A new Apple support document for HomeKit has now officially confirmed our earlier report that the Apple TV would serve as a hub for HomeKit devices. The document confirms an Apple TV is needed if you want to control HomeKit accessories while away from home.
If you have an Apple TV (3rd generation or later) with software version 7.0 or later, you can control your HomeKit-enabled accessories when you’re away from home using your iOS device.
Sign in with the same Apple ID on your iOS device and Apple TV, and you’ll be able to use Siri commands to remotely control your accessories.
Apple has also created a page listing the HomeKit devices launched so far, and which we’d expect to be regularly updated as new products are announced …
The support document explains how to get up-and-running with HomeKit. You’ll need an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch running iOS 8.1 or later, and to look for products with the product badge confirming HomeKit compatibility.
Each device, or family of devices, still needs its own app, but once you enter the HomeKit code for your device into that app, you’ll be able to control all your devices using Siri. Apple indicates that some devices can be controlled while your iOS device is locked, others need it to be unlocked and doors cannot be unlocked by Siri.
Configuring groups of devices – for Siri commands like “switch on the living room lighting” – is done within the device-specific apps. Once this is done, Siri will recognize the groups.
Each HomeKit setup appears to have a master user, known as the administrator, while other users given permission to control devices in the home are known as shared users.
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So glad they’ve built in shared users!
I wish they’d offer group sharing of iCloud Drive storage…
Isn’t the Apple TV that is currently available the 3rd generation? This seems to me to confirm that a new model is coming sooner rather than later.
Apple TV (3rd generation or later)
but the latest gen is 3rd gen ?
I see what you did there Apple
The actual one is 3rd gen…
Is this why they keep emphasizing SIRI SIRI SIRI with HomeKit? Because the hope of having a dedicated HomeKit App to also control everything is a pipe dream? I certainly hope not, but that makes sense.
Siri is great, but we all know the voice control has ideal applications and as well as cumbersome. Sometimes hands-on with an App is better.
I think we would have heard about a dedicated Home App by now. Sounds like the best they can do is use Siri, since that can span multiple apps at once.
Apple expects it to always be easier to talk to your Apple Watch than to pull out your iPhone and open an app.
In the case of HomeKit, I think they’re right.
I think they’ll have an app to allow people to bypass Siri. Apple’s fairly proud of their track record when it comes to accessibility features, and if HomeKit was to only work with Siri that leaves people with speech impediments or an inability to talk at a huge disadvantage unless the device manufacturers pick up the pieces. For this reason alone I think we’ll see an app.
That and it’d probably make more advanced scenarios easier to configure and also allow people to trigger a command from say the bed to change a rooms temperature or to lock doors without waking a sleeping partner.
I think they just made this so you can use Siri for smarthome devices. Basically an API for Siri. Most smarthome devices already have an app so one from Apple sure would be nice but probably unnecessary bloat.
Rumour was that the app is a part of iOS 9 and that we should see it next week.
Oh well, that one thing kills it for me.
Apple TV.
Well you’re alone in that one. The rest of us will be on AppleTV.
You have to get a gateway in the home somehow, or the value of home automation goes to crap. Considering how much companies like Revolve is charging for a gateway, AppleTV is a bargain.
This is awesome in the sauce. I wish it had been last year, but still nice to see Apple has a solid direction with a home gateway.
This is going to be huge.
OK, just to make sure I’m understanding all of this correctly:
I already own a 3rd generation AppleTV. If I want to buy, say, one of these Lutron in-wall light switches so I can control my lights in “that room” via Siri and/or from outside my home – I don’t need to buy Lutron’s hub? The AppleTV is what connects this lightswitch to the internet?
It looks like you still need Lutrons hub.. The AppleTV only communicates via WiFi/BT.. The Lutron stuff appears to be Zwave or something similar, so you still need the go between to talk from wifi to Zwave..
At least from what i’ve seen so far..
Actually, the Lutron Caseta wireless light switches and dimmers use RF to communicate. The Lutron smart bridge or hub, receives commands via WIFI and sends commands to switches at RF 434 MHz, not z-wave, zigbee or BLE. I have been using Lutron Caseta switches for a while now, and they work really really well.
If you are looking for one app to control all your ip stuff at home checkout Roomie Remote, it does a very good job at this.