After saying in recent days that the iPad can no longer function as a home hub, Apple has now announced that the iPad will continue to function as a home hub under iPadOS 16 – but there are limitations.
In June, Apple announced that it would redesign the architecture for HomeKit in iPadOS 16. The goal is to make the Home app faster and more reliable. While the promise of a better Home app excited many users, Apple's documentation first hinted and then stated quite openly that the iPad will not function as a home hub in iPadOS 16. Now Apple gave The Verge a Explanation to allay users' concerns.
iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 will continue to support the iPad as a home hub without any loss of functionality.
But that was not all.
Along with these releases, the Home app will introduce a new architecture for an even more efficient and reliable experience. Since the new architecture no longer supports iPad as a home hub, users who use iPad for this purpose will not need to update the Home architecture and will continue to use all existing features.
Based on Apple's current statement, iPad users will not lose the Home Hub functionality for existing features. But it also looks like they will not be able to use many of the new features that the architecture update will introduce. This probably involves the new smart home standard Matter.
HomePod & Apple TV are required for Matter
While it's unclear exactly why, it appears that Apple won't make the iPad compatible with Matter. Formerly known as "Project Connected Home over IP," Matter is a standard designed to improve the integration of internet-connected devices rather than replace technologies and platforms like Apple's HomeKit. By ensuring that Matter-compliant devices work together, consumers will have fewer problems connecting the hardware to other devices in their existing smart home setup. Of Apple's current product lineup, only the HomePod mini and Apple TV support Matter. To take full advantage of upcoming HomeKit updates, users will need to purchase one of these devices. (Photo by DenPhoto / Bigstockphoto)
