HomeKit

HomeKit dramatically improved the user-friendliness of both configuring and controlling smart homes, by allowing everything to be done though a single app.

But while the Home app was a fantastic breakthrough for its time, technology has moved on, and I think Apple needs to respond. Here are three advanced features I’d like to see in the AI age …

HomeKit compatibility used to attract a noticeable price premium when buying smart home products, but the Matter standard is changing that – and Ikea is now going all-in on this.

The company says that it has more than 20 new affordable Matter-compatible smart home devices in the works, with likely plans to expand into completely new product types too …

Amazon, Google, and Samsung are all working on an exciting way to bring AI to smart homes – and Apple risks being left behind.

Samsung is first to launch the new feature: the ability to use natural language to simply tell your smart home app what it is you want it to do …

Apple introduced new HomeKit architecture back in 2022, with the primary aim of making the smart home system more reliable. At the time, users could choose between upgrading or remaining on the original version of the platform.

Fast–forward to March of this year, and 9to5Mac discovered code showing that the company was planning to drop support for the old version. That was subsequently confirmed by Apple, and a further reminder has now been found in the latest iOS 18.6 beta – with a little more detail …

When Apple released iOS 18.4 to everyone earlier this year, and it came with a big upgrade to the Home app. With iOS 18.4, users can now add robot vacuums to HomeKit for the first time thanks to the Matter smart home standard.

Here are the robot vacuums compatible with HomeKit…

A new Apple framework makes it easy for developers of smart home apps to help cut your electricity bills. While EnergyKit is currently limited to thermostats and EV chargers, it’s the first step toward optimizing energy usage throughout your entire home.

Some smart home devices can already help you reduce power usage and costs, like the Ecobee and Nest thermostats, but EnergyKit takes this much further …

Crafting a smart home ecosystem can be tricky. There are a lot of product categories, and it can be hard to know which ones to prioritize. Here are some of my go-to smart home recommendations for outfitting your smart home setup … and they all integrate with Apple’s HomeKit platform.

Apple is launching a brand new Home product in the coming year. I’ve been calling it ‘HomePad,’ and these are five of the core features it will bring with it.

Apple plans to launch new Home products this year and even new homeOS software. But it seems those aren’t the only changes coming, as the company has confirmed via a support document that iOS 19 will end support for its legacy Home app architecture, requiring an update.

Upgrading your HomeKit lifestyle with a smart garage door is one of the best changes you can make. For a long time, MyQ was an easy recommendation for people looking to easily turn their existing garage door into a HomeKit garage door. Chamberlin, the company behind the MyQ platform, discontinued its HomeKit accessory last year and recently even further cracked down on access to the MyQ platform.

Thankfully, there are other ways to bring HomeKit capability to your garage door without too much work. Here are some of my favorites…

An update to the Matter standard will make it much easier to set up HomeKit-compatible smart home devices. In particular, it should make tap-to-pair a far more common feature, rather than something supported by only a handful of devices.

Multi-device QR codes will also make setup much easier for things like multi-packs of smart light bulbs, which will let you set up all of them at once, rather than having to do each one individually …

A new residential property survey is suggesting that smart home tech can add to the resale value, though there are some big caveats.

The headline news is that more than a quarter of American homebuyers are now willing to pay a premium for smart homes, and that the average perceived value-add is $18k …

An upcoming Philips Hue doorbell has been accidentally leaked by the company though an update to the Hue app. The company already offers a range of smart security cameras.

The app content reveals quite a lot about the device, which is not expected to launch until the fall, including a significant limitation …

I went all-in on Apple HomeKit about five years ago. Before that, my smart home setup was a mess—some accessories worked with Google, others with Apple and Alexa, and nothing felt unified. I wanted everything in one place, so I consolidated everything into the Apple Home app. My first major purchase was an ecobee3 lite, which I got at a discount through my local power provider. Since then, my Ecobee thermostat has been the heart of my smart home. So when Ecobee announced the budget-friendly Smart Thermostat Essential, I knew I had to try it. Here’s my hands-on experience with their latest smart thermostat.

Aqara keeps on a hot srreak in 2025 with a host of new products. After its new HomeKit Secure Video camera, the Aqara LED Bulb T2 is the company’s latest smart lighting option, bringing a nice combination of Thread and Zigbee support. Matter support, Zigbee Adaptive Lighting, and ultra-wide color tuning make it a solid addition to any HomeKit environment.

Back with iOS 16, Apple introduced a new architecture for the Home app aimed at improving the experience of using HomeKit devices. Since then, upgrading to the new architecture has been optional, but Apple will soon force this upgrade on all users.

According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Apple has opened up an internal testing program for the upcoming smart home product, which some refer to as HomePad. It was scheduled to debut in March, but has unfortunately become delayed while the company figures out how to build its promised new Siri capabilities.

SwitchBot (makers of my favorite Find My wallet finder) have launched a new option in the smart blinds space, the SwitchBot Roller Shade.

It is one of the cheaper smart blinds options on the market, and it even has an adjustable bar so it can fit many different window sizes. And if you have the SwitchBot Hub 2, you can connect these shades directly to the Apple Home app using the Matter integration. Unfortunately, they cannot act as a standalone Matter accessory — the hub is required.

I’m a relatively early adopter of smart home products. While I didn’t dive in during the X.10 days, I’ve been using a variety of smart home devices for well over a decade now, and jumped in on HomeKit as soon as it crossed the Atlantic.

But a recent experience of something as simple as replacing a failed light-bulb really drove home how much further we have to go before we can expect non-techies to climb on board …