How to upgrade to the new Apple Home architecture (and why you might not want to, yet)

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Apple’s redesigned Home app makes it easier to control all your smart home accessories — on all your Apple devices. It’s secure and protects your personal data. And with HomePod mini or Apple TV set up as the ultimate home hub, the new Home app unlocks the full potential of your smart home.

This new foundation for Apple’s smart home is part of the company’s preparation for Matter, the new smart home interoperability standard, but some users will want to wait to upgrade to the new underlying architecture, for now.

This all sounds exciting, especially to anyone plagued by “Accessory not responding” notifications in the Home app and / or slow response times from Siri on HomePods when controlling smart home devices. But there are some caveats.

First, if you use an iPad as your main Apple Home hub, you will not want to upgrade (it’s optional right now). iPads are no longer supported as Home hubs in the new architecture — but they can continue to work as one if you don’t upgrade.

Second, if family members have older iPhones and iPads that can’t upgrade to 16.2 or Apple Watches that can’t do watch OS 9.2, they will lose access to controlling the home if you update to the new architecture.

These are the main reasons why Apple is making this upgrade optional. You can upgrade to 16.2 and not upgrade to the new Home architecture. If you’re ready to go for it, though, and want to try out Apple’s promised faster, more stable HomeKit setup, then read on.

Via: The Verge