When iOS 18 was announced, it was already clear that the Home app will support smart robot vacuum cleaners. The Matter protocol is used for this. Unfortunately, Apple has postponed the addition of robot vacuum cleaners until 2025.
Unfortunately, that is not the only bad news we have to report. Not only is the support delayed, for the time being the smart robots only work in English in combination with Siri. This means that if your device is set to Dutch, you cannot use the robots.
Support for robot vacuum cleaners postponed
On the information page about the Home app it can be read that support for robot vacuum cleaners is not expected until 2025. Initially this was the autumn of 2024. The integration will take some time and will probably be added under iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3 and macOS Sequoia 15.3.
Robot vacuum cleaners in the home
It is good to see that Robot Vacuum Cleaners can soon be operated directly from the Home app. Of course, they must support Matter, which can include the SwitchBot K10+ (Pro) robot vacuum cleaner.
Functions such as power control, cleaning mode, vacuuming, mopping and charging status are supported. The devices can also be included in automations and scenes.
Siri only in English
Initially, the robot vacuum cleaners can only be used in combination with an English-speaking (US) Siri. Only in that case can the robots respond to Siri requests. You can then ask the voice assistant to have a specific location in the living room cleaned or to stop the vacuuming.