After all the rumors, the Apple HomeView is official, and it finally turns the Home app into something that comes close to what Home Assistant users have been enjoying for years.
As the owner of a home full of HomeKit-compatible smart gear, you generally have to make do with the Home app. But for all the benefits of HomeKit, like security and privacy, the terrible Home app constantly undermines everything Apple has worked on. Anyone who has lusted after professionally installed smart home setups with fancy hub displays knows the Home app on an iPad just doesn't cut it. That has always led many people to dabble with Home Assistant, if only to build a custom dashboard that looks and works like something from this decade.
But that brings its own complications, namely running a Home Assistant server and configuring every accessory to actually work. It's far from ideal. This is why many have been keen to see Apple's home hub plans. Now we know, and it's basically a HomePod mini with an oversized Apple Watch attached. It wasn't what many hoped for initially. But after seeing it in action, a CarPlay head unit attached to a HomePod mini turns out to be exactly what HomeView needed to be.
Any good smart home display or hub needs to do one thing at its core: make it quick and easy to interact with a smart home, whether that means viewing cameras, opening blinds, or enabling an entire scene. HomeView appears to have that locked down. Widget-style buttons are ready for common tasks, and swiping between screens reveals more controls. Nothing seems buried several menus deep, which is vital for a device like this. Apple's ads expect people to rely on Siri, but the display is there to be touched.
Perhaps most significant is how HomeView recognizes people and switches between profiles automatically. Apple has always treated the iPad as a single-user device. HomeView is the opposite, becoming the center of an entire family's smart home.
Source: AppleInsider · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing