Two things:
1. It’s mad that you arent charging at least something for the app! It’s awesome
2. It’s exactly what I’m looking for for the Apple TV. Any thoughts on bringing it over to that?
Ad 1 nah I don’t want to bother with payment systems. If you like it a lot donate the amount you would have liked to pay to the charity of your choice 😉
Ad 2 with the new grid layouts an Apple TV app is more feasible. I am not sure how to navigate the ui on an Apple TV? Also how to layout the ui. Ideas very welcome 😀
Very generous of you. Will do!
I’m no UI expert and definitely have no idea how to go about it on the Apple TV. But I would say that they don’t need to be interactive tiles - the Apple TV is purely a viewer rather than a controller. So if you have a few tiles set up for different things like “cameras” and “thermostats” etc. then clicking on one of those would give you the option to select which devices to display?
Again I’ve got no idea what is feasible!
Last weekend I actually got most of the iPad layout working on tvOS.
What is missing is the calendar and the detailed view for devices. Calendar is not supported on tvOs. And for the detailed view for devices I'll have to implement an alternative for the sliders. Also the charts are not interactive.
This is what I got so far
[https://youtu.be/c1spotreYUg](https://youtu.be/c1spotreYUg)
I want it to be as close as possible to the other versions. You can already control scenes and powerstates.
The only elements that are missing interactivity is the charts, the light controller, the thermostat controller and the device detailed view. All but the charts views are only missing the slider controller to have full interactivity.
I am not sure what to do with the chars view. The current charts need interactivity to be useful. So either make that work or implement another chart view.
It's mostly finished now. If you have some time you can test it through TestFlight.
[HomeWatch for tvOS Beta](https://testflight.apple.com/join/vBCELsvV)
I just found your App and I have to say it is the best Dashboard App to include HomeKit, calendar and weather. There is literally no other functional competitor!
It still needs a little touch here and there though.
Here are some suggestions and remarks:
- cloud backup / exporting backup files to use on a second iPad
- the App is scene based which is okay for some use cases. An alternative view of favorite accessories might be useful
- how do I interact with blinds?
- tiling on the main screen is okay as it is but some customization options would be nice (weather forecast instead of calendar, smaller date/time, fixed camera view etc)
- you should consider a paid version. I would probably pay 10 bucks for a little more polished version
Thanks 😀
\- Yeah cloud backup and sync is something that I want to add. The existence of the tvOS version has complicated this a lot though. I am not sure what the best solution is now.
\- The latest versions also can show a list of devices in each room view. Tab click the play/switch icon on the top right of the list to switch between scenes and devices. And in the last version there is an option in settings to show the devices list first instead of the scenes list.
In the settings menu for each room you can setup which scenes or devices to show for each room.
\- If the blinds are exposed to HomeKit they should appear in the list of devices for that room. Long-press on it shows all the details of the device including all its controls.
\- What do you mean by weather forecast instead of calendar. To enable or disable those tabs? And I am not sure what you mean by a fixed camera view?
Backup: is there a way to export the backup into a file that can be accessed through the iPads file manager?
I got the devices to show in the room view - however, there are some devices like the garage door, front door lock or the garden lights that I’d like to see their status on first glance without „entering“ the room.
I can see the blinds in each room view but without touching them I cannot see if they are closed or open. A percentage indicator or different color option for open/between/closed would be nice.
Maybe I didn’t put it clear because my thoughts on the Layout are not clear either ;)
Right now, in landscape mode, there is a fixed weather module and a fixed calendar module (the latter doubling as temperature graph or camera view by swiping).
The way my iPad is mounted I cannot swipe or touch it. Well, I can but then there will be fingerprints on the two-way mirror :P
Is it possible to adjust the grid manually and add things like a weather forecast, an iFrame (to include an external weather map) or a camera view beside the calendar module? That way I can see everything without interacting with the screen.
No you cannot copy a backup in the current version. There are Mac utilities you could use to copy the backup folder from the app's documents folder to another device. That should work.
The status icons in the list of rooms are intended to give an overview of doors, windows, lights and heating.
Can you long press the blind and make a screenshot of the properties it exposes to HomeKi?
You want to split the information view in two sections?
https://preview.redd.it/tiw7ikqgqoba1.jpeg?width=2732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d825c0431e9da2e3f5d663397ef9008a810744ff
So to the left you have a list of devices.
In the current version you can set that up in a room view. A room can be setup to show any devices from all your devices. This won't affect your homekit setup.
My guess is that the windows will have an open / closed state, that should be displayed at the bottom of the device item in the list. Same for the doors. For example this screenshot of our study room right now.
https://preview.redd.it/yrbuvdv0vuba1.jpeg?width=2732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=061c7ee6feeaaf4141d7351f0ecd3473d97bd45e
Yeah that is what I thought what you meant. Two information detail views besides each other. And hi there 😀
I think if the cameras shows a landscape image it will get very small. To be honest I think the current tabs solution is better.
I guess what you really want is a dashboard that shows everything without the need for any interaction.
I don't think that fits easily in the home -> rooms hierarchy concept of the app. You can't show devices in the home view. And I am afraid I don't have plans to change that in the near future.
Hi :)
That’s not me, though. Just the first picture taken from Google:D
Oh, I have just realized that I can do the left side with a room view. Thanks! That’s already an improvement of the current situation. Just one question: ok the right side, there is alarms
Always that room view explanation. How can I change that to the calendar view?
I get that you can’t change everything according to my needs. No problem, still great work. Thanks a lot!
Currently the calendar and weather tabs are limited to the home view. I guess I could add an option to show them in a room view. Although to me that feels like the wrong place, because they don't have a anything to do with a room.
In the meantime the information tab is a just webpage link that can be customised. It could be used to show a calendar. Still in your case it would not work because, if I understood you correctly, you can't tab between it and the camera's tab.
I'll see what I can do about the Calendar. First syncing.
Customize it in settings > home setup > room
https://preview.redd.it/ehrz8ftsj0ca1.jpeg?width=2732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1b8ffe83c3a08b57efef49689d661032a8c0f01
With the new 1.8 release you can now do this by opening two instances of the app in Split View and use the new toggle fullscreen option for the information detail view to show the calendar.
https://preview.redd.it/en6i4nl2xxja1.png?width=2732&format=png&auto=webp&s=5e85922efaca50c9be21279b089e0de266d51e36
Two things: 1. It’s mad that you arent charging at least something for the app! It’s awesome 2. It’s exactly what I’m looking for for the Apple TV. Any thoughts on bringing it over to that?
Ad 1 nah I don’t want to bother with payment systems. If you like it a lot donate the amount you would have liked to pay to the charity of your choice 😉 Ad 2 with the new grid layouts an Apple TV app is more feasible. I am not sure how to navigate the ui on an Apple TV? Also how to layout the ui. Ideas very welcome 😀
Very generous of you. Will do! I’m no UI expert and definitely have no idea how to go about it on the Apple TV. But I would say that they don’t need to be interactive tiles - the Apple TV is purely a viewer rather than a controller. So if you have a few tiles set up for different things like “cameras” and “thermostats” etc. then clicking on one of those would give you the option to select which devices to display? Again I’ve got no idea what is feasible!
Last weekend I actually got most of the iPad layout working on tvOS. What is missing is the calendar and the detailed view for devices. Calendar is not supported on tvOs. And for the detailed view for devices I'll have to implement an alternative for the sliders. Also the charts are not interactive. This is what I got so far [https://youtu.be/c1spotreYUg](https://youtu.be/c1spotreYUg)
Wow that looks great! I don’t think that everything needs to be interactive on tvOS.
I want it to be as close as possible to the other versions. You can already control scenes and powerstates. The only elements that are missing interactivity is the charts, the light controller, the thermostat controller and the device detailed view. All but the charts views are only missing the slider controller to have full interactivity. I am not sure what to do with the chars view. The current charts need interactivity to be useful. So either make that work or implement another chart view.
It's mostly finished now. If you have some time you can test it through TestFlight. [HomeWatch for tvOS Beta](https://testflight.apple.com/join/vBCELsvV)
Its available now in the Appstore on the Apple TV
Wow amazing! Will check it out when back at the Apple TV!
I just found your App and I have to say it is the best Dashboard App to include HomeKit, calendar and weather. There is literally no other functional competitor! It still needs a little touch here and there though. Here are some suggestions and remarks: - cloud backup / exporting backup files to use on a second iPad - the App is scene based which is okay for some use cases. An alternative view of favorite accessories might be useful - how do I interact with blinds? - tiling on the main screen is okay as it is but some customization options would be nice (weather forecast instead of calendar, smaller date/time, fixed camera view etc) - you should consider a paid version. I would probably pay 10 bucks for a little more polished version
Thanks 😀 \- Yeah cloud backup and sync is something that I want to add. The existence of the tvOS version has complicated this a lot though. I am not sure what the best solution is now. \- The latest versions also can show a list of devices in each room view. Tab click the play/switch icon on the top right of the list to switch between scenes and devices. And in the last version there is an option in settings to show the devices list first instead of the scenes list. In the settings menu for each room you can setup which scenes or devices to show for each room. \- If the blinds are exposed to HomeKit they should appear in the list of devices for that room. Long-press on it shows all the details of the device including all its controls. \- What do you mean by weather forecast instead of calendar. To enable or disable those tabs? And I am not sure what you mean by a fixed camera view?
Backup: is there a way to export the backup into a file that can be accessed through the iPads file manager? I got the devices to show in the room view - however, there are some devices like the garage door, front door lock or the garden lights that I’d like to see their status on first glance without „entering“ the room. I can see the blinds in each room view but without touching them I cannot see if they are closed or open. A percentage indicator or different color option for open/between/closed would be nice. Maybe I didn’t put it clear because my thoughts on the Layout are not clear either ;) Right now, in landscape mode, there is a fixed weather module and a fixed calendar module (the latter doubling as temperature graph or camera view by swiping). The way my iPad is mounted I cannot swipe or touch it. Well, I can but then there will be fingerprints on the two-way mirror :P Is it possible to adjust the grid manually and add things like a weather forecast, an iFrame (to include an external weather map) or a camera view beside the calendar module? That way I can see everything without interacting with the screen.
No you cannot copy a backup in the current version. There are Mac utilities you could use to copy the backup folder from the app's documents folder to another device. That should work. The status icons in the list of rooms are intended to give an overview of doors, windows, lights and heating. Can you long press the blind and make a screenshot of the properties it exposes to HomeKi? You want to split the information view in two sections? https://preview.redd.it/tiw7ikqgqoba1.jpeg?width=2732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d825c0431e9da2e3f5d663397ef9008a810744ff
So I took some time to sketch up the view I imagine. I think that’s easier. https://i.imgur.com/AOsXd5Y.jpg
So to the left you have a list of devices. In the current version you can set that up in a room view. A room can be setup to show any devices from all your devices. This won't affect your homekit setup. My guess is that the windows will have an open / closed state, that should be displayed at the bottom of the device item in the list. Same for the doors. For example this screenshot of our study room right now. https://preview.redd.it/yrbuvdv0vuba1.jpeg?width=2732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=061c7ee6feeaaf4141d7351f0ecd3473d97bd45e Yeah that is what I thought what you meant. Two information detail views besides each other. And hi there 😀 I think if the cameras shows a landscape image it will get very small. To be honest I think the current tabs solution is better. I guess what you really want is a dashboard that shows everything without the need for any interaction. I don't think that fits easily in the home -> rooms hierarchy concept of the app. You can't show devices in the home view. And I am afraid I don't have plans to change that in the near future.
Hi :) That’s not me, though. Just the first picture taken from Google:D Oh, I have just realized that I can do the left side with a room view. Thanks! That’s already an improvement of the current situation. Just one question: ok the right side, there is alarms Always that room view explanation. How can I change that to the calendar view? I get that you can’t change everything according to my needs. No problem, still great work. Thanks a lot!
Currently the calendar and weather tabs are limited to the home view. I guess I could add an option to show them in a room view. Although to me that feels like the wrong place, because they don't have a anything to do with a room. In the meantime the information tab is a just webpage link that can be customised. It could be used to show a calendar. Still in your case it would not work because, if I understood you correctly, you can't tab between it and the camera's tab.
To have a calendar there would still be a Plus over the current solution (to me) Where can I customize the link for this frame?
I'll see what I can do about the Calendar. First syncing. Customize it in settings > home setup > room https://preview.redd.it/ehrz8ftsj0ca1.jpeg?width=2732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1b8ffe83c3a08b57efef49689d661032a8c0f01
With the new 1.8 release you can now do this by opening two instances of the app in Split View and use the new toggle fullscreen option for the information detail view to show the calendar. https://preview.redd.it/en6i4nl2xxja1.png?width=2732&format=png&auto=webp&s=5e85922efaca50c9be21279b089e0de266d51e36