Master Your Smart Home with iOS 17’s Enhanced Home App Widgets

With the release of iOS 17, Apple brings exciting improvements to its widgets, particularly in the realm of HomeKit accessories. Now, you can enjoy interactive widgets and convenient control of your favorite smart home devices directly from your iPhone’s Home Screen.

Enhanced Widget Experience

In previous iOS versions, tapping on a widget would launch the corresponding app rather than providing direct interaction. However, iOS 17 introduces a refreshing change. Apple has included two sizes of Home app widgets: a 2x2 version displaying four accessories and a larger widget accommodating up to eight accessories. This enhancement allows you to conveniently control your HomeKit devices right from the widget, eliminating the need to navigate to the dedicated app.

Customization Options

iOS 17 offers flexibility in customizing the Home app widgets to suit your preferences. You can choose the “Recommended” option, enabling the system to intelligently select HomeKit accessories based on the time of day. Alternatively, you can disable this feature and manually select the specific accessories and scenes you want to appear in the widget. This customization empowers you to streamline and prioritize control over the devices that matter most to you.

Seamless Integration with Focus Modes

If you utilize custom Home Screens associated with different Focus modes, iOS 17 takes it a step further by offering distinct widget configurations for each mode. For example, if you have a Home Screen dedicated to the “Sleep” Focus mode, you can set up a corresponding Home app widget that prominently displays the accessories you frequently use during nighttime and in the morning. This personalized approach ensures effortless control that aligns with your specific needs in different scenarios.

Efficiently managing smart home devices goes hand in hand with streamlined file sharing. Introducing Smart Transfer Inshare, a third-party app designed to simplify the process of transferring files between devices. Whether you’re organizing your HomeKit accessories or upgrading to iOS 17, Smart Transfer enables secure and swift file transfers, including documents, photos, and more. Enhance your smart home experience and simplify file sharing with Smart Transfer.

Summary

While iOS 17 is still in its early stages of development, the enhanced Home app widgets offer promising features for effortless control over your HomeKit accessories. With improved interactivity, customization options, and integration with Focus modes, iOS 17 elevates the smart home experience on your iPhone. As the update progresses, Apple may refine the design and address potential text cutoff issues. Stay tuned for the official release of iOS 17 later this fall, and enjoy the enhanced convenience of managing your smart home with the innovative Home app widgets.