As we still spend a lot of time at home, smart homes have gained a foothold as mainstream newcomers have joined the automation bandwagon, and several contenders exist for the honor of the ‘best smarthome app.’
Home Automation App Market Brief Overview
In 2020, the home automation market was valued at over $46 billion. As of 2021, there are over 250 million smart homes globally, representing a 12.2% global penetration rate. Apparently, there are still several regions where smart homes aren’t fully embraced due to various constraints. They represent a massive opportunity for entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, manufacturers, developers, etc.
Surely, the demand for home automation devices and apps will grow in the future years. Be sure, you won’t lose such an opportunity to enter the trend market or increase your positions there. Additionally, there is a growing demand for apps that manage compatible smart home devices, offering seamless integration and control through smartphones.
Smart Home App Features
- Security
Another essential feature is safety. The user can monitor the property from outside. Hence, they can ensure that everything is in order while they are away. Using iOS devices, users can easily monitor and control their security systems through various apps, ensuring seamless integration and management.
- Smart Lighting
Smart lighting provides lighting control throughout the building. This technology can turn individual lights on and off directly from a user’s smartphone. It also controls their brightness or in conjunction with motion sensors (for example, to turn lights on when someone enters a room).
- Temperature Control
Some people don’t like how hot or cold it gets, while others worry about wasting electricity by setting the temperature too high or low. Home automation systems offer a solution by detecting and reacting to environmental changes.
- Hazard Detection
Connected cameras and sensors can discover a range of hazards, from leaks to break-ins to smoke. They can help to alert users or local emergency services if needed automatically.
7 Best Smart Home Apps – Home Automation App Comparison
Samsung SmartThings app – best home automation app for Samsung SmartThings
Samsung SmartThings universal home automation app allows users to manage connected devices easily. Users can automate actions with various triggers. It consists of a Hub, which connects wirelessly to various devices and sensors.
It has a 4.3 rating in both the App Store and the Google Play Store with over 500 million downloads.
Google Home app – best home automation app for Google Assistant
The Google Home app is probably the best app for controlling all smart home devices. This includes Google Nest, Google Wi-Fi, Google Home devices, Chromecast, and so on. It can also manage smart products from Nest, Philips Hue, and other compatible brands.
It gives you a simple, intuitive way to set up, manage, and control your compatible connected devices. Plus, it also provides access to the Google Assistant, which can answer questions and get things done with voice. Google Home is one of the top ten lifestyle apps on the App Store, and it has been installed over 100 million times on Android devices.
Apple Home app – best home automation app for Apple HomeKit
Another contestant for the best app for smart homes is the Apple Home app. It is the only way to control HomeKit accessories. Because so many smart home accessories work with HomeKit, you can use Siri commands to issue various commands. Note, though, that there is no companion Android app for this solution.
Obviously the best iOS home automation app, Apple HomeKit contains several types of hardware products that communicate with each other using the HomeKit protocol. A HomeKit-enabled accessory is a device certified by Apple to run its own code and communicate over the HomeKit framework with other devices.
Philips Hue – smart home control app for lights
Philips Hue boasts a wide array of connected lighting options and affordable starter kits.
If you have Philips Hue lights, the official Philips Hue app is for your basic control needs. It’s quick and easy to use. It also offers a nice variety of features. You can adjust the color and brightness of your lights. You can also create automated routines that follow a schedule or respond to a specific event (like sunset).
The app will show you all the information about each light — brightness level, color temperature, and so on. The Philips Hue app has won favorable reviews on various mobile platforms, including a 4.5 rating on the App Store and 4.4 on the Google Play Store.
Alarm.com – smart home hub app
With Alarm.com, you can control your entire property remotely. With intelligent alerts and live video feeds, you can know what’s happening all the time. Alarm.com combines your home or business security systems with home automation and smart services.
With the touch of a button or swipe of your finger, you can monitor the status of your home or business, see who’s at the door, and control household devices—all while keeping an eye on kids and pets via live streaming video feeds.
For business owners and employees, Alarm.com is the all-in-one solution for the connected, protected office. It seamlessly integrates with building systems to provide the right information at the right time.
FindWhatYouLike (FWYL)
FWYL is an app for music lovers who want to listen to music with friends. Many music apps have features for sharing playlists. However, FWYL allows simultaneous playback between music apps.
While FMYL is not a home automation app, ProCoders engineers added functionality to connect this app to various other apps and services. So, besides being able to use FMYL with YouTube Music or Deezer, users could also connect the app to a Sonos speaker, for instance, and play music from any part of the home.
IFTTT – one app to control all smart devices
IFTTT (which stands for If This Then That) is not predominantly a universal smart home application. IFTTT is a service that helps you do more with the technology you love. It allows you to create powerful connections with one simple statement: If This, Then That.
As an app that can connect and automate various apps and devices, it has become acclaimed among smart home users as the best Android home automation app, even though it works on iOS as well. IFTTT works with various kinds of smart appliances.
Ready-made Option or Custom Solution?
Key considerations when creating your own best Zigbee app include:
- Cost – a custom solution costs a lot of money upfront, especially if you’re also going to pay for marketing. You’ll need a decent budget here, as things will be expensive fast. It is possible to manage this by dividing costs between the MVP and other advanced stages, or by building a flow of gradually released premium features.
- Tailorability – how much flexibility will the design permit? You probably want to create something that matches your brand and existing devices.
- Development time – building a custom smart home automation app takes time, which means a long development cycle. An MVP might be ready in about two months, but a full-fledged cross-platform app can take up to six months, depending on the features required. In various situations, you can execute quicker by choosing a pre-made solution.
Important Considerations for Building Home Automation Apps
- User Interaction
When creating your smart home app, you must have consideration for the users who will be using it. Don’t forget that their needs come first. Once you’re able to understand the situation from the user’s point of view, it will be much easier to make well-informed decisions about the design and function of your app.
Understand how users interact with your product. Conduct user research to better understand what your users want and need. This will give you a solid foundation for your product roadmap. Using a conversational tone, such as addressing your audience as ‘guys’, can also help engage users and foster a sense of community.
This is part of what helps us at ProCoders execute our projects seamlessly: the strength and depth of user research we carry out in partnership with our clients before starting the project.
- App features
The first thing you should do is define the core features of your solution: what does your app do? How does it work? What values does it give to users? How does it differ from other similar solutions out there? You must also determine what features to include at the MVP stage. After all, not all features must be included initially. You may need to replace existing setups with new features to enhance user experience.
Also, define the features that can be accessed for free and which ones require a premium subscription or an upgrade. You can also choose the best free home automation apps to get familiar with.
Organizing features early on helps both product manager and product owner to allocate costs, implement the right solutions, and identify which areas they can beat competitors.
- Security
A lot of smart homes are vulnerable to hackers because of the lack of proper security, so you have to choose the best home automation apps for security. Every device in a smart home is connected and relies on the network, so if one device gets compromised, it can affect the whole network. Using a HomeKit pin for secure connections can also help protect your devices.
Consider all risks of hacking, from physical entry to attack via the internet, when calculating IoT security and configuring smart home software. Protection measures like secured communication channels, encrypted data, etc. will minimize the chances for attacks by hackers.
How to Develop Home Automation Apps with ProCoders Dedicated Team
If you’re developing a smart home automation app, you need the best talent on your team. That’s where ProCoders comes in: helping you to hire mobile app developers. We have a large pool of IoT software development specialists waiting to work with you.
IoT programming is a new frontier that requires a lot of skill and creativity. The requirements for a good IoT app programmer are more than just being technically gifted, but also showing a talent for envisioning what needs to be done and having the ability to bring it to life.
One of our current projects involves building an app to automate and monitor smart homes using mobile devices. We have engineers assigned to this project with the responsibility of connecting hardware sensors to a comprehensive remote software solution. The mobile app is being built using Angular and Ionic, two powerful frameworks that enable efficient development.
In another project, our expert team built FindWhatYouLike (FWYL), a music app that helps users listen to music with their friends at the same time. While FWYL was not a home automation app, it did require a connection with home automation devices, such as smart speakers from Sonos to play music from any part of the house.
Finding developers for startup to build your smart home automation app takes time and effort, which is why our outstaffed development model works so well. ProCoders’ IoT developers have decades of combined experience in programming for the Internet of Things and can get a new project up and running quickly.
I found this post very informative and helpful. Your writing style is engaging and made it easy to understand the topic. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Thank you for this insightful article! The Internet of Things has truly revolutionized the concept of smart homes, making our lives more convenient and efficient than ever before.
One of the key advantages of IoT in the realm of smart homes is the ability to connect and control various devices remotely. With IoT-enabled devices such as smart thermostats, lighting systems, and security cameras, homeowners can now effortlessly manage and monitor their homes from anywhere in the world. This level of convenience not only enhances our daily lives but also provides us with greater peace of mind.
Overall, IoT has reshaped the way we interact with our homes, offering tremendous possibilities for automation, energy efficiency, and convenience. As the technology continues to advance, it will be fascinating to witness the further integration of IoT into our everyday lives, bringing us closer to the vision of truly interconnected and intelligent homes.