Apple and LG leak shows new ‘tap to control’ HomeKit features
The Verge Stevie Bonifield ● Covered by 2 sources
Rumor — unconfirmed reporting.
Apple and LG leaks point to a new HomeKit trick: bring an iPhone near a device and controls pop up. The weird part is it may use Matter, but still act like an Apple Home-only feature.
Based on reporting by The Verge, Stevie Bonifield — read the original for the full story.
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A new leak is teasing another Apple Home feature from LG, and this one sounds built around proximity rather than taps or menus. The post came from “pdfu,” an X account that has already surfaced leaks and renders tied to Apple features and LG smart home gear.
According to the post, the feature is called “Proximity Control.” Put an iPhone close to a compatible device and a hint for that device’s controls appears in the Dynamic Island. No hunting through an app, no digging through settings. Just near it, and the phone is supposed to know what to show.
The leak also says the feature runs on the Matter protocol, which is interesting because it still seems aimed at Apple Home rather than some broader cross-platform setup. That tension is the story here: Apple leaning on a shared smart home standard, while still shaping the experience so it feels like an Apple-only shortcut.
This follows another leak from yesterday that pointed to a “tap to setup without power” pairing feature and other devices on the way. Taken together, the picture is pretty clear. Apple and LG are working on a set of Home accessories that try to make smart home setup feel less like setup at all.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
Apple keeps trying to make home gadgets behave like magic, which is fine until the magic only works if you live inside Apple’s fence. Using Matter while keeping the payoff inside HomeKit is very on-brand: open standards as the hallway, closed control as the front door. The industry calls that strategy; everyone else calls it a very expensive tap gesture.
Read more about this at: The Verge