iApartments

Having IApartments has made my life so much easier, I forget to lock my door after I left for work. I was conveniently able to lock my door from my mobile device. It’s also great for the leak sensors when I’m on vacation it will let me know if there’s anything leaking while I’m away. It also pairs up great with a thermostat to make sure that my house is comfortable every time I get home.

I live in a managed building and iApartments was installed recently in all apartments here.1. Despite using a Yale AssureLock, you can’t connect it to HomeKit and it would not allow you to take full advantage of the smart lock like Yale’s Apple Watch app. It’s only done through their app.2. The thermostat is their own brand, and does not support HomeKit. Neither are the leaking sensors.3. No Apple Watch app, no widgets, no Shortcuts support, no Siri support, no HomeKit or Home Key support, not even bluetooth proximity support. You’re tied to this app, which takes a long time to load and refresh, so it takes way too long to open the door through the app. Can’t do automations, can’t quick-access from my phone’s lock screen.4. The privacy policy is spooky. They say they collect data about a bunch of stuff, including some identifying info like phone number, device model or email, and will use it for targeted marketing. They also collect usage of their devices so they know when I’m heating my apartment or when my door is unlocked. I don’t want them to know that.This was forced on me by the building and I would’ve preferred to choose my own smart devices to install that work with the rest of my HomeKit products, like my light fixtures, HomePods, door sensors and cameras.At least put some effort into the app itself to be better for iOS users, like having a widget or Shortcuts support, so that I can save time and make automations for my entire home with the push of a button.

I like the concept of the app but I am very disappointed in the ability to make the schedule work with my lifestyle. I would not recommend this app due to its limitations. The app grays out time periods they think are not appropriate, which is not reasonable. Why grey out any of the times? This is my schedule not yours. The weekend schedule assumes you have a normal 9-5 job so you can’t set the schedule for a swing shift or even a night shift job because the bedtime stops at 11pm. Or what if I don’t work the weekends, it still assumes I want to change the temp no later than 9am but I would like to change it at 10a or 11a but it won’t let you. I’m frustrated that I get hot around 3am in the morning so it would be great to have the temperature go down at that time but with the constraints this is not possible. WHY WHY WHy would you tout this as being the best thing for me and my lifestyle when you put constraints on the scheduling?????? Please consider upgrading this app to accommodate people with different schedules and lifestyles!