Apple's HomeKit is something Really Exciting Technology First Featured With iOS8 iOS 8 Is Here:10 Reasons To Install It Right Away iOS 8 Is Here:10 Reasons To Install It Right Away If you own an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, you'll want to update to iOS 8 as soon as possible . This is why. Read More
But the amount of HomeKit-compatible gear has always been somewhat disappointing. About a year later, only a handful of devices Future Proofing Your Smart Home for Apple HomeKit Compatibility Future Proofing Your Smart Home for Apple HomeKit Compatibility Read More have been released, and manufacturer interest appears to be waning.
Or, maybe not . Philips has finally joined the fray. The Dutch electronics giant has finally succeeded in integrating HomeKit into its lighting platform Hue light your home smartly with Philips Hue light your home smartly with Philips Hue If you can afford the upfront cost, you won't find a better Smart Lighting System compatible and easiest to use on the market. Read More . Here's what you need to know.
The Philips Hue lighting system is not an ordinary lighting system. It focuses on a range of powerful and energy-saving LED bulbs. Not only do they drink significantly less energy than traditional halogen bulbs, but they can also change shade, temperature, and color on demand.
These are connected to a "bridge". Essentially, it's a hockey-puck-shaped box, which connects to your network via Ethernet and allows you to remotely control up to 50 light bulbs via a mobile app, available for iOS and Android.
The Philips Hue family has been on the market since 2012. If you bought a starter kit between then and now, I have some bad news for you. Almost certainly not Compatible with Apple HomeKit. For that, you will need to buy a new bridge. Here you have two options..
You can buy a new Philips Hue starter kit, which includes a HomeKit-compatible bridge, as well as three extra bulbs. That will set you back around $200, which is a lot considering there are significantly cheaper alternatives to Hue. Hue alternatives that are really worth it Philips Hue alternatives that are really worth it The Philips Hue system is leading the charge when it comes to smart lighting, but there are some worthy alternatives out there. We have chosen three that offer the same basic feature set and hackability. Read more.
Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance 2nd Generation Smart Light Bulb Starter Kit (Old Model 3 A19 Bulbs and 1 Hub Compatible with Apple Amazon Alexa HomeKit and Google Assistant) 1 Hub Compatible with Amazon Alexa Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant) Purchase now on Amazon
Alternatively, if you're willing to wait until November 1, 2015, you can buy one directly from Philips for $40. That's a third of the regular $60 price, though don't expect this offer to last. The price goes up again at the end of the year..
If you can't be bothered to buy a new bridge, you can always configure Hue to work with Arduino How to Control Philips Hue Lights from an Arduino (and Add a Motion Sensor) How to Control Philips Hue Lights from an Arduino (and Add a Motion Sensor ) Today I'm going to show you how to control your hue lights from an Arduino, and then add a simple motion sensor. Read more.
Once you're all set, you're ready to control your lighting from Siri. As you've probably guessed, there are a few ways to control Ringtone from your iPhone.
First, there is the HomeKit way. This allows you to control Hue, simply by speaking to Siri. This works much as you would expect. Turning off the lights is as simple as saying “Siri, turn off the lights” .
HomeKit also allows you to control the individual attributes of each bulb and allows you to define brightness levels and color temperatures. You can even create presets, which can be activated via Siri. For example, you could say “Siri, reading mode” (or, as in their commercial, “Game time”), at which point the lights would dim accordingly.
HomeKit also allows you to combine Philips Hue with other compatible devices. For example, you could say "Siri, I'm going to bed." At that point, HomeKit would turn off the lights and use your Nest Thermostat to turn up the temperature. Cool right?
There are also a number of apps that allow you to control Philips Hue, both third-party and official.
If you want to set up Hue with Siri, you'll need to download the official Philips Hue app (free), available for iPhone and iPad. But beyond HomeKit, it has some amazing features worth checking out.
Not only does it allow you to set an alarm, which will wake you up by gradually increasing the lighting in your room, but it also allows you to control your lighting based on your location. So if you are close to home, it will know to turn on the lights. Similarly, if you move away from home, you can set it to turn off the lights to save energy.
It's worth noting that there is a Philips Hue app for Android, although this obviously doesn't support HomeKit.
Additionally, there are a number of excellent but unofficial third-party apps that take advantage of HomeKit to control Philips Hue. One of the most interesting is Home ($14.99), by Matthias Hochgatter.
Available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, this app is seriously powerful , and lets you control every connected HomeKit device (including Philips Hue) in an obsessive amount of detail.
Each bulb can be set with amazing precision to have the correct levels of brightness, saturation and hue. It also allows you to create "rooms", which group of HomeKit devices are based on location, as well as scenes and triggers.
And since it's built around HomeKit, you can use it with Siri. In this video, iMore Managing Editor Serenity Caldwell shows you how it's done (skip to 1:40):
To understand why this is so exciting, just imagine what it would be like to walk into your house and say:
“Siri, turn on the lights”
It's enough to convince you that you're on the Starship Enterprise. But you're not. You're just using some commercial technology, along with Apple's HomeKit. What a time to be alive.
But will this be enough to convince you to get a Philips Hue system? I want to hear about it. Leave me a comment below, and we'll chat..
