A few Stealth Upgrades to Apple home
In more news this week from 9to5 Mac’s Ryan Christoffel, he wrote a piece about a few under-the-radar enhancements Apple has made to the Home app during the iOS 26 cycle. The reason I’m covering his story is because there are a couple which have strong pertinence to accessibility. (If ever you wonder how I get my story ideas…)
“Apple is expected to launch a wave of new Home products later this year, after iOS 27 brings Siri’s long-awaited overhaul,” Christoffel wrote. “But there are three ways Apple Home has recently gotten better during the iOS 26 cycle too. Here’s what’s new.”
The first feature was new in iOS 26.2, released back in December: one-time setup for multipack accessories. Christoffel describes this as “convenient,” and he’s not wrong, but the accessibility angle is arguably more important. For its part, Apple says the feature “lets you use the same setup code to easily enroll multiple accessories when sold together.” It’s not a Home product, but I immediately think of AirTags here. You can buy a 4-pack of them, but you must set up each one individually. How cool would it be to have a QR code or something on the back of the box that, when scanned with your iPhone, adds all four to your Apple Account and asks how you’d like to divvy them up? To Christoffel’s point, it is convenient and certainly expedient—but it’s also more accessible! To wit, it’s much better to set up the AirTags all at once than deal with them piecemeal; the reason for this is because it reduces some amalgamation of cognitive/motor/visual friction, depending on one’s needs and tolerances. Put another way, this multipack accessory setup functionality makes for a nicer, smoother first-run experience which ultimately portends positivity. As Christoffel notes, the feature applies to Home goods like smart plugs, lightbulbs, motion sensors, and more.
“I’m always a fan of changes that make setups easier,” he said.
The second feature involves Apple Home Key. Christoffel writes about the first product to support Home Key and Ultra Wideband (UWB): the $270 Aqara U400. The great thing about having UWB is, as Christoffel notes, one’s door can lock and unlock “based on your presence alone.” I’ve been lax in writing about it, but regarding Home Key broadly, it’s been a revelation for me. I’ve been using the $349 Level Lock Pro for a few months, and it’s terrific. I still use physical keys, and the Level Lock even includes an optional key fob, but locking and unlocking my front door is eminently more accessible using my iPhone or Apple Watch. Like with the accessory setup, no longer do I have to battle my lackluster hand-eye coordination in order to get into my house, in this case. All I need to do is place my phone or watch near the deadbolt and it just works. I love it.
As a category writ large, the smart home exemplifies the notion that technology indeed can transcend sheer novelty or coolness or convenience. Apple is not, and has not, explicitly marketing, say, Home Key as a de-facto accessibility feature—but it really and truly is. Especially if you get something like the aforementioned U400 with UWB, all a person has to do is get near their front door and it’ll be unlocked for them. Again, Home Key removes literal barriers to entry and empowers people to control their home in an autonomous, dignified manner. That’s not at all trivial for people with disabilities.
