Apple Home support for robot vacuums has been postponed until 2025.
A new delay has been announced for another feature of iOS 18.
Apple has decided to postpone its support for robot vacuums in HomeKit. It was originally announced that the integration of these devices would be available with the arrival of iOS 18, but it has been reported that the functionality will not be ready until early 2025. In a recent update to its HomeKit website, the company has changed the release date, which now indicates that compatibility with robot vacuums will not arrive until after 2024, discouraging those who were hoping it would be included in the upcoming iOS 18.2 update.
Users who are eager to communicate with Siri to have their robot vacuum clean their space will have to wait even longer. The company has assured that it will include support for several essential features of smart vacuums, such as power control, cleaning modes, battery status, and other related features. Once the update is made in 2025, users will be able to integrate these devices into their automations and scenes within Apple Home, as well as interact with them via Siri.
Although Apple has not provided all the details about this new feature, it is expected to be related to Matter support, a standard that will allow greater compatibility between IoT devices, including robot vacuums in its version 1.2. This delay in HomeKit advancements also follows the postponement of several Apple Intelligence features that were presented at this year's WWDC. The iOS 18.1 update arrived in October, incorporating a redesigned version of Siri, and more features are expected in iOS 18.2, which will be released soon. Additionally, Apple is planning significant improvements for Siri in the coming months.
