I already said no to a tablet on my wall recently when I had a ducted HVAC system installed. I opted for a connected system that I can control via my smartphone and Home Assistant<\/a>, with no external display. I didn\u2019t want a big tablet on my wall, especially since I couldn\u2019t choose it myself.<\/p>\n That said, it would be nice if guests had access to a few simple smart home controls like cooling or the garage door without dedicating a huge amount of space to it. As luck would have it, my 45mm Apple Watch Series 8 is smaller than a smart thermostat and will otherwise live out its days in a drawer.<\/p>\n The magnetic Apple Watch charger is strong enough to hold the watch in place, so mounting shouldn\u2019t be an issue. The strap slides right off, at which point Apple\u2019s wearable resembles something of an iPod nano. In this position, the Digital Crown is still usable, and there\u2019s nothing necessarily stopping you from grabbing the Watch and moving around if you need to.<\/p>\n But there are a few hurdles to overcome. Much of this is down to Apple\u2019s non-negotiable behavior when the Watch is charging, with the biggest drawback being that the display will sleep until you interact with it. Then again, this might not be such a bad thing if minimalism is the goal.<\/p>\n Your Watch needs to be linked to an iPhone, using which it will mirror all sorts of information. The best you can do in terms of privacy is turn off notifications, but if you\u2019re worried about random people reading your text messages or making phone calls, then this might not be the dashboard for you.<\/p>\n Lastly, that iPhone will need to be nearby since the Watch app acts as an extension of the iPhone app. The range is pretty good, but it\u2019s worth noting.<\/p>\n These are my experiences with the Apple Watch; other watches like WearOS models, including Google\u2019s Pixel range, appear to have far fewer limitations<\/a>. It might even be worth picking up a spare if this idea appeals to you.<\/p>\n Home Assistant\u2019s companion app and scripts made it happen<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always felt like Home Assistant\u2019s Apple Watch implementation could use some work. Unlike the iPhone app, which provides access to all features and functions, the Apple Watch companion is far more limited. Though you can add accessories to Control Center, the app itself can only launch scripts and scenes.<\/p>\n Furthermore, watch face Complications are, for lack of a better word, complicated. You can do some really complex stuff, but you\u2019ll need to use YAML in order to do it. You can\u2019t just drop a sensor reading onto your Watch face or create a shortcut to a specific device.<\/p>\n Home Assistant scripts are suitably powerful<\/a>, you can use them to do just about anything with a tap. It also allows me to limit what smart home functions are accessible, so that guests can\u2019t change the thermostat temperature to something truly unforgivable.<\/p>\n As fortune would have it, I already have a bunch of scripts that I use with Apple Home (as buttons) to quickly control the HVAC system. I\u2019ve got one that opens all zones and cools the house to 27\u00baC, another that opens zones and turns on dry air, and another that turns the HVAC system off completely. I also wrote a script to toggle the garage door open and closed.<\/p>\n With these ready to go, I opened the Home Assistant app on my iPhone, navigated to Settings > Companion app, and scrolled down to the Apple Watch section to configure things. I added my scripts and gave them icons and colors that made sense to me, then saved my changes.<\/p>\n Configuring watchOS and 3D printing a mount<\/p>\n I don\u2019t want to have to unlock my dashboard all of the time, so the first thing I turned off was Wrist Detection under Settings > Passcode. This worked fine when the watch wasn\u2019t charging, but it would still lock constantly when connected to power. Eventually, I turned off the passcode altogether.<\/p>\n The next thing I did was set up a watch face that would be somewhat useful. I picked a simple modular face and added a \u201cplaceholder\u201d Home Assistant complication in the most prominent spot. Tapping it opens the Home Assistant app and my list of scripts. I also added a widget that shows the temperature in the living room, since that\u2019s where my dashboard is currently located (this works using HomeKit Bridge and Apple Home<\/a>).<\/p>\n Finally, I 3D printed a few mounts. My gut feeling said a wall mount is best, but this requires some sort of cable management. To give me options, I printed one upright stand and a wall mount stand. It\u2019s undeniable that using the dashboard at head-height like a wall switch or thermostat makes more sense, but you can\u2019t beat how clean a desk mount looks when the cable hides neatly behind a piece of furniture.<\/p>\n And with that, my minimal dashboard is complete. I can add more functions by writing more scripts, and I\u2019m thinking of adding functions to toggle all lights soon.<\/p>\n I always tend to gift my old smart watch to a family member, and I\u2019m still in two minds about whether a dashboard such as this has enough raw utility to me to deny someone a Watch upgrade. That said, if you\u2019re looking for a way to repurpose a device you\u2019re not currently using, you can do far worse than a minimal smartwatch Home Assistant control panel.<\/p>\n![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/apple-watch-home-assistant-dashboard-menu.jpg\")
\n Credit:\u00a0Tim Brookes \/ How-To Geek<\/p>\n![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/apple-watch-companion-setup-in-home-assistant-for-iphone.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/apple-watch-home-assistant-dashboard-on-the-watch-face.jpg\")
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