Use a Shortcut workaround to get your Apple TV ready and waiting for you.
W
hile the Home app makes
it easy to create simple automations, you can actually do much more – one of our favourites is to have our lighting automatically switch on as we get closer to home.
With the right equipment, you can also get blinds and curtains to close, and even get your home heating to fire up so your home is already warm by the time you get there. But even if you don’t have smart heating controls, you could still create useful reminders – one that will automatically notify you when the temperature falls below a certain level, for example. You could even create an automation that automatically closes curtains and blinds, and opens high-level windows when it gets too hot – handy for heatwaves.
For all the things the Home app can do, it also sometimes comes up a little short – you can’t easily create an automation that’ll fire up your Apple TV, switch it to a particular channel, then set the mood with some suitably cinematic lighting, for example. For that you’ll need to head to the Shortcuts app and create an automation there. We’ll show you how to do that in the walkthrough opposite.