Best HomeKit Apps for your Smart Home!

[@left0verture]

Not to be a suckup, but one of my favorite HK third-party “apps” is your channel. Some of the apps you mention here are very powerful, but not very intuitive. I appreciate the reviews, recommendations and especially - the how-to’s that you post. Thanks Shane - keep up the good work!

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks so much for the kind words and support! 🙏🏼 I'm glad the channel has been helpful to you.

[@ChrisOram]

I agree with this comment 100%. Shane is the gold standard for the industry and a great creator. Ain’t no one sucking up, Shane is the man‼️

[@uniqueflh2941]

Awesome content as always Shane. I’m using, or have used, most (if not all) of these…and there are lots of cool features available. It’s awesome that several of the Developers of the Apps you mentioned are part of your ‘Members Only Discord Group’, and actively respond to questions & members feedback. Props to those Devs! Again. So much coolness in this video. Thanks for the content!

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching! 😃 I agree, it's super cool to see these app developers getting involved with the community. They are the true rock stars!!

[@TheScottiedawg319]

Would love to see a more in depth video of how to use and set up Controller. Not much out there for us new folks.

[@dadfixdit]

I really hope Apple opens up HomeKit a lot more with this next iteration of iOS . Great video!

[@Dr_Cole]

Loved this comprehensive review, Shane. I use most of these already but I’m grabbing the battery monitoring app. Home+ has a great battery summary but I want notifications and for custom levels to trigger a notification. Some devices are harder to access, so knowing about them earlier on help me to remember to change them the next time I am in that area.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you found something new/helpful in the video.

[@cheapme1850]

I’ve tried many of these apps and I found that the simpler, the better. Some are a bit too advanced for me and I ended up just reverting back to the Home app or the device’s native app.

[@stealingzen]

One of the big draws of HomeKit is that everything is controlled locally and is sensitive to privacy. Can you speak to the privacy of these third-party apps? Are they not harvesting data about you and your devices?

[@CameronYoung-n4v]

Nanoleaf lines in your setup looks nice! It really make a smart home pop. And with the best HomeKit apps, it's next-level cool!

[@ShaneCreates]

Thank you!! 😊

[@dwayne7626]

Would love to know if you accomplished what you wanted to with the Homey Pro? I have been struggling trying to incorporate it into my HomeKit ecosystem

[@jamesthorne494]

Is device compatibility still an issue with smart products? What are the main issues at the moment with smart homes and the market in general?

[@mavirek]

The EVE app was a great eyeopener for me. Thank you. Do you generally prefer it over the Home app? Do you have a more uptodate video of how to use it (beside your video from 4yrs ago)?

[@ShaneCreates]

Personally, I prefer the Home app for general every day use (device control, cameras, etc.) The Eve app comes in handy when setting up more advanced automations using things like conditions or multiple triggers. I have not made a full video on the Eve app in quite a while.

[@philoupc2239]

Thank you so much for this video ! I was wondering if there is a hub that I could use to add non HomeKit accessories to my HomeKit for example my Levoit air purifier , Rumba vacuum ,etc ? Zigbee hub perhaps ? thank you

[@ShaneCreates]

A few options to look into. I would start by researching HomeBridge (software that requires your own hardware), Habitat, and Homey Pro. I have videos on all of these in my catalogue.

[@philoupc2239]

Thank you Shane for your reply, i will watch your videos and make more research, thanks again !!

[@Hedrakk1]

It has never been clear for me if those third-party apps require to have the iPhone in the house in order to work. This why I never wanted to use those. This and the fact that I’m afraid that those apps might come in conflict with Apple’s Home app. I’m about to move to my new home and I will have to start a new Smart Home from scratch. It might be a good time to use a more powerful third-party app if you can reassure me with my previously mentioned concerns. Thanks!

[@ShaneCreates]

When done correctly, third party apps should NOT conflict with the Apple Home app. All these apps are accessing the same HomeKit data. That's why if you create an automation in the Eve app, for example, you will be able to see it reflected in the Apple Home app.

[@HalStaniloff]

One of the things that the Home App does not do is a soft dim. For example, I have Lutron components. When transitioning from 50% on a light fixture to say 30%, the Home App simply changes the dimming percentage like a jump-cut scene. While the Lutron app will slowly change the dimming value thus yielding a soft transition of the light. Do any of the apps out there do that? Will the Eve app do that? Right now, the Home App is fine for me - except for the lack of a soft transition between dimming values. Any help?

[@hugoboss435]

I bought the Signals app but don’t know how to use it. Can you make a video or provide a link to useful instructions?

[@JenaGuitar]

Nice video! Is there any app that can create automations with timing?.. for instance "if a motion sensor is inactive and stay that way for one minute run the automation... I think that a lot of the limitations in homekit depend on poor automation flexibility

[@ShaneCreates]

It may not be obvious, but you can do this natively in the Apple Home app. I accomplish it like this: 1. create your automation if a motion sensor stops detecting motion 2. convert to shortcut 3. "wait" one minute 4. IF no motion detected, turn off lights (or whatever you want the automation to do)

[@JenaGuitar]

@@ShaneCreates thanks, I did not know it was possible… works perfectly!

[@mikebedford4362]

Sooooo useful, thanks Shane (again and again!)

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching!

[@DRacer90]

Which app would you pick that can do everything (or almost everything) if you can only pick one of the apps you posted?

[@ShaneCreates]

The one that can do the most is probably Controller for HomeKit.

[@Q1ller]

I started my smart home before Homekit was really a thing. How much hassle would it be to switch things over... I've got a lot of devices, switches, etc.?

[@ShaneCreates]

It just depends on what all you have. You would have to use something like Homebridge if you want to use products that don't natively support homekit. If your products do support HomeKit, it's just a matter of adding them to your Apple Home app.

[@jefftothealbright]

Home Assistant can bring almost all of those devices over.

[@joellemorris5684]

Great video!! I'm looking for an APP that would allow me to do the following: from a long push on the Wireless Mini Switch (from Aqara) to initiate a phone call to an emergency number. WI tried with Homekit combined with Shortcuts but was not able to accomplish that. Do you know which of those apps you mentioned will allow me to do this?

[@ShaneCreates]

It's not possible because you cannot trigger a personal shortcut (make a phone call) from a HomeKit accessory.

[@ShaneCreates]

Homekit automations & shortcuts run on your HomeKit hub, so they cannot do things that require a personal device, like make a phone call. Personal shortcuts and automations run on your personal device, so they can.

[@lkkk-r]

The latest homekit app require homepod hubs to use automation. If I use Eve, do you think I can access automation such as switch on lights when Im back home?

[@ShaneCreates]

All homekit automations require a homekit hub (Apple TV or HomePod). The automations are being processed and run on the hub. Regardless of the app you use, you will need a homekit hub for these automations.

[@dreddr6244]

Another great video. Question about multiple tiggers using Eve. I’ve been trying to do the same thing, were two triggers need to be meet before doing an action. But when I add multiple triggers in Eve the action is done when any of the triggers are satisfied, not all. Is there a trick to getting all triggers must be satisfied? Thanks. ex: FP2 presence sensor. Only If both zone 1 & zone 2 are occupied turn on lamp.

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching! I would probably use one of the zones as the initial trigger and use the second zone as the “condition.” This would look something like this: If zone 1 is triggered, only if zone two is also occupied, turn on the lamp.

[@dreddr6244]

@@ShaneCreates thank you very much…..will try it out today.

[@majorgear1021]

If you could only pick one of these apps, which one would you pick for advanced automations?

[@ShaneCreates]

My "go-to" lately for advanced automations has been the Controller for HomeKit app. I think that's also just because it can do so many other things as well.

[@kyrbies]

Home+ and Controller for HomeKit 🚀 HomePass is nice, but 6$...for an entry in apple notes ;)

[@adambaldick8879]

Does anyone know what stand Shane uses for is counter IPAD?

[@brandonfitzpatrick1797]

so one thing i have noticed not sure how to fix it... I have Home Plus widgets the ones all the way to the left on the iphone. When i click on a camera all it does is open the settings instead of showing live feed. I am using scrypted for wyze and also Starling home hub for nest cameras. Is this a apple limitation or do i have a setting messed up somewhere? Thanks again!

[@ShaneCreates]

It should open the camera feed. Maybe it’s a bug in the app?

[@brandonfitzpatrick1797]

@@ShaneCreates of coarse soon as i say that i go to the widget click and it works 😜 thanks anyway enjoy your night!

[@rogeroshea3490]

Great video as always Shane will sample some of these as they look interesting

[@williammartinez8381]

Thanks, for today’s video. Shane enjoy the Super Bowl today. Have a great one..

[@ShaneCreates]

Thanks for watching!

[@Pranilkarki551]

Any app for apple tv?

[@markboling5404]

I love the black flick button

[@anilkumar1971]

Awesome video!!

[@SolarizeYourLife]

Can you, please, show homekit working when your internet is disconnected from the web?!?

[@southwest7977]

How long before apple buys or copies these apps to make their stuff better. I’m in no hurry. I use short cuts or home app. Plus I still have Alexa but she’s been put on notice. I will fire her soon.

[@ShaneCreates]

In some cases that’s always a possibility. But for the most part, I don’t think Apple will. They have intentionally kept the Apple Home app super simple and easy to use. They could have easily implemented some of these features into the Home app a long time ago, but they choose to keep it very basic.

[@seansenneka8280]

Every time I ask for anything "something went wrong, try again in a few seconds "

[@Y0UTUBEADMIN]

just use home assistant and move on with your life

[@majorgear1021]

Hard pass. No thank you.