How should I design an iPad app using Apple's HIG?

Apple's HIG recommends using sidebars instead of bottom tab bars on iPadOS, supporting split views for multitasking, and adding pointer interactions. Apple HIG Skills provides instant, AI-ready guidance on all iPadOS conventions.

What are Apple's guidelines for adding Apple Pay?

Apple's HIG specifies exact payment button placement, flow design, error states, and UX patterns required for App Store approval. Apple HIG Skills gives your AI agent access to the full Apple Pay design guidelines.

How do I make my Apple app accessible?

Apple's HIG requires support for VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, sufficient color contrast ratios, and motor accessibility features like Switch Control. Apple HIG Skills covers all accessibility foundations and requirements.

How do I design for visionOS and Apple Vision Pro?

Apple's HIG for visionOS covers ornaments, volumes, immersive spaces, eye tracking, and spatial interaction patterns. Apple HIG Skills includes dedicated visionOS platform guidance and spatial layout references.

What are Apple's dark mode design guidelines?

Apple's HIG specifies using system semantic colors, material backgrounds, elevated surfaces, and vibrancy for dark mode. Apps should test in both modes and avoid hard-coded color values. Apple HIG Skills covers the full dark mode specification.

How should I design notifications for iOS apps?

Apple's HIG covers notification grouping, Live Activities, action buttons, and respecting user attention. Apple HIG Skills provides guidelines for the full notification system including widgets and complications.

Source: Apple Inc. Canonical content at https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/homekit. This file is a structured index of that content, snapshot 2025-02-02. Apple HIG text and imagery are © Apple Inc.; this repository provides organization and cross-referencing for AI agent consumption only.

HomeKit

Help people set up, name, and organize their accessories
Allow fine-grained accessory configuration and control
Provide access to custom accessory features
Show people how to create powerful, hands-free automations
Provide support

Terminology and layout

Acknowledge the hierarchical model that HomeKit uses.

Make it easy for people to find an accessory’s related HomeKit details.

Recognize that people can have more than one home.

Don’t present duplicate home settings.

Homes

Rooms

Accessories, services, and characteristics

Actions and scenes

Automations

Zones

Setup

Use the system-provided setup flow to give people a familiar experience.

Provide context to explain why you need access to people’s Home data.

Don’t require people to create an account or supply personal information.

Honor people’s setup choices.

Carefully consider how and when to provide a custom accessory setup experience.

Help people choose useful names

Suggest service names that suit your accessory.

Check that the names people provide follow HomeKit naming rules.

Use only alphanumeric, space, and apostrophe characters.
Start and end with an alphabetic or numeric character.
Don’t include emojis.

Help people avoid creating names that include location information.

Siri interactions

Present example voice commands to demonstrate using Siri to control accessories during setup.

After setup, consider teaching people about more complex Siri commands.

Recommend that people create zones and service groups, if they make sense for your accessory.

Offer shortcuts only for accessory-specific functionality that HomeKit doesn’t support.

If your app supports both HomeKit and shortcuts, help people understand the difference between these types of voice control.

Custom functionality

Be clear about what people can do in your app and when they might want to use the Home app.

Defer to HomeKit if your database differs from the HomeKit database.

Ask permission to update the HomeKit database when people make changes in your app.

Don’t use the HomeKit icon within text or as a replacement for the word HomeKit.

Pair the icon with the name HomeKit correctly.

Referring to HomeKit

Emphasize your app over HomeKit.

Adhere to Apple’s trademark guidelines.

Use Apple product names in singular form only; do not make Apple product names possessive.
Don’t translate Apple, Apple Home, HomeKit, or any other Apple trademark.
Don’t use category descriptors. For example, say iPad, not tablet.
Don’t indicate any kind of sponsorship, partnership, or endorsement from Apple.
Attribute Apple, HomeKit, and all other Apple trademarks with the correct credit lines wherever legal information appears within your app.
Refer to Apple devices and operating systems only in technical specifications or compatibility descriptions.

Referencing HomeKit and the Home app

Use correct capitalization when using the term HomeKit.

Don’t use the name HomeKit as a descriptor.

Don’t suggest that HomeKit is performing an action or function.

Use the name Apple with the name HomeKit , if desired.

Use the name HomeKit for setup, configuration, and instructions, if desired.

Use the app name Apple Home whenever referring specifically to the app.

HomeKit

HomeKit

Terminology and layout

Homes

Rooms

Accessories, services, and characteristics

Actions and scenes

Automations

Zones

Setup

Help people choose useful names

Siri interactions

Custom functionality

Cameras

Using HomeKit icons

Styles

Black HomeKit icon

White HomeKit icon

Custom color HomeKit icon

Referring to HomeKit

Referencing HomeKit and the Home app

Platform considerations

Resources

Developer documentation

Videos

Change log

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