Seven native Apple Watch apps have been refreshed with watchOS 10

Seven native Apple Watch apps have been refreshed with watchOS 10, including the Home app. The major update brings the Apple Watch HomeKit experience in line with the iPhone. Follow along to learn how the new Apple Watch Home app looks and works.

Major updates in watchOS 10

watchOS 10 brings a major refresh to the Apple Watch experience with a new widget UI, mental health features like mood tracking, new watch faces, and redesigns with native apps like Weather, Stocks, Maps, Messages, World Clock, Heart Rate, and Home.

As a refresher, here's the main screen of the watchOS 9 Home app: after we got a major overhaul of the Home app with iOS 16 for iPhone last year, this time it's Apple Watch's turn for a HomeKit upgrade with watchOS 10 How Apple's Watch Home app looks and works in watchOS 10

watchOS 10 is now available in beta, but note that if you install the app on your Apple Watch, you won't be able to downgrade to watchOS 9. Learn more installing the beta version in our guide. When you launch the new Home app in watchOS 10, your camera feeds are at the top, then four shortcuts for climate, lighting, security, and speakers, and then your favorite HomeKit devices below that. Swipe all the way up to see the Intercom button Tap the back arrow in the top left corner to see categories and all your rooms. Tap a HomeKit device in the new app to turn it on/off (lock/unlock, open/close, etc.) or tap the … icon to learn more controls for things like thermostats and lighting

How the new Apple Watch Home app works

Here's how the device looks and works new Apple Watch Home app in watchOS 10: Here's the main screen with video feeds at the top. You can tap a feed to take a closer look or tap in the bottom right corner of the video section to see all your HomeKit cameras. This is followed by the quick buttons for the categories climate, lighting, security and loudspeakers. And at the very top right, you'll see what HomeKit device tiles look like with the new Home app in watchOS 10.

The new quick access categories for climate, lighting, security, and speakers are really useful with buttons at the top to do things like turn all lights off or pause all speakers. Back on the main screen, swipe all the way up to see the intercom button and tap the back arrow to see Home, Favorites and Scenes, followed by all your rooms. For individual devices, you'll see what it looks like if you tap the … icon for manual control. Some devices have multiple controls that you can swipe between:

And this is what it looks like to control devices like smart locks and dimmable lights: Overall, I think this is a great update that brings the Apple Watch HomeKit experience on par with iOS. It's much easier to quickly get a glimpse of what's going on in your home, access and control devices. And during my use, the new watchOS Home app was also more responsive. What do you think of the new Apple Watch Home app? Share your thoughts in the comments below!​