You can now control HomeKit with a big red button thanks to Fibaro

Zac Hall | Jan 9 2018 - 7:46 am PT

Apple HomeKit makes smart home automation easier than ever, but sometimes there’s nothing simpler than hitting a big red button to shut everything down. Now you can do exactly that with Fibaro’s latest version of The Button.

Fibaro is launching a new version of The Button that works with HomeKit for the first time; the original version of The Button was tuned using the Z-Wave protocol.

The Button is the first of its kind in the HomeKit ecosystem of products that, unlike similar products and technologies, does not require a gateway, hub or bridge to connect. At less than 2-inches in size, The Button is one of the smallest and handiest home control devices that can be mounted anywhere, including on the wall or tabletop in any room to easily activate a device or scene.

HomeKit support means you can connect any scene from Apple’s Home app to The Button. For example, you could have a scene called Panic! that closes the garage, locks the deadbolts, and turns your lights red.

I haven’t tested HomeKit security systems like Honeywell Lyric, but it might even be possible to literally sound the alarm by slamming the big red button.

More from Fibaro on The Button below:

Recognizing up to three different actions, you can program the HomeKit-compatible Button to turn off the lights with one click, activate the AC with two clicks, or trigger a customized scene by holding it down.

It can activate scenes, synchronized actions involving several devices, such as a “goodbye scene” which closes the blinds, turns off electrical devices and sets your lights to away mode or a “good morning scene” which opens the blinds and turns on the lights when The Button is pressed. The Button is also equipped with a buzz feature that provides audible confirmation of a proper click with one buzz, two buzzes or a lengthened buzz. This feature can be turned on or off depending on user preference.

If red isn’t your flavor or you prefer something a bit calmer, The Button also comes in either black or white with five more colors coming later this year. Expect it to hit stores in Q1. The current Z-Wave version retails for $49.99, but HomeKit users will want to wait for the new version.