Does iOS18 Offer a Hub-Free Option to Apple Home Users?
If you’re here because you read the headline and thought “What??”, there is a caveat to this, and one that may actually make little difference to your setup. However, there are important takeaways with this update, which I’ll go into next, that at least could help to some extent.
Note: I should state that I’m taking this information both from what can be gleaned from the claim in the Apple document (link below) and my communications with someone involved in making devices that work with Apple Home. That being the case, there could be possible misunderstandings as to what Apple intends, but with little to go on, the following is what has been understood.
In the release notes in Apple’s List of Home Enhancements in iOS18 PDF, it states the following;
Pair Matter accessories without a hub
Add and locally control Wi-Fi based Matter accessories to the Home app without needing a home hub. Thread-based accessory management is available with iPhone 15 Pro and later.
There’s a endnote that relates to this that also states;
Available on a Thread-enabled home hub such as Apple TV 4K, HomePod (2nd generation), HomePod mini, or a compatible third-party Thread border router. Thread-enabled devices are able to locally pair and manage Thread accessories, which may require an update from the accessory manufacturer.
What exactly does this mean? This was also my first question when I was sent a link by Dawid Olczak from Polish smart home company, Luon, who’s product launch we posted about recently. Essentially, with iOS18, or possibly with a later update to the OS, it will be possible to pair a Matter over WiFi device to your smart home without the requirement of a Matter Controller. When it comes to Matter over Thread devices, it’s slightly different. in iOS17, You would normally need a Thread Border Router as well as a Matter Controller (HomePod Mini, for example is one that contains both) to add a Matter over Thread device, but if you have an iPhone 15, or the soon to be released iPhone 16, you can add a Thread device directly to your Apple Home due to these models containing a Thread Radio.
Prior to Thread and Matter in Apple HomeKit, this was already the case for WiFi and Bluetooth Apple Home compatible devices, as your phone or iPad would have the requirements to do so. However, without an Apple Home Hub, you couldn’t create automations, and you couldn’t set up remote access for your devices. So effectively, if you wanted to use a bluetooth smart button to control a WiFi smart bulb it wouldn’t be possible without a home hub, although it might be possible in a manufacturers own app with devices from the same brand. This would still be the case with this update, so before you start throwing out hubs, they are still very much necessary.
One bigger difference between Apple Home pre-Matter is that if you disconnected your home hub for any reason, eventually you should be able to control devices directly – WiFi devices would still be accessible as they’re on the same network as your phone, and Bluetooth devices would still work once a connection is made between the device and your phone/iPad. Since Apple Home became a Matter platform, you could not only not add a Matter device to Apple Home, but if the Matter Controller in question (Apple TV, HomePod, HomePod Mini) was taken offline, you could no longer control your Matter devices. With this update, Matter devices can still be reached and directly controlled, even without the Matter Controller being connected.
So local control is improved somewhat, especially if you already have Matter Controller in your setup, but other than that, what’s the point, you might think. I think it’s fair to assume that someone who’s new to the smart home, but is coming from an Apple angle, so to speak, they might have the latest iPhone, and buy a Matter over Thread button and smart bulb, but hadn’t thought about what else might be required. This scenario would still allow that person to set up both, just with their iPhone. The big ‘but’ here is that whilst they can still set up these devices in their new Apple Home, without a Matter Controller/Home Hub, the button and the bulb can’t communicate with each other. Once they’re clued up as to the enormous benefits of having a Thread Border Router/Matter Controller/Home Hub, thus allowing them to ‘control the bulb with the button’, they can go and buy one, but it didn’t stop them from the initial setup.
Following on from this, it could be suggested that whilst the Thread radio in iPhone 15 & 16 is merely for these simplified setup purposes, it could mean that Thread takes the place of Bluetooth as the de facto method of direct communication between your phone and a Thread device. This has typically been the reason why Bluetooth is still relevant and prevalent in smart locks, as it has been the only way to make a direct connection between phone and device.
One final point to focus on is the last sentence in the endnote for this information as presented by Apple – “Thread-enabled devices are able to locally pair and manage Thread accessories, which may require an update from the accessory manufacturer.”
As much as some of this sounds a step forward – small or big – it’s also up to the manufacturers of these Thread devices to enable such functionality.
Thanks to Dawid Olczak for providing context and a better understanding to this update.
We use a number of Meross devices that connect to Home and don’t use a hub. I believe they’re wifi but also I’ve one now that’s matter, but before that one they’ve been solid with control and scenes for a year
I think you misunderstand the reference to hubs. WiFi devices don’t need a hub like Zigbee devices do, but with Matter devices in ios17, you need a Matter Controller, which some refer to as a hub. Apple’s Home Hubs are Matter Controllers. This article refers to devices not requiring a Matter Controller on ios18.