Get Quick One-Tap Access to Home Kit Compatible Smart Home Devices
Each year, Apple announces many new features on the device during the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June, followed by the final release of each of the software builds in September or October.
For home and audio at the 2024 event, there have been many announcements, from Snoopy coming to Apple TV to Siri being able to control the vacuum cleaner for HomeKit compatible robots.
These features arrived at the start of September with the release of iOS 18 and iPad OS 18, but the software had something that made it simpler to control your smart home from your iPhone or iPad. Control Center customization options have been increased.
Below we’ll explain how to edit your iPhone or iPad Control Center to add quick one-tap access to your favorite Apple Home controls, and how to change the lock screen control icon to the Home app if necessary.
Getting the basics done: How to Set Up Apple Home Hub
What you need
- Your iPhone or iPad
- Apple Home App
- iOS 18 or iPads 18 software
Short version
- launch Control Center On your iPhone or iPad.
- Press and hold Edit the Control Center.
- Tap “Add control”.
- type ‘house’ In Search Control Bar On the top.
- Please select the home widget It’s perfect for you.
How to add home controls to the Control Center on your iPhone or iPad
The control centers on iOS 18 and iPads 18 have far more freedom than before. The latest software not only allows you to add a variety of controls, like the home controls we’re talking about here, but you can also adjust the size and flick between different screens.
Music Controls gets its own page completely when swiped up by default, but you can also provide your own page to your home control.
If you’re someone who has a range of Apple HomeKit compatible devices and want to quickly and easily access a particular scene or device, or multiple, adding Home Widget Controls or Multiple Home Widget Controls to Control Center is an easy and easy way to access those devices if you don’t want to use SIRI or the main Apple Home app.
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Step 1.
Start the Control Center
The first thing you need to do is launch the Control Center on your iPhone or iPad. On most devices, this is done by swiping from the top right. You will then want to press and hold the button when it appears on the Control Center screen to begin the editing process.
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Step 2.
Tap (Add control)
When it appears on the Edit Control Center screen, the “Add Control” button will appear at the bottom. Tap it to go to a new range of controls that you can add to the Control Center for easier access.
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Step 3.
Select the required home widget
The easiest way to find a home widget or control that you can add to the Control Center is to type “Home” in the search control bar at the top of the screen. There are three options, the largest of which allows you to add four different devices. The medium option allows you to select a scene or accessory. For the minimum, you can simply open the Home app and select it.
It is worth noting that you can add one of them multiple times if you wish. So, if necessary, you can have an entire page dedicated to controlling your Apple Home device. When you add a large widget, the home icon appears in the bar on the right, indicating that you have a home page, with music pages and connection pages.
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Step 4.
Choose what you want
Once you have selected the Home Control widgets, you can tap on them to select what you want to control. You can select a scene you have already created, select Recommended Use in the controls, then automatically pull in the most used devices, or add a new item to select from the list of devices.
Once you add the required home controls, you will see it by quick wipe down to the Control Center for one-tap access.
How to add home controls to your iPhone lock screen
Adding the Home app as a control on your iPhone or iPad lock screen is a slightly different process than editing the Control Center, but it’s still worth knowing as it’s convenient. I was unable to change the lock screen controls until iOS 18 and iPads 18. It was previously reserved for the camera app on the right and the torch on the left. That’s not the case anymore, but these two buttons, including the Apple Home app, have many options available, allowing for one-tap access.
To add the Apple Home app to the lock screen, press and hold the lock screen and tap Customize. Then tap on the lock screen on the left to remove the camera or torch and create space for the Apple Home app. Tap the “+” icon to select a house.
Note: If that button performs a specific scene or automation, you can also use a shortcut to add the scene or automation to the shortcut, then select it once you have selected the shortcut as the control to add to the lock screen.
It’s for another day. Because I’m a little more involved.
FAQ
You need an iPhone XR or later to run iOS 18. The complete list includes the following iPhone models:
iPhoneSE (2nd generation)
iPhoneSE (3rd generation)
iPhone XR
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone 11 Series
iPhone 12 Series
iPhone 13 Series
iPhone 14 Series
iPhone 15 Series
iPhone 16 Series
The following iPad models are compatible with the iPad 18:
iPad Pro (M4)
iPad Pro 12.9 inch (3rd generation and later)
iPad Pro 11 inch (1st generation or later)
iPad Air (M2)
iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
iPad (7th generation and later)
iPad Mini (5th generation and later)
