Follow the Sun for HomeKit 4+

It's basically a glorified clock based light timer.

Only allows clock time triggers.
Does not allow sunrise, sunset or trigger from the states of other homekit devices such as switches or light sensors.
Make this support those things and it might have a place in my smart home. As it stands, adjusting the start/end times of the automations as the seasons change is not a job I want to sign up for, and there is no current way to adjust brightness if it's cloudy or sunny.

App Crashed within mintues of install

The app sounds like it would a great idea but it has crashed four timed with in mintues of installing it. Also I can not find any settings for color temperature control... this might be hidden until you purchase a subscription, which am not doing do to the crashing. Hopefully the app will get better with time.

Developer Response ,

Hi JCmobile,

I have had two users reach out to me about crashes, but have not experienced it myself yet, which makes it difficult to fix. I do have this at the top of my list, though, and am working to figure out the cause of it - if you’re willing, please reach out to me at homemadeauto@gmail.com, as I’d love to get more information about what’s happening!

As for the color temperature controls - if your bulbs natively support color temp adjustments, each light will have the option to ‘Adjust Color Temperature with Brightness’. This will keep your bulbs cool at bright settings, and warm at dim settings. If you _don’t_ see this option, but believe you should, it’s likely that the Home app is actually simulating color warmth on its own, using color combinations. This simulated temp is not available to third party apps, but implementing it for Follow the Sun is high on my priority list!

Thanks,
M

Impossible to test

This app seems explicitly designed to make it impossible to try it unless you buy it. And that's not just because it crashes in less than a minute, but also because you can only use it with two lights that the app automatically picks for you (mine were both utility lights in the closet). It doesn't even let you replace the automatic selection with another two lights of your choice.

Developer Response ,

Hi alx71,

Unfortunately, something seems to have been miscommunicated within the app. Follow the Sun will happily drive all of the lights in any one room if your house - which you’re allowed to choose - 100% for free. If you only need to control the lights in one room - say, your living room - you’re welcome to use it this way forever.

I hope you’ll give it another look, and consider changing your rating - I, for one, will review the design as well, and ensure that this is more clearly communicated!

Thanks,
M