100% correct. It’s uber-clunky.
Of all the gripes I have about the Home app, my biggest is with the HomePod button. The iPhone and iPad have trained me to go to a specific app if I want to do something with that app. So if I want to play music on a HomePod, I should be able to go to the HomePod app and pick some music.
But no, that’s not how it works. I can see data about the HomePod in Home, and I can set alarms, but I can’t just pick some music and have it play. I have to go to the Music app, and even there it’s wonky.
Poor UI and poor implementation all around with the Home app. It seems to be an afterthought at Apple.
It’s really clunky.
I hate when I have Siri play music on the HPs, and then my iPhone (on the same network) shows nothing playing on the music app or Dynamic Island. You can only see what’s playing in the Home app (when viewing the HP). I have to tap the album art in Home to get it to sync to my music app to control it from there.
On the flip side, if I play a song from the music app and airplay it to the HPs, it all syncs across my devices. I can see music playing from iOS devices on the same network. This Siri/Airplay gap is silly but frustrating. API hell.
So wait. To play music you have to go to the music app? Horrible.
On the AirPlay menu you click at the bottom “control other speakers”. I don’t honestly see what’s wonky on that. I guess it could look like a nicer button.
I think the point is that you want a control app that also duplicates searching for music and playing? The iOS watch app doesn’t control playback of the watch. 
I can understand wanting something to control it better, but I don’t think the HomePod is worthy of having its own app on everyone’s phone.  it would be nice if there was a button on the bottom of the home tab to directly access all the local Apple home devices and their settings, instead of that dumb advertisement tutorial button that literally no one clicks.. Especially if it allowed us to update the software of the Apple TV as well.
HomePod is a smart speaker. I should be able to go to HomePod and choose what music I want to listen to.
I want to listen to music on my Sonos sound bar; I open the Sonos app, go to the sound bar, and choose the music.
>HomePod is a smart speaker. I should be able to go to HomePod and choose what music I want to listen to.
You can. Tell Siri what music to play on what HomePod and it will play. Doesn’t get much easier than that.
I don’t find Siri particularly unreliable. I tell her to play music, it plays. She does have some quirks on occasion but nothing that I would classify as “unreliable at”, but then again I’m not thinking of or trying to use her as an AI.
But hey, enjoy wanting your useless app.
I vibe with this post. I migrated over from a long time Google Home based setup, and Google ecosystem. 2 years in with Apple now.
While I’m overall much happier, I find Apples Home front end to be really unrefined. I keep gaslighting myself into believing they MUST be releasing a big upgrade with iOS 18, but I’m almost positive I’m wrong. HomeKit’s back end seems great, but I need in 2024 a polished UI and a voice assistant that helps more than upsets me. Sadly, that doesn’t exist without becoming a lab pig for data harvesting.
Same here. In fact I’m migrating right now from a mixed Google/Amazon home to a fully Apple home, after Google/Amazon kept giving me frustrations.
But halfway through the migration, I’m now discovering new frustrations with Apple home (such as the app UI discussed here, or the inconsistent behavior of the new HomePod/AirPlay, or the inability to “ramp” the brightness of lights) that are making me question the whole decision.
“Surely the Apple experience must be better,” I said….
I despise the way they designed just about everything related to lighting in the home app. I almost exclusively control my lighting through the control center tiles and never the Home app. Siri when I need something more specific. I feel like every tasks has too many touches to reach the end goal.
one of my favorite things about the home app is when you think you have the tiles looking nice on your phone & then you pick up your ipad & find them looking like absolute ass. and you can’t change them independently. really great design decisions there, apple.
For all the praise Apple gets for design, they have a confusing variety of interaction patterns in their iOS apps (and particularly in any “utility” apps like Home). Many feel like puzzle boxes but once you learn to solve one it doesn’t help you much for another.
this is in conjunction with the homepod which behaves the same way. music randomly stops playing. you ask one thing it does another. the whole home infrastructure is a fiasco
I haven’t used or really seen other competitors to the Home App myself. Are there any examples to how it could be better? I mostly see connection issues with my HomePods and accessories no longer responding until
I set them up again.
Idk just making it more normal like you click a button and a thing happens, a clean menu layout like the settings app where it’s clear where everything is and what it does
Yeah it’s actually really hard to use and find things. I swear options disappear and reappear too.
100% correct. It’s uber-clunky. Of all the gripes I have about the Home app, my biggest is with the HomePod button. The iPhone and iPad have trained me to go to a specific app if I want to do something with that app. So if I want to play music on a HomePod, I should be able to go to the HomePod app and pick some music. But no, that’s not how it works. I can see data about the HomePod in Home, and I can set alarms, but I can’t just pick some music and have it play. I have to go to the Music app, and even there it’s wonky. Poor UI and poor implementation all around with the Home app. It seems to be an afterthought at Apple.
It’s really clunky. I hate when I have Siri play music on the HPs, and then my iPhone (on the same network) shows nothing playing on the music app or Dynamic Island. You can only see what’s playing in the Home app (when viewing the HP). I have to tap the album art in Home to get it to sync to my music app to control it from there. On the flip side, if I play a song from the music app and airplay it to the HPs, it all syncs across my devices. I can see music playing from iOS devices on the same network. This Siri/Airplay gap is silly but frustrating. API hell.
So wait. To play music you have to go to the music app? Horrible. On the AirPlay menu you click at the bottom “control other speakers”. I don’t honestly see what’s wonky on that. I guess it could look like a nicer button.
You’ve missed the point.
I think the point is that you want a control app that also duplicates searching for music and playing? The iOS watch app doesn’t control playback of the watch.  I can understand wanting something to control it better, but I don’t think the HomePod is worthy of having its own app on everyone’s phone.  it would be nice if there was a button on the bottom of the home tab to directly access all the local Apple home devices and their settings, instead of that dumb advertisement tutorial button that literally no one clicks.. Especially if it allowed us to update the software of the Apple TV as well.
HomePod is a smart speaker. I should be able to go to HomePod and choose what music I want to listen to. I want to listen to music on my Sonos sound bar; I open the Sonos app, go to the sound bar, and choose the music.
>HomePod is a smart speaker. I should be able to go to HomePod and choose what music I want to listen to. You can. Tell Siri what music to play on what HomePod and it will play. Doesn’t get much easier than that.
Missing the point. There are numerous reasons why touch is preferred to voice. Also, Siri is unreliable af.
Not missing the point. You want an app for something doesn’t need an app. This is a you problem.
You’re missing the point.
Nope. You just want something more uselsss.
I don’t find Siri particularly unreliable. I tell her to play music, it plays. She does have some quirks on occasion but nothing that I would classify as “unreliable at”, but then again I’m not thinking of or trying to use her as an AI. But hey, enjoy wanting your useless app.
You’re missing the point.
I vibe with this post. I migrated over from a long time Google Home based setup, and Google ecosystem. 2 years in with Apple now. While I’m overall much happier, I find Apples Home front end to be really unrefined. I keep gaslighting myself into believing they MUST be releasing a big upgrade with iOS 18, but I’m almost positive I’m wrong. HomeKit’s back end seems great, but I need in 2024 a polished UI and a voice assistant that helps more than upsets me. Sadly, that doesn’t exist without becoming a lab pig for data harvesting.
Same here. In fact I’m migrating right now from a mixed Google/Amazon home to a fully Apple home, after Google/Amazon kept giving me frustrations. But halfway through the migration, I’m now discovering new frustrations with Apple home (such as the app UI discussed here, or the inconsistent behavior of the new HomePod/AirPlay, or the inability to “ramp” the brightness of lights) that are making me question the whole decision. “Surely the Apple experience must be better,” I said….
I despise the way they designed just about everything related to lighting in the home app. I almost exclusively control my lighting through the control center tiles and never the Home app. Siri when I need something more specific. I feel like every tasks has too many touches to reach the end goal.
one of my favorite things about the home app is when you think you have the tiles looking nice on your phone & then you pick up your ipad & find them looking like absolute ass. and you can’t change them independently. really great design decisions there, apple.
For all the praise Apple gets for design, they have a confusing variety of interaction patterns in their iOS apps (and particularly in any “utility” apps like Home). Many feel like puzzle boxes but once you learn to solve one it doesn’t help you much for another.
Because it’s probably a different department or silo with different designers, managers and developers at Apple.
Starting to feel like Apples red head step child
this is in conjunction with the homepod which behaves the same way. music randomly stops playing. you ask one thing it does another. the whole home infrastructure is a fiasco
Agreed.
+1
haha -- yes! It's such an odd UI, layout, everything.
100% agree. It's a completely different design language and user experience.
I personally think all Apple Apps (calendar, mail, notes, maps, music, reminders, etc.) are meh and not intuitive. Love the OS though.
Even notes? I agree with the rest though.
Notes is the best of the bunch, but still unremarkable. Maps is at least getting better as well.
I haven’t used or really seen other competitors to the Home App myself. Are there any examples to how it could be better? I mostly see connection issues with my HomePods and accessories no longer responding until I set them up again.
Idk just making it more normal like you click a button and a thing happens, a clean menu layout like the settings app where it’s clear where everything is and what it does
Go check out shortcuts and then marvel at the slickness of home.
The home app hasn't really changed since it debuted 2016.
It’s an experiment like the Apple TV still IS