13 SHARES Share Tweet

Controller for HomeKit, one of the more popular, and incredibly customisable app for HomeKit will be updated to V4 on April 18th. Jan André, the developer of the app, gave us an overview of the updates to the current iteration;

Backup and restore – Save your setup

Overview – Create own control views

Workflows – Program procedures and start them with Siri

Automations – Intelligent grouping, Support of entire HomeKit API

Vendor characteristics – Use them with scenes and automations

References – Scenes, automations of a device at a glance

Search – If you know what you are looking for

Calendar – Synchronization of time-based automations

Logs – Observe changes of your devices

BACKUP / RESTORE:

Controller is the only app that can create a backup of your setup and restore it afterwards.

Did you invest hours to create a smart home with a bunch of devices?

Secure the work done and be prepared if HomeKit reports synchronization errors or your kid likes swipe to delete.

A backup saves the logical structure of your HomeKit setup.

The following parts can be restored:

Rooms

Zones

Device and service names

Room a device is located

Service groups

Scenes

Automations

Control views

It’s worth it to always have an actual backup!

OVERVIEW:

This new customizable area is shown after app start and allows you to easily create an individual HomeKit control centre.

The data shown in control views can be selected explicitly or is provided by powerful smart filters.

In just a few clicks you can create one that shows all power states from light services in the kitchen and living room, grouped by their value.

A great control view to check and control your lights quickly.

A basic set of control views to start with is being created for you.

WORKFLOWS:

A new unique feature to accomplish actions not possible before with HomeKit!

● “Hey Siri, unlock the door for 30 seconds.”

● “Hey Siri, status of my windows and doors.”

● “Hey Siri, turn on the lights at 7 am.”

A workflow is defined by a series of steps and can be executed manually, with a Siri phrase or a Siri Shortcut.

You can execute scenes, read or write device values, pause execution, create time-based automations and define an output in the order you need it.

The output is displayed or read out by Siri.

By using the clipboard action in a Siri Shortcut you can retrieve the output and use it.

AUTOMATIONS:

An important part of a smart home is automations.

Controller supports the entire HomeKit API and can interpret all common automations, even if they are created by other apps.

Automations are grouped by their name, very helpful to keep track of them.

Experts value the possibility to clone automations and scenes.

E.g. Clone time-based weekly automations for the whole week and fine tune the time setting afterwards.

VENDOR CHARACTERISTICS:

Your devices have more capabilities than most HomeKit apps show.

Controller shows vendor-specific characteristics and let you use them in scenes and automations.

REFERENCES:

In which scenes have you used your thermostat?

Controller shows you that in the device detail views.

LOGS:

Reports current value changes of your home.

Expert functionality to check and understand automations better.

More info can be found at controller-for-homekit.com