Apple will no longer allow you to use the iPad as a home hub to manage HomeKit accessories, starting with iOS 16, MacRumors reports. The text, which was apparently found in the second beta for iOS 16 developers by MacRumors author Steve Moser, describes the change.
“You need a home hub to take advantage of features such as receiving notifications for accessories and allowing other people to control your home,” reads the text in the Home app. “You won’t be able to browse shared homes until those homes are upgraded to the latest HomeKit. The iPad will no longer be supported as a home hub. ”
“Only Apple TV and HomePod are supported as home centers.”
If the change takes effect, as suggested by the found text, it means that you will have to use HomePod, HomePod mini or Apple TV as a home hub when you upgrade to iOS 16. Apple did not respond immediately to a request for comment. But as MacRumors points out, the company’s iOS 16 preview website says that “only Apple TVs and HomePods are supported as home centers,” which shows me that Apple is really planning to remove support for the iPad.
While the change may be disappointing, there is some good news for Smart Home for iOS 16. The update will include an entirely new home app with features like a new category section and a redesigned startup section. And a later update to iOS 16 will add support for Matter, the new standard for connecting a smart home with extensive industrial support, which will arrive sometime this fall. This upcoming Matter support may give an idea of why Apple is abandoning support for home iPad hubs: while no iPad supports Thread, the smart home network protocol used by Matter, Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini does.
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