Apple’s HomeKit home automation feature can be super convenient when you have the right accessories in place, but finding compatible hardware isn’t always the easiest. That finally started to change last year with the introduction of lots of new HomeKit-enabled smart home products.
That trend appears to be continuing based on new HomeKit accessories we saw at CES 2017 last week. HomeKit works best in my experience when you have lots of accessories like bulbs, plugs, thermostats and locks, and there is plenty of new hardware on the rise.
These are the best new HomeKit products hitting the market this year:
August already offers one of the easiest connected locks to install and start using with the $229 HomeKit-enabled Smart Lock (review), and now the company is introducing the $99 Mortise Kit for mortise style locks.
Certified locksmiths, property developers and managers can purchase the Mortise Kit directly from August with bulk discounts available now.
Carrier is launching its first HomeKit-compatible smart thermostat this year with a new model in its Côr line. The company says its upcoming HomeKit HVAC controller will ship for $249 in early 2017.
Current Côr thermostats from Carrier won’t be compatible with HomeKit so you’ll want to wait for the new model or check out some of the current options like ecobee3 (review) and ecobee3 Lite, Honeywell Lyric Round (review) and Lyric T5 (review), and iDevices Thermostat.
Chamberlain is delivering the first-ever HomeKit solution for garage door openers in the first half of this year. MyQ Home Bridge will bring HomeKit support to current Chamberlain MyQ garage door openers and be priced at $69.99 after a special $49.99 introductory price in April.
Separately, Smart Garage Hub will retrofit any modern garage door opener with HomeKit control and be available in July. Pricing for Smart Garage Hub is not yet known. Both solutions will enable users to open, close, and check the garage door status remotely, as well as include garage door control in scenes and automations.
D-Link will be shipping one of the first HomeKit-compatible home security cameras this year after iOS 10 added support for video in Apple’s new Home app.
Omna 180 Cam HD will offer a “full 180-degree field of view for whole-room viewing, 1080p resolution, night vision, motion-detection, two-way audio and a microSD card slot with support for 128GB cards.” Pricing and availability aren’t yet known but we’re getting closer after commitments to ship were first made last summer.
Elgato had an impressive showing of HomeKit hardware at CES this year with current and upcoming accessories on display.
Eve Extend is a battery-powered Bluetooth range extender that makes using outside accessories possible or more reliable. Pricing and availability will be coming in the future.
Elgato’s Eve line will also include a new smoke detector and wireless irrigation controller, although HomeKit compatibility isn’t known for the pre-released hardware. Elgato offers a wide range of HomeKit hardware (light switches, motion sensors, plugs, climate sensors, and more), however, so it’s possible HomeKit support will be included.
Focalcrest has promised an upcoming Mixtile Hub that claims to be able to make smart home accessories that rely on ZigBee, Z-Wave, and other protocols compatible with HomeKit. Ubisys has a similar solution in the works for later this year.
Koogeek is expanding its HomeKit lineup with $34.99 Smart Plugs and $50.99 Smart Sockets that work over Wi-Fi and will launch this year.
Honeywell currently offers two HomeKit thermostats mentioned above, and soon the company will introduce HomeKit support for its Home Security and Control system.
iDevices makes HomeKit-enabled lights and plugs, and a new wall-mounted Instant Switch will control those accessories for under $100 starting this summer.
Incipio has a $99 Smart Power Strip coming in Q2 with four individually controllable HomeKit power outlets which is one of the first of its kind. A Smart Wall Switch will also arrive in Q2 for $59.99.
Kwikset has HomeKit support in its latest Premis smart locks which are shipping now for $229.
Leviton is launching a new line of Decora Smart In-Wall Dimmers and Switches with HomeKit support starting in April. Three models will include: 1000W Universal Dimmer (up to 450W LED), 600W Universal Dimmer (up to 300W LED), and 15A Universal Rocker Switch (up to 600W LED). A dedicated bridge or hub won’t be required, but pricing is not yet known.
Nanoleaf showed off one of the most unique HomeKit-related products with their upcoming Music Visualization Module for Aurora smart lighting panels (review). This addition will allow Aurora lights to react to music with unique scenes that you can set with HomeKit which earned it our Best of CES 2017 award in this category.
Netatmo is adding a small collection of HomeKit-compatible smoke detectors with their upcoming Smart Smoke Alarm. OneLink currently offers the only shipping HomeKit smoke detector for around $100. Pricing and availability for Netatmo’s hardware isn’t available yet.
Ring committed to working with HomeKit last summer when video support was added, and last week the company unveiled a $249 Floodlight Cam that will work with Apple’s Home app. Pre-ordering is available now ahead of an April launch.
Withings is bringing HomeKit support to its Home Plus baby monitor and home security camera in the first quarter of this year for $199.
The original Withings Home camera won’t have HomeKit support and is being discounted ahead of the new model.
The company had a demo of HomeKit support with the new hardware at CES 2017, although networking issues prevented a live demonstration. Still, you can see how video will be handled in Apple’s new Home app when HomeKit cameras hit the market in a few months.
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