Apple HomeKit products are ready to help you build a smart home

It’s been a year since Apple first announced HomeKit and, after months of anticipation, products based on the home automation system are finally being rolled out. A pair of lighting kits from Lutron and a HomeKit-compatible hub for Insteon’s smart home system are now available, while other software developers,  such as Elgato, Ecobee and iHome, have announced that they will be releasing accessories as early as July.

Apple first mentioned HomeKit at last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, allowing companies to build apps that can interact with other hardware through a common network protocol. While home automation is not a new market - there are countless companies creating and developing new apps and devices every day - the glaring problem is that they all use different wireless protocols, so only a handful of these devices can interact with each other.

HomeKit is Apple’s smart home solution, and most likely its answer to Google’s acquisition of Nest for US$3.2 billion last year. HomeKit seeks to introduce a standard for devices such as programmable lights, plugs, energy and climate sensors, and thermostats, and allows the user to control everything via any iOS device, whether it is their iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. This means that users can turn on lights, open garage doors or activate the air conditioning with the swipe of a finger or a voice command to Siri, Apple’s intelligent personal assistant.

Lighting control manufacturer Lutron released its Home Control+ app, a HomeKit compatible app that lets you control lights, shades and temperature from anywhere on your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, or by giving Siri a command. The app is also available on Android devices. The apps control Lutron’s HomeWorks QS total home control systems. The system is highly customisable, with prices ranging from HK$30,000 to HK$100,000.