Apple has confirmed that the Apple TV will act as the hub for its Internet of Things smart-home platform, HomeKit. Many are looking forward to Apple’s take on the connected home, including Siri integration and secure pairing. Just the other day, we gave a look at the first five Apple-certified products available for HomeKit, including control over your lights, thermostat, and electrical outlets, the last of which allows you to turn almost any device into a smart one. More devices are expected to follow after Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference next week.
There have long been hints about the Apple TV role in HomeKit, and the inclusion of HomeKit support in the developer beta of Apple TV firmware 7.0 all but confirmed it. But now an update to Apple’s website walking customers through setting up the system cements the device’s central role in automating your home.
“If you have an Apple TV (3rd generation or later) with software version 7.0 or later, you can control your HomeKit-enabled accessories when you’re away from home using your iOS device,” according to Apple. Certain apps will allow users to link devices together, creating “scenes,” such as lowering the lights and thermostat before bed.
Each device you want to control using HomeKit will need to run iOS 8.1 or later, but there is a slight chance that iOS 9 will run on older devices. As long as the Apple TV and iOS device are connected to the Internet, you can use Siri commands to control things in your home. It’s much easier to whip out your phone and tell Siri, “Turn off the lights,” than it is to unlock your phone and fire up an app. It’s especially useful to do so if you realize you’ve left them on while heading to the airport.
Here is a running list of Apple HomeKit devices.
Amazon has unveiled a new Alexa lineup featuring the Echo Show 16, Echo Time smart clock, and Alexa Photo Frame. Two speakers join them: an upgraded Echo Dot with a built-in smart home hub and the Echo Studio with Home Camera, which lets Alexa+ see its surroundings. Both are available now for $99.99 and $249.99, respectively.
The Echo Dot does more than play music
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.