iOS and iPadOS 16.2 Betas Overhaul Home App Architecture With Improved Performance

The iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, and macOS Ventura 13.1 betas introduce a new Home app architecture upgrade, which can be installed to upgrade performance. The architecture overhaul follows the addition of the Matter smart home standard in iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1.

home app architecture update
Apple ahead of the launch of iOS 16 promised a new architecture for the Home app, and said that it would be a separate update. Apple says that it brings faster, more reliable performance, especially for smart homes with a lot of smart accessories installed. Users will be able to communicate with and control connected accessories more efficiently from multiple devices at the same time with the Home app.

Updating the Home app architecture will require all Apple devices that access the home to be using the latest software, and those that aren't updated will not be able to access the HomeKit setup through the Home app. To install the architecture update, users will need to have a device running iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, or macOS Ventura 13.1, as well as the HomePod 16.2 software, which is available in a beta capacity to a limited number of testers.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New MacBook Pros Could Now Arrive in March

Sunday February 8, 2026 6:02 am PST by
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...

Top Rated Comments

WiiDSmoker Avatar
43 months ago
The best upgrade would be fixing Siri
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xpxp2002 Avatar
43 months ago

Hope this fixes the HomePods and hue being so bad
I just hope/wish this would allow you to exclude individual HomePods from being home hubs. Or at least set priorities. All of my Apple TVs have wired connections, but half the time the HomePods become the connected hub.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jason_G Avatar
43 months ago
Hi does anyone know if this will impact Homebridge?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KENESS Avatar
43 months ago

They're repeaters, not hubs. You can pick which is the main one.
You've never been able to select which hub is your main hub. If you're saying it IS possible, which goes against the many thousands of comments and threads devoted specifically to wishing to be able to do exactly this, please detail the process.

Because even if you trick it into using one certain hub as main by powering them on in a certain sequence, or some other some such trick, it changes from one to another at its own (often illogical) discretion eventually anyway.

This has been a point of pain for many many users for years, myself included.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
43 months ago
Hope this fixes the HomePods and hue being so bad
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PJWilkin Avatar
43 months ago
And I now come off the Beta train
i can’t afford to muck with the home setup, as the wife uses it, and has the normal release
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)