Philips Hue Is The New Apple HomeKit Button-Master
This week the folks at Philips got wise to the world of Apple HomeKit, making Philips Hue king of the smart home button in the process. Philips Hue incorporating buttons into Apple's HomeKit means they'll take a new command of the market. "With a press of a button, or a movement of your body," said Philips, "you can activate your favorite Apple Home app scenes."
Users will still need an Apple TV (4th-gen or higher) with tvOS 10 – or an iPad with iOS 10 or later. Once connected, these devices work with HomeKit to activate or de-activate smart home devices. Philips Hue connects with the Apple TV and/or iPad VIA their Hue tap, Hue dimmer switch, and Hue motion sensor.
SEE TOO: Philips Hue Tap Review
Users will also need the latest HomeKit-compatible Philips Hue hub to make this work. The original Hue base station will not work – so early adopters are going to need to go out and buy a new device to make this set of connections possible.
Once you've got the new hub, the Philips Hue Tap, Dimmer Switch, and Motion Sensor will be able to connect to HomeKit-compatible smart devices throughout your home. I'd recommend checking out the Nanoleaf Ivy Smarter LED lighting kit, the Hunter Signal Wi-Fi Ceiling Fan, and of course a bunch of Philips Hue lights, which didn't need this extra connection in the first place, but work within the system nonetheless.
The irony of using a Philips Hue switch to connect to an Apple TV or iPad to then, in turn, turn on a smart lamp, is not lost on me here. This isn't the sort of situation that'll make a lot of sense to your grandfather. He might have a point in saying new technology such as this is a waste of time and effort. Only if you're only using this setup to turn your lights off and on, that is to say.
The update for these connections comes to the Philips Hue app today on the iOS App Store. This app works with all of the Hue accessories listed above, so chances are you've already got it downloaded now – all you need is one tap of the Update button (provided you don't already have apps updating on their own, automatically).