I built a HomeKit dashboard my family would actually use
I spent the last two years designing and building DashOne, a smart home dashboard that my whole family could use.
I found that most of the other dashboard apps out there either weren't particularly visually appealing or focused almost entirely on controlling smart home devices. I wanted something that looked clean and sophisticated mounted on the wall, and that complemented Apple Home with features that were useful to the whole household.
Things like security cameras and doorbells, a shared grocery list backed by Apple Reminders, weather and family calendars.
Something I realised along the way is that wanting to control your smart home devices is often what gets you interested in a dashboard, but it's not really what makes you use it every day.
Being able to quickly check your security cameras, having a grocery list anyone can easily add to, or checking the family calendar as you walk past the kitchen? Those are things that we found useful.
I've also been exploring more powerful automations that respond to what's happening around the house. For example, I have an automation that uses AI to check the driveway camera and reminds me to put the bins out if I haven't already.
A bit about me: I spent eight years working in security software and another eight years at Canva. I think both experiences influenced how I approached building DashOne, with a strong focus on privacy and security, alongside the design and usability that I felt was missing from other home dashboard apps.
There are some AI-powered features, but they're entirely optional. There's no tracking or advertising, and I dislike subscriptions as much as anyone, so I went with a one-time Pro upgrade that unlocks some additional card types and features. The majority of the app is free, and you can use it without paying anything.
What it can do:
- Control your smart home devices
- View doorbells and security cameras (UniFi Protect, Reolink, Dahua, Hikvision and other cameras that support RTSP)
- Create more powerful automations
- Run as an always-on dashboard, with an idle screen and wake on motion
- Manage shared grocery lists and meal kits
- Control your Sonos speakers
- View calendars, check the weather, run custom scenes, tts announcements and more
It’s iPad-only for now, but I’m always open to suggestions!
If you're interested, you can check it out here:
Website: https://dashoneapp.comApp Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6800107231
For those of you with a wall-mounted iPad, what do you actually use it for day to day, and what do you wish it could do?
PS: I'm looking forward to seeing what Apple announces next week. I'm really curious to see how they approach the whole wall-mounted smart home display idea!