HOME APP ALTERNATIVES

Add more complex intra-device automations and take finer control of your home

Can you replace Apple’s Home app with something better?

Eve for HomeKit

free VerSIon 3.8 requIreS iOS 11, iPhone/iPad

Eve’s app doesn’t just deal with interaction with Eve hardware, though if you’re using kit like the Eve Room (£89.99) it’s good at logging stats. In fact, it isn’t a million miles away from Apple’s own Home app in terms of its functionality. So don’t look at this as a way to make your smart home do more, but instead consider it more as the ultimate smart home remote, with a direct interface that makes controlling devices, groups and scenes simple. Even with the improvements Apple has made to Home in iOS 13, we’d argue that this remains a quicker and simpler way to control HomeKit devices, and it’s neatly presented with clever automation options included.

Home 3

£14.99 VerSIon 3.4.1 requIreS iOS 11, iPhone/iPad/Apple Watch

Which came first, the Home app or the Home app? In this case it was this app by Matthias Hochgatterer, which preceded the release of Apple’s own Home app by a significant margin. The price might be a little off-putting in these days of predominantly free apps (particularly given that it’s surrounded here by excellent cost-free alternatives) but consider the outlay for this app – which allows you to generate complex, multi-stage and conditional HomeKit automations, once you’ve fought through its slightly esoteric interface – next to the price of any of the hardware elements it bosses around. If you’re dedicated to making automation smart, it’s basically like investing in a new piece of kit.

devices

free with in-app purchases VerSIon 3.4.1 requIreS iOS 11, iPhone/iPad

Immense credit to LinkDesk for doing something out of the ordinary here – this isn’t just a well laid out front end for Home devices, but one which can cleverly employ ARKit too. Point the camera at one of your devices and you will (in theory) be able to toggle it on screen. This is frivolous and sometimes doesn’t work incredibly well, but it’s a neat feature. There are also extra automation options available, though many triggers are locked behind in-app purchases. LinkDesk’s own Room Locator hardware (£21.95) adds its own functionality, automatically narrowing down the controls based on where you are in your home.