Here comes HomeKit: Devices start shipping today
HomeKit-compatible products from brands such as Insteon, Lutron and Elgato are here, and they'll integrate directly into Apple's emerging smart home ecosystem.
- 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
One year ago, Apple introduced HomeKit, the company's bid to build an iOS-based smart home ecosystem with Siri calling the shots. Now, in the week before Apple's yearly Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC), the first batch of HomeKit-compatible devices are starting to arrive in the US.
The new devices include a $230 HomeKit-friendly lighting control kit from Lutron , along with a new connected home hub from Insteon that sells for $150. Both of those start shipping online orders today and should arrive in US retail outlets in the coming weeks. A connected iHome plug , a HomeKit-compatible Ecobee3 thermostat , and a suite of smart home sensors from Elgato should join them at that point, but all three are only taking pre-orders at this point.
There's also the iDevices Switch , another smart outlet capable of automating anything you plug into it. That product was front and center among the HomeKit crop at January's Consumer Electronics Showcase in Las Vegas, but the latest we've heard is that it isn't expected in retail until September.
Soon, you'll start seeing products like these on sale at the Apple Store, or on Apple's online store. Lutron's kits are reportedly already in stores (though we didn't see them at any of the Apple Stores in our immediate area), while Elgato Eve and the Ecobee3 are set to arrive next month. If you'd rather pre-order now, the Ecobee3 thermostat is already up for sale on the Apple Store website in the US, although as with all the devices mentioned here, UK and Australian availability is yet to be announced.
All told, that's a decent range of functionality for round one of the HomeKit rollout, though we've yet to see official HomeKit integrations for a lot of the big names initially trumpeted at the platform's launch. That's likely to change in the coming weeks -- expect a flurry of HomeKit-compatibility and product availability announcements as the pieces continue falling into place. There's also a reasonable chance we could hear more from Apple next week. Stay tuned.