Apple Home, previously referred to as Apple HomeKit, is a smart home platform that lets you control all your smart gadgets in one place. The Home app is a powerful solution for home automation, allowing you to streamline tasks and quickly let your various devices communicate with each other. There’s a bit of technical jargon with Apple Home and Apple HomeKit (Home is the actual app, while HomeKit is the underlying communication technology), but whether you call it Home or HomeKit, one thing is the same — it’s one of the most popular smart home platforms on the planet.
Beyond Google Home and Amazon Alexa, Apple Home is one of the big three smart home platforms. It also supports Matter, meaning it plays nicely with thousands of products outside the Apple Home lineup, making it relatively futureproof. But should you use Apple Home for your smart home? Or are you better off with another platform?
Here’s a closer look at everything you need to know about Apple Home, including supported devices, how it works, and why it’s a good choice for iOS users.
As mentioned above, HomeKit is a platform that allows different smart home gadgets to communicate with each other and gives you access to all of them through a single app. Along with using the Home app on iOS, you can also dish out voice commands to supported smart speakers, such as HomePod or HomePod mini.
From checking security cameras to increasing the temperature of your thermostat, Home makes it easy to control your gadgets. You’ll want to set up a HomeKit hub to serve as the brains of the operation, but once that’s taken care of, you’ll have unprecedented control of all your smart home devices.
While Apple Home can’t control quite as many products as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, its catalog of supported smart home products is enough to keep most people happy. The number of supported products is constantly increasing, and HomeKit currently supports many items in the following categories:
One of the biggest innovations in the world of smart homes is Matter. This new connectivity standard allows products to communicate with smart home platforms that they typically wouldn’t support. For example, a smart light may not have native support for Apple Home, but if it’s updated to support Matter, it’ll work with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home.
Of course, the main caveat here is that manufacturers need to ensure their products are built to support Matter. But if you see a product with a label on the box for either Apple Home or Matter, you can rest easy knowing it’ll work with your setup.
While HomeKit doesn’t support as many products as Alexa or Google Home, it’s a great option for iOS enthusiasts. Not only does it feature a similar UI to all the other products in the Apple lineup (making it easy to learn its intricacies), but Apple TV and HomePod are great hubs for the action. In short, if you’ve been using an iPhone for years, you’ll feel right at home with Apple Home.
Be sure to take a look at its full list of supported gadgets before jumping on board, but using HomeKit in your smart home is the perfect way to connect all your disparate equipment.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
Technology evolves every day, transforming how we live and work. Our devices are becoming more than tools we use. They are increasingly capable companions that help streamline day-to-day routines and spark creative ideas. If you have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your tech setup, the Discover Samsung Shopping Event offers an opportunity to explore what connected, AI-powered living can look like.
With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.