Five new features coming to Apple HomeKit this fall

Key Takeaways

iOS 18 is coming this fall with improvements to Apple Home.
This is a minor update with some welcome changes, like robot vacuums and improved guest access.
Home Electricity will be US-only at launch but is an important feature for the future of the smart home.

I’m a big Apple Home fan. My house has over 100 HomeKit accessories controlling the lights, blinds, locks, thermostats, and so much more. Of all the annoucenments Apple made at WWDC 2024, the changes the company has planned for HomeKit have me the most excited. Not every year is an extravaganza with updates. Still, this year will bring notable improvements to the platform, including one I’ve been waiting for a while.

Here’s everything coming to HomeKit this fall with iOS and iPadOS 18.

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5 UWB Locks

Unlock your door while walking up to it

Hands-free unlock tile from Apple's iOS 18 preview webpage.

Apple / Pocket-lint

Home Key has been a feature within Apple Home for a while now. Home Key-enabled locks allow iPhone and Apple Watch users to enter their homes with a wave of their device. Home Key works similarly to Apple Pay but changes the status of your door lock. I’m a huge fan of Home Key. So much so that I have a compatible lock on every exterior door of my house.

New to iOS 18 is ‘Express Mode.’ Don’t let the name fool you: This isn’t the same feature that speeds people through public transit. No, Express Mode in HomeKit allows compatible Ultra Wideband (UWB) door locks to unlock as soon as you approach your door rather than needing to waive your iPhone or Apple Watch. As far as we know, no locks currently sold support UWB. But be sure, I’ll buy one or two as soon as they’re available.

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4 Improved Guest Access

A much-needed upgrade

Customizable guest access in Apple Home.

Apple / Pocket-lint

Apple Home already includes Guest Access for door locks with a keypad. If you’re hosting a guest, you can create a user, assign an access code, and toggle which doors they can unlock using their code. However, many other smart lock apps include guest modes with scheduled or temporary access. Finally, Apple is bringing a similar feature to HomeKit. In iOS 18, when adding a guest, you can set a schedule for when they can access your home and select which accessories they can and can’t access. Customizable guest access means you’ll have tremendous granularity for setting specific access times for a dog walker or housekeeper and limited accessory access for visiting house guests.

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3 Home Electricity

An important piece for the future of home automation

Apple / Pocket-lint

Initially only available to Pacific Gas and Electricity users in the US, home electricity allows users to monitor their home’s electrical usage within the Home app. Users will see breakdowns by day, week, month, six-month, and yearly periods, along with a percentage change metric. You’ll also see the percentage of electricity used during peak and off-peak hours.

Electricity usage savings can be a significant benefit of a smart home, so Apple bundling this into its popular home automation ecosystem is a welcome addition. While home electricity won’t be available to me at launch, I’ll be thrilled to start using it when it does by crafting new automations. Now, here’s wishing Apple and Tesla would let me add my Power Walls into HomeKit.

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2 Set your Home Hub

Troubleshooting will be much easier now

Braden Newell / Pocket-lint

The ability to set your desired Home Hub is finally coming in iOS 18. In classic Apple fashion, the company has never allowed users to set whether their home hub should be a HomePod, HomePod mini, or Apple TV. Instead, preferring the auto-magic approach. The challenge some users found themselves in was trying to troubleshoot connectivity and reliability issues by unplugging hubs and using workarounds. Fortunately, those pains will be behind us soon, allowing us to select our desired home hub based on our knowledge of our home and network.

1 Robot Vacuums

I can’t wait for this one

The tile of robot vacuums from Apple's iOS 18 preview page.

Apple / Pocket-lint

While selecting my preferred home hub is cool, it’s the second fiddle to my favorite addition to Apple Home this fall, Robot vacuums! For a long time, I had never owned a robot vacuum because of HomeKit’s lack of support for them. That was until my girlfriend moved in, bringing hers along. Little did I realize how awesome robot vacuums are. The moment a HomeKit-compatible robot is available either specifically for HomeKit or via the Matter smart home standard, I’ll be grabbing one, damned of the price, and automating it with my other HomeKit accessories. Maybe I just like new accessory categories because they give me an excuse to buy new things? Who knows.