HomeKit Weekly

Nanoleaf HomeKit lights are great for decorating and entertaining all year — long after the Christmas tree is taken down and the holiday lights are all boxed up. Nanoleaf now makes two styles of smart lights that illuminate your walls: Light Panels and Canvas. Here’s how they compare:

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.

Upgrading your Christmas tree and holiday lights to work with HomeKit, Siri, and Apple’s Home app is easier than ever this year. There’s no need to go out and buy new lights or special decorations either, and there are solutions for under $50 that work both indoors and outdoors.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework. 

If you’re investing in smart home technology and want to stay in the HomeKit ecosystem, there are currently four home security cameras on the market that work with the Home app. This week we’ll look at what options are on the market, how the hardware and supporting services differ, and how you can improve the HomeKit security camera experience.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework. 

HomeKit speakers have an interesting place in the Home app. They’re primarily there so you can name a speaker and assign it to a room in your home. Then you can stream audio to it over AirPlay 2 and control audio playback with Siri. There’s not much more to HomeKit speakers than that yet.

Libratone Zipp is a portable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speaker that retroactively gained AirPlay 2 support this month through a free software update. The portable speaker now has a place in the Home app with other HomeKit accessories like HomePod and newer Sonos speakers, and it plays nice with these speakers with AirPlay 2.

The combination of Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, and a built-in battery makes it a versatile option for HomePod-like audio without always being anchored to a power outlet.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.

HomeKit Weekly started earlier this year with an overview of how the Home app works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch (and Apple TV with Siri), and the Home app has since found its way to the Mac with macOS Mojave. Along the way we’ve recommended smart locks, shades, fans, garage door openers, security cameras, and more.

This week I want to use my HomeKit experience to create a smart home starter pack. If you’ve never tried HomeKit before or you want new ways to expand your smart home, these picks from each category should be useful.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.

This column is typically used to share recommendations and advice around using HomeKit, but this week I want to zoom out and talk specifically about why you should choose HomeKit.

There are a lot of “smart home” platforms on the market and plenty of connected accessories with iPhone apps, but I actively avoid products that don’t work with Siri. If you’re deep in the Apple product ecosystem, non-HomeKit smart home products can be a serious frustration.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.

This week we’re checking out one of the most convenient but costly HomeKit areas: windows. Apple lists four compatible accessories in this category — two announced and two available. We’ll be working with the Serena Motorized Shades by Lutron. Check out our hands-on experience below.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.

Capturing and checking hyperlocal temperature and humidity with Siri and the Home app is one of my favorite HomeKit tricks. Weather apps that show your city’s current conditions and forecast are great, but knowing the actual temperature right outside your front door in real-time is neat. This can work with both outdoors or with specific rooms inside using the right sensors and configuration.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.

We’re halfway through August, but summer doesn’t feel anywhere near like letting up: it’s hot outside! Luckily there are lots of ways to keep cool indoors — including four methods that work with HomeKit and Siri. Controlling cooling with HomeKit doesn’t have to be expensive either.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.

This week HomeKit Weekly returns to check out the latest smart home accessory from Nanoleaf, the makers of the awesome color-shifting Light Panels (reviewed). Nanoleaf Remote (reviewed) is a 12-sided controller that lets you assign up to a dozen light panel effects with a gesture.

Nanoleaf Remote ($49.95) stands out for two reasons. Like the light panels, the remote is a clean white object that lights up with color upon interaction. For HomeKit enthusiasts, Nanoleaf Remote is also the most capable standalone HomeKit controller on the market.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.

Apple added support for sprinklers and faucets in HomeKit as part of iOS 11, and now the first accessories with support are starting to hit the market. This week we’re going to take a hands-on look at Elgato’s Eve Aqua, a smart accessory that adds HomeKit control to your existing sprinkler system.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework. 

Fresh off of WWDC 2018, this week we’re looking at HomeKit’s debut on the Mac through macOS Mojave. Coming later this fall, macOS 10.14 includes a version of Apple’s Home app for smart accessory control. Siri on the Mac also learns how to control HomeKit with voice commands.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework. 

In our seventh installment, we’re exploring how smart locks work with HomeKit. 9to5Mac has also teamed up with our sponsor August Home to give away Apple’s latest 64GB (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 8 and August’s Smart Lock Pro + Connect Wi-Fi Bridge this month (a value of over $1,000 USD). Enter here.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework. 

This week on HomeKit Weekly we’re looking at personalizing the icon for individual lights in Apple’s Home app. Changing each light icon can be especially useful after adding lots of HomeKit lights to your home.

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HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework. 

In our fifth installment of HomeKit Weekly, we’re going to explore how to use HomeKit-enabled hardware buttons to make using smart lights familiar for guests and family. 9to5Mac has also teamed up with FIBARO to offer a HomeKit bundle giveaway so enter now for a chance to receive free HomeKit gear including The Button.

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HomeKit Weekly is a new series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework. 

As a HomeKit enthusiast, I find myself playing around with a lot of different automations. Some stick because they’re actually useful while others are just neat proofs of concept that prove less practical. There is one set of automations that I absolutely love and recommend every HomeKit user copy: automating outside lights on and off based on time and sunset.

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HomeKit Weekly is a new series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework. 

In our third installment of HomeKit Weekly, we’re going to explore how to make HomeKit-enabled sensors more useful through automation in Apple’s Home app. 9to5Mac has also teamed up with FIBARO to offer a HomeKit bundle giveaway, so this week we’ll highlight ways to put those products to work.

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HomeKit Weekly is a new series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework. 

Getting into HomeKit can be a very costly endeavor when you start replacing locks, lights, and other accessories with connected versions. Fortunately, turning your old garage door opener into a Siri-connected entrance doesn’t require replacing your existing garage door opener. Instead you can upgrade your existing garage door opener from $70-$170 depending on your needs. Here’s how to get started:

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HomeKit Weekly is a new series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework. 

In our inaugural edition of HomeKit Weekly, we’re starting with the basics: becoming familiar with Apple’s Home app to control HomeKit. Apple’s Home app is a lot more polished than smart home control in Amazon’s Alexa app, but the Home app can feel foreign to new users despite its name. That was certainly my experience on day one of running iOS 10, but you can overcome the learning curve with experience.

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