While many people know that the Apple Watch does a great job of keeping track of health and fitness, it can do a lot more than just that. In fact, your Apple Watch is a great option for controlling one smart home device or even an entire setup.
A number of different smart home devices have their own Apple Watch apps. But if you have any smart home accessories that are compatible with the Apple HomeKit protocol, it’s easier to control them using the Home app and Siri.
Using both features on an Apple Watch is slightly different from using it on an iPhone or iPad. Let’s see how to get started.
Home Sweet Home
First, you must already have the Home app, Installed and configured on iPhone.
Because the Apple Watch can’t run apps without the help of an iPhone yet, the watch version will display what’s already on your phone. This means you won’t be able to add devices, create and edit scenes, or set up various automations. But that’s not a big downside, as the watch really shines, providing a quick and easy experience.
Opening the Home app
There are several ways to open the Home app on Apple Watch. First, navigate to the app’s honeycomb by quickly tapping on the digital crown. You can also activate Siri with a long press on the same button and say «Open Home App».
The easiest way to access an app regularly is to place the difficulty on the watch face. Available on most watch faces, simply pressing the home icon will automatically open the app.
You can also set up Apple Watch faces through the companion app on iPhone. A quick way to add the Home App service to the face of your choice is Force Touch on your phone screen. Select «Customize» and then choose where you want to make it harder.
Especially if you’ve added the Home app to the dock (this can be done by pressing the Side button under the Digital Crown once), the Home app should appear quickly after selecting it.
Give it a try:
- If you have multiple apps, try placing the Home app next to the Clock icon in the honeycomb. Pressing the Digital Crown will automatically place the Clock app in the center of the screen on startup.
- The difficulty of the Home app is easier to select on certain watch faces. Modular is one of my favorites.
Application usage
While pared down, the layout of the Apple Watch in the Home app is similar to what you’ll see in the iOS version of the app. First comes the different scenes, which are a group of user-customizable actions using various accessories.
You’ll notice that each HomeKit accessory appears in the order they appear on the main Home tab of the iOS app. This layout is great if you only have a few accessories, but not as fun if you use smart home devices throughout the house.
Give it a try:
- Use the Digital Crown to scroll through the entire list of devices. It’s very simple and fast than trying to use the clock screen.
With any HomeKit-enabled thermostat such as Ecobee3. you can select a specific mode — cooling, heating or automatic mode, and adjust the thermostat using the slider on the screen. You can also view the current temperature on the thermostat itself.
If you have a compatible Smart Lighting system, such as the popular Philips Hue line, the first screen will let you dim the lighting or turn it on or off completely. Swipe left to view a second screen where you can change the light to one of six preset colors.