“CES 2015 has given us a deluge of new HomeKit announcements,” Thomas Ricker and Jacob Kastrenakes report for The Verge. “Thus far, we’ve seen several smart outlets, a garage door opener, light bulb adapters, a door lock, and a power strip from vendors such as iDevices, iHome, GridConnect, Chamberlain, Schlage, and Incipio. Elgato announced an entire range of HomeKit sensors while Insteon introduced a full-on hub that bridges HomeKit-compatible devices with Insteon’s vast catalog of otherwise incompatible smart home accessories.”
Ricker and Kastrenakes report, “Each new Wi-Fi device also shares one common trait: an Apple TV is required if you want to control them with Siri while away from home.”
“So, while commands like “Siri, turn off the lights in the living room” will always work while connected to your home Wi-Fi network, they won’t from the airport unless you have an Apple TV. But that’s it — you can still switch off the lights with an app, no Apple TV required,” Ricker and Kastrenakes report. “Only third-generation or later Apple TVs running software 7.0 or later will support HomeKit.”
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