Yale has added Apple HomeKit support to its smart locks, launching a plug-in module that gives remote control to your iPhone or iPad. The Yale iM1 Network Module plugs into models from Yale's Assure Lock range. Then, either using the Apple Home app or Siri on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you can lock and unlock the door.
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."
If Apple has its way, your entire home will someday be Siri-enabled. Between its various hardware options like the iPhone, Apple Watch and (soon) HomePod, the underlying software that is HomeKit can make your entire home controllable via voice. For many of us, the garage is a daily use portal, which makes it ripe for disruption via Siri. The underlying question is whether or not that’s even a good idea. Instead of wondering, we decided to find out using Chamberlain’s new MyQ Home Bridge.
Logitech has announced that its relatively new Circle 2 security camera will soon be getting support for Apple HomeKit. This new team up between Logitech and Apple goes deeper than just an update for new and existing Circle 2 cameras, as it also means that Apple Stores across the US and Europe will soon begin selling the Circle 2 camera and at least some of its accessories.
If you want connected home security, Apple’s HomeKit framework is pretty sparse. It’s one of the weak-points of the platform. The only officially listed ‘security’ device for HomeKit is Honeywell’s Lyric Controller, but it’s not available yet. There are plenty of other options available for DIY home security, but they don’t work with HomeKit. It’s a conundrum, but there’s (sort of) a fix. Instead of a proper security system, you can patch one together using cameras and sensors. It works, too – maybe even better than bespoke systems.
There has been a great deal of new smart devices for homes with great new features, especially at IFA 2017 in Berlin this week. The problem with this flood of new products, however, is that older products tend to get left by the wayside, dreaming of better days. Showing that it has not forgotten its faithful followers, Netatmo has just announced that its Presence outdoor security camera and Welcome indoor camera will soon be controllable from an iPhone, iPad, or even Apple Watch.. No additional actions or purchases required.
Apple's Siri connectivity to smart home devices is getting a real boost with Elgato's latest collection of devices. Included in the mix is Eve Thermo, Eve Lock, Eve Window Guard, Eve Smoke, and Eve Aqua. The only one of these coming to the United States as of now is the the Eve Aqua, a device that allows you to control your hose's release of water.
As the creator of some of the first connected home devices, Nest has long been one of the odd holdouts in supporting the HomeKit, Apple's platform for controlling such products from their iOS devices. A big part it is likely the fact that Nest is owned by Google. But even with that caveat, this situation could eventually change with this fall's release of iOS 11, announced earlier this month at WWDC.
This morning Apple revealed the HomePod, their first "home speaker" - or Siri Speaker, if you prefer. This device has the same processor as the most modern iPhone, no display, and a much more powerful set of speakers than an iPhone. It needs to be plugged in to a physical wall socket and it's able to do a litany of tasks if you ask it - through Siri, of course. Today we're having a closer look at Apple official.
Apple's HomeKit may have had a quiet start, but third-party accessories for an iOS smart home are gradually picking up pace. Latest to store shelves is Elgato's Eve Degree, a compact temperature, humidity, and air pressure sensor, wrapped up in a simple and handsome design, and promising to be the smart trigger your connected home has been asking for.
Smart home products these days speak different languages, which sometimes defeats the purpose of having an automated home. But rather than trying to force existing and future products to speak a single language, device and platform makers are solving the language barrier like we do in the real world: with translators. The Belkin Wemo Bridge is one such translator and it is quite adept at one language. This tiny square that you connect to your Wi-Fi router allows Wemo's switches and plugs to speak Apple's HomeKit language.
Logitech's Pop is getting an Apple HomeKit upgrade, allowing the programable wireless buttons to act as light-switches, scene-triggers, and more for iOS fans. Launched in August last year, Pop offers a triple-function button that can be customized to control hundreds of devices in your smart home. Now, there's a second version for those who went the HomeKit route.
