Now that HomeKit has been available for several months, additional HomeKit-connected products are beginning to trickle out. ConnectSense is the latest company to announce a launch date for HomeKit-compatible product, and its Smart Outlet was today added to Apple's list of HomeKit products.
Priced at $79.95, the Smart Outlet plugs into an existing outlet and offers two Wi-Fi connected sockets that can be controlled independently using Siri or an accompanying ConnectSense app. Like the Elgato Eve Energy, the Smart Outlet also includes tools for monitoring the power usage of connected appliances.
As with all HomeKit devices, the Smart Outlet can be controlled with voice commands and linked to other compatible HomeKit products to create Scenes and automated timers to turn appliances on or off. The Smart Outlet also includes a 2.4A USB port for charging iPhones and iPads and two LEDs for determining the status of plugged-in devices at a glance.
Smart plugs have been one of the most popular HomeKit products thus far, and in addition to the Smart Outlet from ConnectSense and the Eve Energy from Elgato, both iDevices and iHome have released connected outlet options.
The ConnectSense website is accepting pre-orders for the Smart Outlet, but the website lists a shipping date of September. Smart Outlets do not appear to be shipping yet, but will likely be going out soon given their addition to Apple's website.
I think with HomeKit you can setup scenes (where multiple of these outlets can be grouped together and turned on/off at once), as well as setup triggers.
For example, a trigger that automatically turns on select lights around your house at night when you pull your car into your driveway.
Others have found a way to integrate with their alarm system so the lights in the house turn on/off when the alarm is tripped. Very visual way of identifying the house (at least at night).
There's a pretty active home automation community out there, some with active forums like MacRumors. It's neat to see some of the cool stuff that creative people build using products like this!
Its only going to get cooler once more products are in the market too. iOS 9 introduced Triggers which we are adding to our app soon. Then you will be able to do If-This-Then-That style stuff cueing off of other devices and things like location. Door opens, turn on the lights, Garage closes shut the house off.
Well, I could also switch the bloody lamp on manually, but it takes only a second and it's free.
True, for a single lamp this is overkill -- technically and financially.
One use case I like: turning off all my indoor Christmas lights each night at bed time. Currently I have to walk through each room of the house and crawl under furniture to unplug 10 sets of lights. If I could just say, "Hey Siri, turn off Christmas Light scene", that'd be cool!
I think it's dumb to call standard items dumb. I get its good marketing to make standard items feel obsolete but calling them dumb seems a bit juvenile.
I am still looking in the UK for a full HomeKit solution that I can do with my tech and is still "dumb" enough for say my non tech savvy grandfather to use manually
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One use case I like: turning off all my indoor Christmas lights each night at bed time. Currently I have to walk through each room of the house and crawl under furniture to unplug 10 sets of lights. If I could just say, "Hey Siri, turn off Christmas Light scene", that'd be cool!
(But expensive.)