What the Home Assistant Companion App can do
The official phone app is more than a remote control. Used well, it becomes the household’s window into the home.
Home Assistant is a free, open-source platform from the Open Home Foundation. It brings supported devices and services into one model, so dashboards and automations can work across brands instead of being trapped in separate apps. The Companion App for iPhone and Android connects to your own Home Assistant system.
Dashboards and control
See room status and control lights, climate, blinds, media and other connected devices from one place. A good dashboard answers the household’s everyday questions first and hides the technical detail.
Notifications that are worth receiving
Alerts for leaks, doors left open, finished appliances or energy events, with action buttons where they help. In the BK Home Automations showcase, notifications report when the dishwasher has finished and when the car is set to charge but isn’t plugged in. The test for every notification is simple: would anyone miss it if it stopped?
Optional presence
With permission, zone arrival and departure can help Home Assistant understand whether someone is home. Presence is powerful but personal, so it should be opt-in for each person in the house and never the only safeguard for anything important.
Phone sensors
Selected battery, network and device information can become automation inputs if you enable them. Charging state, for example, can be a useful bedtime signal.
Voice, widgets and shortcuts
Assist, home-screen widgets and platform shortcuts give quick access to common actions without opening a dashboard.
History and explanation
Every change is recorded, so you can see what happened and why. This is the feature that turns “the house did something weird” into a question you can answer.
You choose the permissions
Location and phone-sensor sharing are optional and can be limited or turned off in the app settings. Start with less and add what proves useful.
Home Assistant and its interface are trademarks and works of their respective owners. This independent site is not endorsed by or affiliated with the Open Home Foundation. Official Companion App documentation ↗