Apple HomeKit powers on with iDevices Switch smart plug (hands-on)
This connected power plug will be one of the first devices to support Apple's HomeKit smart home interface and developer kit for iOS.
iDevices is one of the first device makers Apple announced as a partner for its HomeKit smart home initiative back at Apple's 2014 Worldwide Developers Conference. After displaying an early prototype of its first HomeKit product, a $50 smart wall outlet adapter called Switch, at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, iDevices today showed a functional unit for the first time, complete with a working iOS app and voice control using Siri, Apple's voice input system in iOS.
To review, HomeKit represents Apple's effort to build support for smart home devices directly into iOS. It involves programming guidelines and tools for device makers, as well as an Apple-administered hardware certification process. A connected light bulb or power plug that becomes HomeKit-certified will benefit from a deep software tie-in to iOS, which will bestow various user benefits on supporting devices. It's that connection with iOS that lets HomeKit introduce Siri-based voice commands and other conveniences to smart home products.
After Apple announced a handful of HomeKit partner companies in June 2014 at WWDC, more have been trickling into the program since then at a steady pace.
The Switch isn't the first smart plug. Belkin, D-Link and others have sold connected power plugs for years. The premise behind the Switch isn't that much different than for its predecessors. Thanks to networking capability built into the outlet hardware, you can use your smartphone to control things you plug into the Switch.
In the most basic sense that usually means turning lamps, TVs, small appliances and other devices and gadgets on and off remotely, or putting them on a timer. If you have other smart devices around the house, you can also use the app to set one smart product to trigger behaviors in one or more other connected products.
The Switch talks to your home network via Wi-Fi, and via Bluetooth it can also act as a bridge for other devices that don't have Wi-Fi themselves. Smart door locks, for example, usually run on batteries since hard wiring isn't practical for most residential door designs. To save power, most smart locks use Bluetooth to connect to your phone, and rely on some kind of hub to get out to the larger Internet. Because it incorporates both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, iDevices' Switch can act as that hub. Lock maker Schlage will have a connected, HomeKit-compatible door lock called Sense that takes advantage of that feature.
In a relatively controlled demo environment, I was able to use Siri to turn a Switch on and off with no trouble. That echoes the experience of my colleague Megan Wollerton when she reviewed the first HomeKit-enabled device to hit store shelves, the Lutron Caseta Wireless Lighting Starter Kit.
International pricing and availability have not yet been announced but directly converting from $49 puts it at about £30 or AU$60, and on competitive ground with other smart power plugs. The Switch also has a color-customizable night light built-in, a charming added touch.
Expect to see more devices trickle out over the next few months, with the Switch and others available to purchase in October, just in time for the holiday widget-buying season. iDevices is still lining up where exactly it's going to sell the Switch, but at the very least it will be on prominent display at Lowe's.