AppleTV Control App

[D0doooh]

Hi everyone!

I’m currently working on an Apple TV app that lets you control devices, scenes, and sensors in Home Assistant. It’s still in development, but here’s the basic idea:

The design is not finished, just more like a PoC - Proof of Concep.

One column for devices, one for scenes, and one for sensors.

• The app automatically pulls content from Home Assistant groups:

• group.hatv_control_devices (Devices)

• group.hatv_control_scene (Scenes)

• group.hatv_control_sensors (Sensors).

Home Assistant configuration:

group:
  hatv_control_scene:
    name: HATV Control Scenes
    entities:
      - input_boolean.scene_watch_movie
      - input_boolean.scene_disable_automations
      - input_boolean.scene_snacks
      - input_boolean.scene_night_light
      - input_boolean.scene_horror_movie
      - input_boolean.scene_party_mode
      - input_boolean.scene_relaxation

  hatv_control_devices: 
    name: HATV Control Devices
    entities:
      - light.living_room_light
      - light.hallway_light
      - light.kitchen_light
      - light.bedroom_light

  hatv_control_sensors:
    name: HATV Control Sensors
    entities:
      - sensor.plex_movie_count
      - sensor.plex_series_count
      - sensor.living_room_temperature
      - sensor.balcony_temperature

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Since this is a work in progress, I’d love to hear your feedback, suggestions, or ideas about what to add or improve!

Work in Progress:

• Simpler Access Token setup: Currently works best with Handoff copy-paste from your iPhone or iPad.

• Better Lighting controls: Including dimming functionality and color.

• Input Select support

• Improved design

• A more appealing app name and an app icon

---

Here is the TestFlight link: Join the ha-control beta - TestFlight - Apple

Thanks for checking it out!

[lufykun]

hi
it’s amazing
i search it for year
you do very good job
did you have a date of release ?

[D0doooh]

Not really; it’s working at the moment, but in my eyes, it’s not very visually appealing. I need to make some improvements to make it user-friendly for others.
If anyone is interested in testing it, please feel free to contact me, either by private message or by commenting here in the forum.

I won’t have time this month, but my schedule looks better starting in May.

[superwxbxkx (Balluck WEI)]

Hello! Thanks for your great work!

You did exactly what I needed. I use AppleTV as a media server connected to my projector. You know I don’t like to use my phone before going to bed, so it would be perfect if I could implement scene activation or simple switch control on AppleTV!

I don’t know if you are still developing related things. I would be happy to help if you need to test it~

Looking forward to your reply

[D0doooh]

Oh wow, has it really been a year already? I originally made this app quickly because I needed a way to control things with my Apple TV, which I’m still using in the same way today.

The thing is, right now the app stores the Long-lived access tokens and other credentials directly inside it (because, well, DEV testing and speed ).

I’m hoping to have some time over the holidays to work on projects like this. If all goes well, I’d like to release a new version that allows you to manually input the URL and token. Edit: Done. i will upload it to Apple TestFlight.

[D0doooh]

@superwxbxkx @lufykun

Okay, fingers crossed! I’ve submitted the draft app to Apple on TestFlight and am now waiting for approval. This process can currently take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks, depending on their queue.

What I’m still looking for is an app name and any features you’d like to see included. At the moment, the app allows you to toggle lights on and off and display sensor data.

I also still need an app icon. For now, I quickly created one using a generative AI and uploaded it, but I didn’t have time to focus on the details at this stage.

[D0doooh]

Okay, here we go: the build was accepted. Here is the TestFlight link: Join the ha-control beta - TestFlight - Apple

In the app settings, you can see the three groups used to define the entities.

group:
  hatv_control_scene:
    name: HATV Control Scenes
    entities:
      - input_boolean.scene_watch_movie
      - input_boolean.scene_disable_automations
      - input_boolean.scene_snacks
      - input_boolean.scene_night_light
      - input_boolean.scene_horror_movie
      - input_boolean.scene_party_mode
      - input_boolean.scene_relaxation

  hatv_control_devices: 
    name: HATV Control Devices
    entities:
      - light.living_room_light
      - light.hallway_light
      - light.kitchen_light
      - light.bedroom_light

  hatv_control_sensors:
    name: HATV Control Sensors
    entities:
      - sensor.plex_movie_count
      - sensor.plex_series_count
      - sensor.living_room_temperature
      - sensor.balcony_temperature

The names can also be changed if you already have an existing group. The URL and access token obviously need to be entered; this works conveniently via Handoff copy-paste with an iPhone. I’m currently working on a solution to make this accessible via Home Assistant.

For questions and feedback, feel free to share them here in the forum!

[derekjobst]

This is awesome! Do you have any plans to open-source the project or allow for outside collaborators? I’d be happy to help out!

[D0doooh]

Hi, actually, I’d love to! I’ll take a closer look as soon as I have more time, but I’m definitely open to it.