homekit and more
The latest Consumer Electronics Show included plenty of new kit to smarten up your Apple home
Say cheerio to chores with smart devices
The smart home is all about making life easier or more comfortable, and amidst all the daft gadgets that were on show at CES there were lots of more
practical devices, too. LG’s Cloi robot may have been a bit of a disaster, but the company makes lots of other household appliances, ranging from air conditioning systems to cookers, fridges and TV sets, and its ThinQ artificial intelligence system is designed to link all those devices together and create a truly smart home. LG is even taking on Siri and Apple TV, by using Amazon’s Alexa in its ThinQ televisions so that you can shout across the room and tell the TV to change the channel or mute the volume whenever an annoying celebrity is on screen.
Cleaning is a tedious chore for everyone, so we appreciated Roomba’s announcement of an updated range of robot vacuum cleaners, which can zoom around your home, cleaning the floors as they go. The latest model, the Braava Jet (from £249.99), can even squirt some soapy water on mud, wine, or other tricky stains and mop them up for you.
HomeKit strikes back
With Apple’s HomePod not making a public appearance until February, Amazon has managed to hoover up support for its Echo speakers and Alexa voice assistant from many manufacturers and products. An unexpected use of voice technology comes from WD’s MyCloud Home NAS drive, which now uses Alexa to let you select and play music and other files stored on the hard drive. We asked WD about plans to work with Siri, and we’re still waiting for a reply. However, CES also gave us signs that Apple’s HomeKit is finally starting to build up some momentum, too. And now that HomePod is finally here, it could be that 2018 is the year that HomeKit and Siri finally get their moment in the spotlight. Security has always been the most popular category of smart home products, and there were a number of new HomeKit-compatible security cameras and other devices on show at CES. Perhaps the biggest Apple-related news came with Netgear’s announcement that it’s adding HomeKit support to its Arlo Baby camera (£269.99). The company also told MacFormat that it plans to bring HomeKit to other models in the Arlo range too, which will
be a big boost for Apple’s tech given Netgear’s strong position in the security market.
Meanwhile, Somfy has gone outdoors with its weatherproof security camera, and thrown in HomeKit support and an ear-splitting 110dB alarm too, though that won’t be available until summer. Hive’s new View camera (£189) doesn’t include HomeKit support, but is already on sale in the UK. It’s also designed to work with other Hive products, such as its thermostats, lights and security sensors – and it looks really stylish, too.
Ring’s CES offering was two new versions of its outdoor Stick Up camera (from £159), along with a new range of Beam security lights, which can be placed outdoors in the garden or on a porch and linked to its security cameras and alarms. It’s also planning a full-scale home security system for later in 2018 that will include water sensors and smoke alarms, along with cameras, lights and doorbells.
Ring’s video doorbells weren’t updated at CES, but a number of other companies had smart doorbells and locks on show. There are some important points to watch out for here, though. Yale has been announcing smart locks and HomeKit support for years, so we’re not really holding our breath for those anymore. And, unfortunately, many locks from the US – including the popular August Smart Lock – aren’t very practical in the UK, as UK homes tend to favour mortice locks, while the US opts for big, chunky deadbolts. But the Aussies at Swann have come up with a new Smart Video Doorbell (£TBC) that should suit UK homes
Smart devices tend to be expensive, but companies are now coming up with affordable alternatives
better. Compatibility with wired and wireless networks makes it easy to place anywhere you want. You can even use voice commands to tell it to open the door – although, sadly, only using Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant right now.
Smart hubs
The trouble with smart devices is that they tend to be a lot more expensive than their more traditional counterparts – a single smart light bulb can cost £50 or more – but CES turned up some interesting products that attempt to provide a more affordable solution. Belkin’s WeMo Bridge has been selling like hotcakes since its launch at CES (see ‘Belkin WeMo Bridge’, on the left of this page), but this only works with Belkin’s own WeMo products to make them HomeKit-compatible.
However, a company called Lightwave has come up with a more versatile alternative. You’ll need to buy the company’s Link Plus hub (£129.95; make sure it’s the new second-gen model, as that supports HomeKit as well). The hub can then be used to control Lightwave’s extensive range of plugs, radiator controls, and light switches, which are mostly priced around the £35 mark. These devices can control your existing, non-smart lights, power sockets and radiators, so you can make your home a lot smarter for as little as £200-£300.