After a solid few years of running my smart home on Google’s platform, I’m starting a transition to Apple HomeKit. For several reasons, it’s not going to be a cheap or seamless endeavor. And it’s going to take some compromises on my part as well.
Why am I doing this? Part of the reason is to offer more HomeKit reviews, tips, and experiences here on the site. But the main reason is due to my recent decision to switch phones.
Long story short: After testing a de-Googled Android phone over the past few months to up my level of data privacy, I’m impressed by Apple’s recent efforts on this front. While the company still has the personal data of its users, it doesn’t rely on that information nearly as much as any other big tech company for monetization, particularly through third-parties. The new app “nutrition labels” showing what data the software collects or tracks are also useful for choosing which mobile software I want to use.
So I now have an iPhone 12 and while I could simply use Google’s apps for everything, including my smart home, that would defeat my data privacy approach. Therefore, it’s HomeKit time!
Switching is going to cost me
Right off the bat, I found that most of the connected devices in my smart home don’t natively work with HomeKit. I expected this, of course, but it was still jarring.
In fact, only the HomePod, HomePod mini, and Ecobee thermostat appear in the Home app on my iPhone. Technically, my Vizio TV does as well, but that’s limited to AirPlay 2 support.
I have a wide range of smart bulbs from various manufacturers that aren’t HomeKit compatible. There are some from Cree, Cync (formerly known as C by GE), Samsung, Sylvania, and Wyze. I do have one LIFX bulb, a few hand-me-down Philips Hue bulbs from Stacey, and a Hue bridge so I did connect those to HomeKit.
But I’ll be looking to replace at least a dozen bulbs with HomeKit support in the near future. That will cost me a minimum of $20 per bulb, depending on the brand and features.
My smart home has a few door/window sensors from Samsung and some smart outlets, so those too will need replacing. I have three Wyze cameras, both inside and outdoor models, which will cost a pretty penny to swap out.
And then there’s my front door. We love both our Nest Hello video doorbell and our Nest x Yale smart lock. With the word “Nest” in the product names, you already know that there’s no HomeKit support for either of these. I’d expect to spend at least $400 if we replace these two devices.
Third-party workarounds to save money and ease the transition
There actually is a way to cut the spending here and it comes in the form of Homebridge, the open-source platform that adds non-HomeKit devices to HomeKit. I recently tested HOOBS, which does this using Homebridge and I may use it where possible.
I was able to add my Wink lights, for example, to HomeKit using HOOBS during my testing, for example.
The lights appear like any other HomeKit lights, support HomeKit automations, and worked well with Siri. There are 2,000 available plugins to support many non-HomeKit devices, including some from Nest. Unfortunately, current support is limited to Nest devices that I don’t have; I can’t add my video doorbell or front door lock to HomeKit using HOOBS at this time.
Still, any of my current connected devices that work with HOOBS would let me replace devices over a longer time period. Or I could simply just rely on HOOBs to add HomeKit support for my supported devices and not replace them at all.
What I’ll miss the most and what I’ll gain
There’s one aspect of HomeKit that confounds me and will be the biggest pain point: Apple doesn’t make smart displays like Google and Amazon do. We’re so used to using the ones we have for seeing who just rang the doorbell or for tapping an icon to turn off lights without using our voice.
Live video from the front door can be seen in the HomeKit world if you have an AppleTV, but we don’t plan to add one of those to our home. I guess we’ll just use our iPhones in lieu of the smart displays.
On the positive side, once we’re fully equipped with HomeKit gear, we’ll be gaining some nice features.
HomeKit Secure Video support ensures that the feed from our cameras is end-to-end encrypted. HomeKit Adaptive Lighting is already supported on the Philips Hue lights and I’ve seen it in action: Early in the morning or late in the evening the bulbs slowly transition to a warmer white than from the midday daylight color temperature.
And the HomePod mini, which we’re using as our HomeKit hub is already Thread enabled. Once we get devices with Thread support, they’ll respond faster than we can say “Hey Google… I meant hey Siri” during our transition. It also doesn’t hurt that Apple is finally allowing Spotify to be a default music service option in the next release of iOS 14. Good-bye AirPlay to the HomePods!
Is it going to be worth the cost and lack of smart displays? In the end, I think so.
We won’t be losing much if any functionality in our smart home. We’ll be able to benefit from the response time and low latency of Thread devices without having to buy a new hub.
And we’ll feel better about our private, in-home data, knowing that Apple isn’t going to offer that data to third-parties. I’ve always said once you give up that data, you’ve completely lost control over how it’s used and by whom.
I’m sure some of you have made the transition from Google, or Amazon, over to HomeKit. Was it worth it to you?
As part of the certification process Apple checks Homekit devices to make sure that they are not using side channels to communicate. HOOBS is defeating the goals of Homekit by terminating the Apple encryption in Homebridge. In general hooking any type of third-party bridge in to Homekit defeats the whole privacy promise.
By the time you get done with this experiment you’ll discover that a similar level of automation via Homekit costs double the price of other options. It will work fine and be a nice Apple toy, but it is going to cost you $$$.
Well, if you have any networking ability, that’s not necessarily the case at all. Keeping homebridge running on a local server with devices properly isolated using VLANs doesn’t compromise one bit while letting you use a bunch of other devices.
How will it cost more, exactly? I’m already saving $60/year just switching cameras. I have more control over HomeKit device sensors for automation than anything I could do with Google integrations.
I decided a few months ago I was done with SmartThings for many reasons that would constitute a long form article. Being an Apple house with two aTVs (no HomePod Mini yet), I wanted to transition to HomeKit for very similar reasons to this post. I also utilize HomeBridge (although not the HOOBS fork) to link all sorts of products in – SmartThings, MyQ garage door opener, Logitech Harmony, Roomba, and Nest smoke detectors.
I have a bunch of zwave and zigbee devices connected to SmartThings, so I just use that as a simple hub now (no automation) to connect to them. This will allow me to transition these devices over time, most likely to Thread.
In addition, I also added some great plugins to HomeBridge – dummy switches and delay switches. Both are very useful for automations. I had some fairly complex automations on SmartThings utilizing webcore. I was able to recreate all of them in HomeKit utilizing these various options, which actually simplified many of them.
The only issue I have now is notifications. HomeKit is too basic in its use of notifications. So, that is the one thing in SmartThings I still use. I’m hoping that the next iteration of HomeKit will expand how you can utilize notifications.
So, I don’t see this as an $$$ endeavor. As devices break, I’m replacing them with HK compatible ones. For example, I had two zwave switches stop working. Since they needed to be replaced, I just went with devices that would work under my new scenario. I have another zwave switch that is starting to act up, so that will be next.
But, I do agree that I wish Apple had some sort of smart display. I still have some Echo’s around, including a Show 5. But, they will be phased out in our house with HomePod minis as time allows. I do not like the privacy side of Alexa either. But, I do like the Show 5. …1st world problem.
I’ve been using HomeKit as a front end for my Home Automation system since it first came out. My current count of HomeKit devices is 132. A dozen of those are native devices, the rest are connected via Homebridge or manufactured hubs like Lutron etc. The Homebridge devices are behind the same router protections as native ones. Many Homebridge devices operate completely local and are faster than “phone home” devices like LifX.
Welcome to this great new world; you will enjoy it more the deeper you dive in.
Mostly HomeKit native devices here and the experience is first rate. Automations are wider ranging, easier to set up and more configurable than anything in Google Home presently. For me, this alone is worth it. I still use a Nest thermostat, protect smoke co2 alarm and secure alarm. The family like the ease of use from the thermostat and a smart/wired combined smoke/co2 alarm is surprisingly hard to find here in the UK. These are bridged into HomeKit using starling HomeHub and I can completely recommend this approach as it has been set it and forget it with first class support and new features added on a regular basis.
You should look at http://www.starling.io for Nest integration. Works great for me (although my personal experience is limited to Nest Protect integration) and supports Nest Hello and Nest Yale locks. There are usually little gotchas with these kinds of solutions so make sure it does what is expected. Second only to Lutron as the most trouble-free HA device I’ve ever used.
One heads-up is that it didn’t work well when I tried to use it at my niece’s house to connect to five Nest Outdoor cameras displaying on an Apple TV using HomeCam as a security system so that’s one use case to avoid.
Also, my experience is that with HomeKit, hub based devices are much, much better in pretty much every possible way. I know you hate hubs but you’ll be better served by embracing them. I have three Homebridge, Starling, Hue, Lutron, SmartThings, MyQ, and Soma. All nine of them together take less time and cause fewer problems than the few native WiFi and Bluetooth accessories I have. I’m hoping that Thread will eventually change that but my guess it will be at least a couple years before we see many products. Change comes slowly to the HomeKit world.
Hey Stacey! Thanks for the article. Check Aqara devices for best in class though inexpensive sensors and Homekit Secure Video camera that is also a zigbee hub. I think that’s the best choice in the segment
I frankly can’t think of something worse to do than switch to Apple anything. Apart from that, what IS this concern people have over privacy??? I only get benefits from being in the Google ecosystem, what adverse effects has anyone anywhere ever experienced? It’s just a notion and no one has ever yet provided a valid reason, other than “oh, but it’s not right for a company to know your business”. Why not? All you’ll get by switching to Apple is a lack of assistance due to the privacy thing. A step backwards as far as I’m concerned.
Good thoughts, Steve. And it’s a personal choice. In terms of data privacy, I don’t want my ISP to have access to my entire online activity, so I use a VPN. Why don’t I want them to have it? Because they sell it, making a profit off the free data I give them. I also don’t use Facebook anymore for similar reasons and the fact that they use that data to influence people’s behaviors (often without any knowledge by those being influenced). Now apply those reasons to the smart home where the information is even more personal: Where I am (or not), what I might be doing based on what devices are on and in which room, how much I do the things I do, etc… I just don’t see a need for companies to have that data IF they’re going to sell it or use it in ways that benefit them more than me. Again, it’s a personal choice; there’s no universally right or wrong answer here.
I know it is not exactly the same as a smart display but any of the recent entry level iPads connected to a power source could easily act in a similar capacity.
I switched from SmartThings to HomeKit for my mission critical use cases because as someone who is quadriparetic I realized I had to make reliability a top priority. And it has definitely delivered in that regard.
As far as costs, it sounds like you haven’t, at least at the time this article was written, yet discovered Meross. Well engineered, good safety certifications, and great prices. Available on Amazon in both the US and UK, you’ll find multipacks and product coupons right on the Amazon page that bring the price down even farther, so you can get a HomeKit certified RGB bulb at $25 for two, Smart Plugs at $40 for four, an outdoor smart plug with two independently controlled sockets at $26, and a very nice power strip with 3 independently controlled sockets plus a group of controllable USB slots for $40. And RGB LED strips. All ETL safety certified.
Check product descriptions carefully as they also offer a line of even less expensive models without HomeKit compatibility.
Search Amazon for Meross HomeKit and look for products with the HomeKit logo.
You may prefer other brands for other reasons (choice is good), but if you’re ok with WiFi, Meross is an excellent budget choice for HomeKit.
Check out Starling. https://www.starlinghome.io/learn-more. They specialist in Nest support, and it is still based on Homebridge.
As for a display device, I bought a 2nd hand older generation iPad mini. Does the business. You would set up a generic home account and invite it to the home.
Hue does some really cool things, still. I’ve just moved to the Uk and so am starting again, but I am replacing Hue with Nanoleaf, because of Thread support and that you get a colour bulb for the same price as Hue White bulb. However, Hue has the Sync and some great outdoor options, so I’m going to keep it, but use it for niche areas.
I’m surprised you use voice. Personally I have found that it is quicker to use a switch and that also works for visitors to the house. This is something Hue does well. So I use Friends of Hue Switches and then do the Automation inside HomeKit so I can turn on lights as I need to. The great thing about Hue switches is they have no power needs, so you can literally place them anywhere you want…. great when you have an older house (My house in San Jose was 1916, the one I’m buying in the UK is 1820’s and made from granite). It means you don’t need to pay an electrician to run more cables through your walls.
As the old saying goes, “Your use case is not my use case.” 😉
Personally I rely heavily on voice because I’m a wheelchair user with limited hand function. Manual switches are definitely not faster for me, even if they’re set at a level where I can reach them.
Even for able-bodied people, being able to turn on a pathway of lights with one voice command is nice, and being able to turn lights off after you’re in bed may be even nicer.
Choice is good.
I wasn’t trying to imply voice was no good. Just found that ONLY voice doesn’t work.
e.g. I’m living with an 82 year old…. getting them to remember how to say “Hey Siri” is a problem. Clicking a button works 🙂
Yes, good point. Different things will work for different people, even in the same home.
The Starling Hub sounds like a great way to get off of Google Home and migrate to Apple Home Kit without losing my investment in Nest Smoke detectors, locks and thermostat. But…should I just wait? It sounds like there is a new standard called “Matter” coming late this year or early in 2022 that will let Home Kit, Google Home and Alexa all play well together natively.
https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/google-nest-to-integrate-with-homekit-bringing-smart-home-unification-one-step-closer/
So there’s a lot here. First up, Matter. Matter will let some of your devices play together natively, but not all of them. Also, older devices may not get Matter support. Google has said that its third-gen thermostat will get it but has said nothing about the smoke detectors (unlikely) and the door locks. You could try to bring those devices into HomeKit using HomeBridge, which is an open-source project specifically designed to bring non-homekit devices into the homekit ecosystem. It takes a little DIY but you can do it! The community is really helpful.
With Matter’s delay, I decided to take the opposite approach. I started using home kit as a whim to test for myself. I moved all my zig bee (supported zig bee) products from my Samsung Smart Things hub to a little snowman of zig bee hubs from Ikea, Phillips and Sengled. I found that Home kit did not seem to offer me any benefit other than a prettier interface. Now that Smart thing’s new app is out it looks like a much prettier version of Home kit.
I am finding there are really only three items I cant use with Google and Alexa as my AI overlords this way. My Nanoleaf essential bulbs, only two of those. And two Aurora dimmers and Ikea Shortcut buttons that I am looking for ways to get them to work on Smart Things.
I’ll return to Homekit probably when Matter allows Smart Things to bridge my existing Zig Bee and Z-wave products.
HomeKit runs everything locally except voice control. Whether that’s a benefit or not depends on the specific devices you have.
For myself, the biggest advantage of HomeKit versus smartthings (and I continue to run both) is the MFOP (maintenance free operating period). When it comes to home automation, I like to see an MFOP of six months to a year, something similar to a dishwasher. I don’t expect anything to be perfect, but since I have to pay someone else to do any required maintenance or deal with any glitches (I’m quadriparetic), there’s an additional cost to a system that requires tinkering. And then there’s the issue of reliability. I can’t just “walk over to the wall switch and push it“, so I don’t have the same Plan B as most people when the system is glitching.
I have easily achieved a 12 month MFOP with HomeKit over the last three years. With SmartThings, I’m lucky to go three weeks. And I have less than 20 devices and don’t use any custom code except virtual switches, so I’m just talking out of the box reliability.
Then there’s the fact that smartthings does not allow individual customers to defer or deny updates. Only one of my home health aides is good at tech, and he only comes one day a week, so I really want to defer maintenance till then if possible. With smartthings it’s never possible. Updates happen on their schedule, as well as the glitches that can come with them.
None of those are things that you might notice just in everyday use, but you will probably notice them if you live with the system for a few months.
However, different people have different preferences and priorities, the trick is just to find the one that you like best.
I don’t know what that MOFP means. I’ve never had any problems with my smart things set up. I don’t even know where in the house the hub is actually located. My Z-wave and non-home kit ready zig bee devices work so reliably I never have to touch the hub. I’ve been amazed how reliable it is to re-add my hue, sengled and ikea devices back to it without having to interact with it.
MFOP, “maintenance free operating period.” Basically the amount of time you can “set and forget“ The system without having to do any hands-on maintenance, which might be through the app or the IDE. Or rebooting the hub or powering individual devices. Or just waiting for the company to resolve a cloud issue. Essentially anytime it doesn’t work as expected.
If yours has worked reliably for you, that’s great, but you can see just from the official status page (which doesn’t record all glitches) that there have been multiple issues in most months.
https://status.smartthings.com/
They don’t all affect all users, of course, but if it hits the status page it likely did affect a significant number.
Then there are the issues that for whatever reason don’t hit the status page, like the current issue with iOS widgets which can randomly activate multiple scenes other than the one assigned to them. If you don’t use widgets, you won’t be affected, but if you do it can be pretty devastating.
But again, if yours is working well for you, I’m happy for you. At this stage in the evolution of the industry, different people can have very different experiences even on the same platform.
Great article and I feel the same. Are there any updates to it? I’m about to invest in a smart thermostat and was looking between nest(Google so discounted), hive and Tado. Went with Tado but no controls or user levels in its app – wondering if I can get them in Apple home?