One of the main features of the HomePod mini is the new intercom system that allows you to send messages to different rooms in the house. Intercom works on all HomePods as well as on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. As much as I look forward to trying out the intercom, as a father of three, I need less noise in our house so I really enjoy using signals on HomeKit.

HomeKit Weekly is a series that focuses on smart home accessories, tips and tricks on automation, and everything related to Apple's smart home framework.

Signals for HomeKit can be used to alert your family that it's time for dinner, time for bed, or just about anything else that HomeKit uses. The signals work with HomeKit lamps or socket adapters with lights attached. When it is time for dinner you usually have to yell at your family to get to the dining table. With signals, you simply execute a command that causes the lamps to flash in a specific color. You can create another signal to let your kids know when it's time to go to school by flashing a blue lightbulb.

Signals is designed to take advantage of the smart lights already in place and use them as a communication function at home. With a single touch of a button, you can flash any combination of lights in the house and instantly grab their attention. Pair them with a text and you will know they got the message.

Signals can be triggered in the app using Siri shortcuts and even directly from your home screen using the iOS 14 widgets. Hence, it is extremely easy to trigger an order to inform your family of something.

Light effects contained in signals are flash, hold and pulse. The flash function slowly fades in and out a certain light. The hold function displays a solid color for a preset time and then returns to the original color. The pulse is just a flash of lightning, but in a much faster pattern. At my house, we always use the pulse to alert everyone that dinner is ready as our kids are younger.

Signals offers robust shortcuts support. You can easily customize them further. You can create that "Time to Go" signal I mentioned and then change the Siri shortcut to send a "Let's Go" text to everyone in your house.

I've really enjoyed using Signals since the new version 2 was released. It's a great addition to HomeKit that Apple can be integrated with the Home app in the future. Version 2.0 also included a new version of the iPad, and a Mac Catalyst version will be available soon.

Signals is a free app on the App Store and there is a $ 4.99 in-app purchase to unlock the ability to create Signals. If you're looking for a way to mimic Apple's new intercom feature without making noise in every room in your home, check out Signals for HomeKit.

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