Apple HomeView finally offers a simpler alternative to Home Assistant

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.

经过一连串传闻,Apple HomeView 终于正式发布,它让“家庭”应用在很大程度上接近了多年来 Home Assistant 用户所享受的体验。

作为一个装满 HomeKit 兼容智能设备的家庭的主人,你通常只能将就使用“家庭”应用。但尽管 HomeKit 在安全性和隐私性等方面有诸多优势,糟糕的“家庭”应用却不断削弱 Apple 所做的一切努力。任何向往带有精美中枢显示屏、由专业人员安装的智能家居系统的人都知道,在 iPad 上使用“家庭”应用根本不够好。这一直促使许多人尝试 Home Assistant,哪怕只是为了搭建一个外观和操作都像是这个十年的产物的自定义仪表板。

但这也带来了自身的麻烦,即需要运行 Home Assistant 服务器,并逐一配置每个配件使其正常工作。这远非理想状态。因此,许多人一直热切期待 Apple 的家庭中枢计划。如今谜底揭晓,它基本上就是一台加装了超大号 Apple Watch 的 HomePod mini。起初它并不是许多人所期望的样子。但在亲眼见到它的实际运行效果后,你会发现,连接到 HomePod mini 上的 CarPlay 车机主机,恰恰是 HomeView 所需要的模样。

任何优秀的智能家居显示屏或中枢,核心都必须做好一件事:让用户能快速、轻松地与智能家居互动,无论是查看摄像头、开关百叶窗,还是启用整套场景。HomeView 在这方面似乎已经做得很稳妥。常见任务都配有小组件式按钮,左右滑动即可切换屏幕以显示更多控件。没有哪项功能被埋在多层菜单之下,这对于这类设备至关重要。Apple 的广告期望人们依赖 Siri,但这块屏幕本身就是为了触控而设计的。

或许最重要的一点是,HomeView 能够识别不同的人,并自动切换个人配置。Apple 一直将 iPad 视为单用户设备,而 HomeView 恰恰相反,它将成为整个家庭智能生活的核心。