Here's a step by step guide on how to transfer or migrate your old Philips Hue lights Bridge to the new HomeKit-enabled Bridge 2.0.
Apple's HomeKit platform has gained a great deal of traction and support during the Consumer Electronics Show 2016 in Las Vegas. We've already seen multiple reputed companies take the opportunity to announce their own HomeKit-enabled hardware for the connected smart home. First Alert - one of the bigger names in the production of smoke alarms - has now jumped on that bandwagon by stepping out of its comfort zone to introduce a HomeKit-enabled smart safe designed to work seamlessly with Apple's home automation platform.
Users of home automation kit that doesn't officially play ball with Apple's HomeKit may want to check out the open-source Homebridge that, as the name suggests, is capable of acting as a bridge between your existing smart home devices and Apple's HomeKit.
It's very likely that home automation will become a very prominent part of every tech lover's agenda during the next twelve months. Home automation has always been something that home owners have had an interest in, but it's also largely something that has been financially out of most people's reach. The availability of Apple's HomeKit, and the leap from manufacturers to push out hardware that supports it, will bridge that gap and allow us all to have automated homes in one way or another. ConnectSense is looking to be at the forefront of that integration with the release of its Smart Outlet complete with Apple HomeKit inclusion.
If you think of affordable, intelligent home automation products, then it's highly likely that the Philips Hue range will spring to mind. Home automation isn't particularly a new concept, but Philips has managed to do an extremely professional job of bridging the gap between those who want to add some intelligent automation to their home, and those who could actually afford to do so. Now, Philips has just announced an updated version of the original Hue Bridge, as well as a range of new Hue bulbs, all of which are now compatible with the Apple HomeKit platform.
The HomeKit compatible Philips Hue Bridge is an upcoming device that will act as a hub between existing Hue light bulbs in your home and Apple's HomeKit platform, allowing control via Siri and more.
When Apple announced HomeKit, its iOS framework for controlling smart devices around the home, such as thermostats, door locks and lights, we expected to see every accessory maker under the sun rush to get accessories out the door. As it turned out, Apple's own inability to get all of its API ducks in a row have hampered the release of hardware, but that is starting to come to an end. One of the devices first outed at January's CES - the iHome iSP5 SmartPlug - is now available to buy.
These are the official Apple HomeKit Siri commands which you can use to control your entire home automation setup.
When it comes to producing third-party accessories and peripherals for Apple products, there are literally thousands of companies catering to the millions rocking Cupertino-designed gadgets. But Apple does keep a close-knit circle of trusted, official partners, one of whom is Belkin, and the latter has just announced its intention to bring HomeKit support to its WeMo line of smart home products.
When Apple announced HomeKit at WWDC it was almost forgotten about in the midst of all the other new additions that iOS received as part of the iOS 8 unveiling. Now that CES has come to a close though and the dust is beginning to settle on the huge number of announcements that took place there, HomeKit is once again starting to gain traction after some of the home automation companies showed off their wares.
