When you hear the term "smart home," the first thing you might think of is Amazon's Echo.
While Amazon does have a major lead in the smart-home hub space, Apple has recently stepped up their game.
They've given products that fit their "Home Kit" certification their own app, called "Home," in iOS 10.
So if you're more comfortable with Siri and the iPhone than Amazon and Alexa, these four products can help you get your smart home started.
A smart thermostat
If you haven't given a thought to upgrading your old thermostat to smart one, it's a worthwhile investment. Trust me.Of course, you can adjust the temperature of your place using your phone. That's relatively standard in the smart-thermostat world. Honeywell takes things a step further, though, by creating a geofence around your house.
That geofence let's the thermostat know whether you're home or away, so it can adjust the temperature accordingly, and conserve energy.
That geofence let's the thermostat know whether you're home or away, so it can adjust the temperature accordingly, and conserve energy.
A smart lock
If you want to keep your home secure from outsiders, but more easily accessible by friends and family, you'll want a smart lock.
Like Honeywell's thermostat, August senses when your phone is near, and activates accordingly. Instead of creating a geofence, the lock puts out a Bluetooth signal. When your phone is near and connects, it unlocks.
You can also lock or unlock your door from wherever you are through August's app. This lets you let friends or family in without giving them a set of your keys. By using this lock, you'll also have a log of everyone who entered your house.
Like Honeywell's thermostat, August senses when your phone is near, and activates accordingly. Instead of creating a geofence, the lock puts out a Bluetooth signal. When your phone is near and connects, it unlocks.
You can also lock or unlock your door from wherever you are through August's app. This lets you let friends or family in without giving them a set of your keys. By using this lock, you'll also have a log of everyone who entered your house.
Philips Hue bulbs
Being able to control the lights in a room with your voice is a game-changer, and once you get used to it, there's no going back.
These are the multi-color bulbs, too. So in addition to being able to control whether your lights are on or off, you can control whether they're normal or fun-colored through Siri. If you're looking for only one smart-home accessory to start off with, these lights are it. They represent both the potential fun, and utility, of smart-home products.
These are the multi-color bulbs, too. So in addition to being able to control whether your lights are on or off, you can control whether they're normal or fun-colored through Siri. If you're looking for only one smart-home accessory to start off with, these lights are it. They represent both the potential fun, and utility, of smart-home products.
A smart plug
Just plug your appliances into the smart plug, and the smart plug into the outlet. That's it. Elgato's plug connects to your phone via Bluetooth; once connected you can monitor the energy usage from the plug and turn it on and off.
That's not as fancy as the tricks you can pull off with true smart appliances, but for smaller products, it's perfect. For me, I can turn on my electric tea kettle from bed and have boiled water waiting for me by the time I'm done brushing my teeth.
That's not as fancy as the tricks you can pull off with true smart appliances, but for smaller products, it's perfect. For me, I can turn on my electric tea kettle from bed and have boiled water waiting for me by the time I'm done brushing my teeth.
