What I’m working on
instnt hub started as a screen for the iPad on your table: faces you swipe through, photos when nobody’s looking, and a companion that appears the moment the PlayStation turns on. I’ll keep building on that. But I’m also looking further ahead.
What you know stays.
Something comes next to it.
What you know today: the iPad on the table, on all day. Faces you swipe through, photos when nobody’s looking, companions that appear on their own, the doorbell as a call.
Seeing and setting up, on iPhone, iPad and Mac: an overview, rooms, devices, automations, energy and notifications. On the iPad you switch between them.
This is how it could look.
On iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Your whole home, on the Mac too. Rooms and devices in one overview, with room to set everything up.
Ideas for later.
Overview by kind. "3 lights on", "all locked", "2 batteries almost empty", with one tap for all of them.
History. What a device did, as a chart or a timeline. Also as a widget on a face.
Automations as sentences. "When the PS5 turns on → blinds closed", with when it last ran and whether that went well.
Making automations. Starting with recipes for common cases, always with a preview and a confirmation. They run in Home Assistant, not in the app.
Energy. Usage, solar and costs, from the energy settings you already have in Home Assistant.
Notifications. In a bubble on the table iPad, and an overview of all notifications in Home.
On your Home Screen. Widgets and buttons in your iPhone’s Control Center, with the same widgets as on the faces.
Announcements. A message to a room, through the assistant or with a button.
On your wrist. Scenes, favorites and the doorbell as a call.
The same principle.
- 1
Home Assistant stays optional. Without it, the app works on what your iPad has and on HomeKit. What needs Home Assistant says so in the app.
- 2
The logic lives in Home Assistant. The app shows and controls. Automations run in your own Home Assistant, not in the app.
- 3
No tracking. No server of mine, no analytics, no third-party crash reporting.
- 4
With a regular account too. Reading always works. What a Home Assistant admin needs to do, the app tells you, instead of an empty page.
- 5
The assistant stays home. On your iPad or through your own Home Assistant, as it is now.
I’m taking my time.
I’ll only build this when it’s right. Want to share ideas or test early? Email info@instnthub.com.