Home Widget Unlocks HomeKit Device Control That Apple’s Home App Doesn’t Offer

You mightiness person wondered what would go of widget-focused apps for illustration Home Widget erstwhile Apple announced astatine WWDC that a Home widget was coming to iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma. I did too. But, moreover though nan Home widget useful well, it’s limited, leaving room for developers for illustration Clément Marty to return their widgets to an wholly different level.

If you’re a location automation nerd, you’ll quickly tally into nan Home widget’s limitations. For instance, it’s awesome for toggling lights connected and off, but it can’t dim your lights aliases alteration their color. Home Widget goes beyond nan binary prime of connected aliases disconnected crossed a spectrum of features, making it indispensable for location automation fans.

Let’s spot what it tin do.

Home Widget doesn’t let itself to beryllium constrained by nan truth that widget developers are constricted to utilizing buttons and toggles for interactivity. Like nan Home widget, you tin usage it to toggle lights connected aliases off, but you tin besides dim them aliases alteration their color.

The measurement this useful is clever. When you group up a widget successful nan Home Widget app, a process that is akin to creating widgets successful Widgetsmith, you tin prime a ‘Type’ for each widget tile. For lights, actions tin see toggling them connected and off, toggling them aft a five-second delay, and toggling them aft personification confirmation. There are besides a mates of different dimmer options.

Once your widget is group up to power dimming and color, erstwhile you pat nan widget, a caller position appears pinch what appears to beryllium a slider and a grid of colour buttons. You can’t swipe connected nan slider because widgets only support buttons. Instead, pat on it to group nan level of brightness you want, and past prime a colour by tapping it. It useful really well, but it takes a while to get utilized to tapping nan slider.

The confirmation ‘Type’ that I mentioned supra is simply a bully summation to nan latest type of nan app if you person thing for illustration a HomeKit-enabled car shed door. Instead of accidentally opening your car shed pinch a stray tap, you’ll beryllium asked to corroborate your action first. Interactivity besides intends that Home Widget tin now set your blinds and refresh your widgets manually, neither of which could beryllium done pinch Apple’s Home widget. Another bully summation that isn’t interactive is nan expertise to show sensor information connected a widget, for illustration nan somesthesia and humidity, some of which are acold excessively buried successful nan Home app’s interface.

In summation to Home Screen widgets, Home Widget has updated its Lock Screen widgets to beryllium interactive. On nan iPad, Home Widget uses nan caller larger size disposable successful nan sidebar erstwhile your iPad is successful scenery mode. The size and actions disposable are comparable to nan mini Home Screen widget. In my testing connected nan 12.9” iPad Pro, though, there’s a bug that causes nan image successful nan Lock Screen widget to beryllium off-center.

Home Widget besides useful successful iOS 17’s StandBy mode. Like different widgets I’ve covered, nan StandBy type is akin to Home Widget’s small-sized Home Screen widget, which tin see 1 aliases 4 items. If you find yourself wanting to power lights aliases different devices passim nan day, having your iPhone connected to MagSafe and successful scenery mode tin beryllium a bully measurement to quickly get to your favourite devices.

Also worthy mentioning is that Home Widget is overmuch much performant, pinch devices responding much quickly than successful nan past.

I’ve only conscionable begun scratching nan aboveground of what tin beryllium done pinch Home Widget. I scheme to usage it to power a halfway group of devices from my iPhone and a much extended group from my iPad Pro and Mac desktop. If you person a ample postulation of HomeKit devices aliases are disappointment by nan constricted ways nan Home app widgets fto you power them, I highly urge checking retired Home Widget.

Home Widget is disposable for nan iPhone and iPad connected nan App Store arsenic a free download. Certain of nan app’s features require a subscription.