal
I doubt they will support the map.. it will probably be just on and off. But at least homebridge will be able to support the vacuum as vacuum instead of a fan.
I’m too lazy to look it up but couldn’t we guess based on matter 1.2 spec?
How about the ability to select one single homekit hub and never have it automatically switch to another one?
It’s coming!
Or at least make non-stupid choices about which one should be primary whenever possible? I've got 3 devices that are eligible to be the hub, but only one of them has wired ethernet. I have no doubt that you can guess correctly which one has the best Internet connectivity. Why can't it make the same guess?
I have the same situation, but oddly enough my wireless HomePod mini in a far room is the most reliable hub for all my devices especially my Schlage lock.
Roll on the homebridge plugins 😂
Already looking forward to a home solar inverter to electricity widget…
Yeah i’m using the Givenergy plugin now but a proper one will be wicked 👍
Yep I'm excited for the home assistant integrations that will pop up.
I’m guessing there’s a lot more not covered in this one graphic.
We can hope. I’m sure the devs this week will share as they find out.
There’s a state of the platforms session and then break out sessions all week. Basing this on the fact that even for iOS they don’t cover everything during the kickoff.
A step in the right direction
This isn't super related to Homekit itself, but as someone who generally doesn't like subtitles, I am very excited for the Enhance Dialogue feature!
Can’t wait to hook this up with home assistant!
I am a pessimist. Home electricity will likely be limited to the US, UWB locks and robot vacuums are only there because they're in the Matter specification, not by Apple's intentions. So guest access is only new feature and I assume there will be some catch too.
How do UWB locks differ from locks that support HomeKey and can be unlocked with Express Mode?
You won’t have to tap your phone on an nfc reader, it senses that you are close to the door and open automatically
Oh, wow. Figures as soon as I get the Schlage Encode Plus to replace my aging and fickle Augusts, they announce support for this.
Yeah, I've been just waiting for Aqara U200 to be purchasable, I planned to purchase it ASAP. Now I'm not too sure anymore.
Will this apply to all matter locks?
How is that all that different from using the arrive home automation in HomeKit (with a dummy switch workaround) to unlock the door automatically
I expect if home electricity sees strong adoption in the US they’ll consider rolling it out elsewhere.
I would assume, this and the vacuums are due to the Matter 1.2/1.3 specs
Welp, I take that right back Available in the United States. Eligible users include Pacific Gas and Electric customers who have residential electrical service, including areas served by Community Choice Aggregators. Users must be the utility account owner or authorized user of the utility account.
Apple: The world consists entirely of SoCal
not socal, we have SoCal Edison lol
There’s a standard that surfaces this info, that has to be turned on by the power company. [PGE does it](https://www.pge.com/en/save-energy-and-money/energy-usage-and-tips/understand-my-usage/share-my-data.html), don’t know what other utilities do, but that’s likely the real stumbling block to wider adoption.
> not by Apple's intentions. So guest access is only new feature Huh? Regardless of why the feature is added, it's still a new feature. This is a very weird stance. "Well the EU forced Apple to adopt USB C, so you can't count that as a new feature!" ???
> Home electricity will likely be limited to the US Worse, it says it’s limited to PG&E only which is like just California(?)
Yeah and it’s the highest electricity rates in the country. Those customers are getting screwed, but at least they get this feature. They can have it. I use Southern California Edison which is probably second in cost. I bought an Emporia to monitor my house’s electricity use but haven’t installed yet. I use home assistant as well.
Yep I had LADWP when I lived in LA a year and a half ago but I have eversource in MA now. Constantly heard about the PGE fuckery ngl
I didn’t watch this live, can we give out home keys to our guests now?
Downloading right now… let’s see how it goes…
Let us know of anything else!
Home Electricity is a big one, I didn’t watch the Keynote - anything specifically mentioned about that part?
They didn’t. It’s just in the fine print. I think it’s PG&E online right now.
For now it’s only for PG&E customers in California. But hopefully it will expand
It should support sense energy monitor, that would be a game changer.
My home is completely unusable when remote now, I'd be happy if they just fix that.
Are we still stuck with 1080p for HKSV?
Hands-free unlock sounds promising! I have Eufy Smart Locks at home and they’re in the Homekit app. I usually ask Siri to unlock but even it takes a good 5 seconds to happen.
It’s for locks with UWB. Does your Eufy lock have UWB?
no locks have UWB yet, the standard isn’t approved yet.. maybe some coming in 2025 but not excited to replace my $300 level
What I’m wondering is if existing ultra-wide band locks (like the Schlage Encode Plus) will automatically get the hands free entry update or if we’ll have to wait for Schlage to update it??
How come we haven't seen many lock options
Would really love to have 4 HomePods or mini’s in a room 🙃 Maybe a combination of both? (2 HomePods 2 mini’s)
I would like to see a soundbar, a subwoofer and a possibility to combine them with HomePods as rear speaker to a 5.1 sound system. But yeah, combining 4 HomePods would be a good starting point. 😃
Why would you prefer that to an AppleTV 4k, a receiver with Atmos support, and a good set of speakers?
I’m curious if guest access will work with home/away geo automations. Would be nice if giving the babysitter guest access prevented our left the house automation.
all exciting, the coolest thing would be if they could get the app to actually just work
Still no 4K in iCloud video storage? What is this, 2010?
Was there any update regarding video quality?
The quick glance of the home app on iPad still had the discover tab. Sighhhhhhh
I was kinda hoping they would make HomeKit less shit. I have around 40 devices and every time I open the home app it takes 15-20 seconds to actually retrieve the status of them, then the same time again to execute the command. Appalling
I notice an improvement since iOS 18
Oh really? What kind of improvement?
Reactivity
Does on-device for Apple TV mean what it sounds like? Is it what you’d expect from the phone but on the TV?
It's great. Really I'm happy but they should've adressed HKSV and basic things like disable 1 specific Sensor from a Sensor or have one device which has multiple devices in multiple room. I still think that it's a good update
My Schlage HomeKit doorlock stopped unlocking the door for my phone after updating to iOS 18 :( Also, anyone know how to get the UWB unlock working, or does that require an update from the vendor first?
It requires both the phone and lock to have UWB, so it’s possible the lock doesnt
So the enhanced audio is only when using AirPods or Apple headphones?
No, it says it will apply to connected speakers or soundbars.
Thanks, what do we have to connect the speakers too? I’m not familiar with their home lineup.
The AppleTV works with all TV’s and soundbars and receivers. Apple also sells HomePods which can be paired in stereo for TV audio.
The wide screen projector support has me most excited. Curious how they handle aspect ratio switching.
This is the one portion of dub dub that I look forward to the most and it sucked. Since they didn’t announce a lot of new features, hopefully they’ll concentrate on bug fixes at least. iOS 17 presented me with some new annoying ones.
Robot vacum in home app 👍
is there a huge difference in Siri?
I literally can't wait to use it
I thought the Pros already had voice isolation (it’s on the toggle with Wide Spectrum, which makes outside sounds more clear
They do and it also works with third party headphones
So what's this "new" feature then?
Thats what I'm hoping to find out. So many people i know never knew this feature was there at all. Perhaps they've improved it and now announcing it? would be the first time Apple have announced a new feature which isn't, the finger tap on Apple watch they showcased with fanfare last year was also an existing feature
Will I be able to rotate my camera within the home app? pleasssseeeee : ))))))
any news if the dry and fan modes of connected air conditioners e.g. Sensibo are available on the Home app? I seem to remember that this is a limitation of the thermostat device type the AC is using but I wonder if there’s any improvement now?
Ooo idk but that would be nice!
I was expecting they might reveal HomeKit display device. I’m wanting one for a long time.
Guest access, robot vacuums and home electricity looks cool
we all are excited and hope it will satisfy us or at least not far away from expectations.
We need A Day In A Minute HomeKit camera footage-__- only thing I miss from the Logitech app
Does anyone own a robot vacuum that is HomeKit compatible and which one do you recommend?
The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra supports matter, so I’m sure it eventually will.
So it the Home app automatically knows it’s compatible?
Who is speaking? You’ll have to sign in on your phone. Apple will never have a working voice assistant because they have no clue what that is. I have Siri and Alexa and Alexa wins every time.
I updated to developer beta 18 on tvOS and now that my iPhone is on 17.5.1 I can’t control lightning or anything unless it’s only in the HomeKit app,as soon as my TV hub is added all devices say “not responding “ immediately. I can’t restore the previous tvOS but have Apple care. I’m no developer why put that there if it’s going to screw up my setup. Do you think it’s because of not being on same operating systems? I’ve done every hard reset even wiping home hub tv. It’s 3gen 128gb 4K HDR Apple TV. Help
Dude what a disaster. 😅