First Apple HomeKit-Powered Smart Appliances Go On Sale

The first appliances powered by Apple’s HomeKit connected home technology platform have finally gone on sale as the company starts its quest to conquer the smart home market.

The $249 (£160) ecobee3 smart thermostat (see main image) is now available in Apple Stores across North America, offering iPhone users the most intelligent way to control the temperature of their homes whilst on the go.

The device is able to monitor the temperature of a home and whether anyone is present, before adjusting heating and cooling accordingly.

And the HomeKit support means it can be controlled using Siri, as well as creating specialised settings that allow a home to be quickly set into certain states, such as warming up before the user arrives home or cooling down at night-time.

Homely

However, the ecobee3 won’t have the market entirely to itself, as a wide range of other manufacturers look to grab a slice of the smart home market.

One of the main players is Nest, which has today announced the UK launch of some its newest smart home devices.

First announced last month, the Protect smoke alarm and Nest Cam security camera (pictured left) are now available to buy in the UK for £89 and £159 respectively.

The Protect alarm is the second version of the device, and alongside a smaller design than its predecessor, features a new ‘split-spectrum sensor’ that is able to detect both fast and slow-spreading fires with greater accuracy.

The Nest Cam features 1080p quality video and uses eight built-in infrared LEDs to record and detect motion in low light and darkness. Users are able to monitor a live feed from their phone and will be able to review footage from the last 30 days using Nest’s Aware cloud backup service, which will cost £8 a month and is set to launch “soon”.

What do you know about the Internet of Things? Take our quiz!