Apple HomeKit is one of the most recognized names in the smart home industry. Although it trails the likes of Amazon Alexa and Google Home in popularity and adoption rates, it still holds a considerable chunk of the home automation market.

Unfortunately, a lot of people shy away from using HomeKit because of wrong assumptions and little knowledge of the HomeKit ecosystem. If you've considered adopting HomeKit but are not quite sure of the ins and outs of the ecosystem, we'll be answering some key questions about the Apple HomeKit.

1. What Is Apple HomeKit?

HomeKit logo in front of living room

Apple HomeKit is a home automation framework that provides a platform to interconnect and coordinate your smart home devices using an Apple device. Launched as part of iOS 8 in 2014, HomeKit is Apple's answer to Google Home and Amazon Alexa, two equally popular home automation frameworks which perform similar functions as HomeKit.

HomeKit makes it possible to use, say, an iPhone or iPad, to control your smart window blinds, light bulbs, or any smart home gadget, as long as they're compatible with the HomeKit ecosystem. If you have some idea of smart home ecosystems, Apple HomeKit is not radically different. However, it does have its unique features, and if you'd love to learn more about that, we've previously done a detailed description of the Apple HomeKit.

2. What Can You Do With the Apple HomeKit?

Smart Home Controlled by Hub

The primary use of the Apple HomeKit is to facilitate home automation and interoperability among your smart home gadgets. You can picture it as a behind-the-scenes technology that allows you to use your Apple devices like iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, MacBook, or Apple Watch as a universal remote control for your smart home appliances.

Let's say you have a Philips Hue smart light bulb in your home. Or maybe an August smart door lock. Although these appliances have built-in smart capabilities of their own, a smart home framework like Apple HomeKit is what can help you remotely open your door for a visiting family member. Or you turn off your lights at home remotely even when you're halfway across the world. HomeKit introduces enhanced remote control abilities, a way for you to talk to your home appliances from an Apple device.

However, HomeKit does more than turn your Apple devices into a smart home remote control. It also serves as a thread that ties your smart home gadgets together. So say you buy a smart door sensor for your home. And then you buy a set of smart light bulbs. These two sets of appliances will likely work independently of each other.

However, HomeKit can provide a platform to make them interoperable. This means you can get your door sensor that detects when your door is opened or closed to serve as a trigger for turning on or off your smart lights. Of course, HomeKit is not only about smart door sensors and light bulbs. If it's a smart device, and it's compatible with HomeKit, you can make them interoperable. HomeKit opens a huge world of possibilities.

3. Which Smart Home Gadgets Are Compatible with HomeKit?

homekit-bulbs
Image Credit: Apple

Of course, for HomeKit to do what HomeKit does, the smart home gadgets involved need to be compatible. But what devices are compatible with HomeKit?

From air conditioners, air humidifiers, and light bulbs to security cameras, there is a large array of home appliances that are compatible with HomeKit.

Most times, HomeKit-compatible products come with a simple "HomeKit Compatible" label on them. Once you see this, it means you'll be able to not just control them, but potentially make them interoperable, using an Apple device once you've hooked it up to your HomeKit ecosystem at home.

If you're not sure whether your preferred brand of smart gadget is HomeKit-compatible, there's an official Apple list of HomeKit-compatible products.

4. What About Smart Home Devices that Aren't HomeKit Compatible?

Gadgets not compatible with HomeKit

If you have smart home devices you'd love to get that aren't HomeKit-compatible, all hope is not lost. You can still enjoy some semblance of HomeKit compatibility by using a smart home bridge. As the name implies, a smart home bridge is like a go-between that can link your non-compatible smart home gadget to HomeKit. Homebridge is smart home technology that can help you achieve that.

And then there's Matter, an upcoming smart home interoperability standard that promises to break the wall of compatibility between competing smart home ecosystems. So soon enough, you won't have to worry a lot about whether your new smart gadget will be compatible with HomeKit.

5. How Can You Get Started With HomeKit?

Photo of various Apple devices on a desk

Although it may sound that way, Apple HomeKit isn't exactly a single product. If you have an iPhone or a MacBook, you already have a piece of the HomeKit ecosystem in it.

To get started with HomeKit, you'll need some Apple devices, or at least an iPhone or an iPad. Here's where you'll be able to initiate the setup process using the Home app. The home app is the app that will do most of the heavy lifting for your HomeKit smart home.

Of course, you'll need some HomeKit-compatible products, so you'll need to pick up a few of them to get started. From your iPhone, you'll typically have to scan an eight-digit HomeKit code on the product. Once successful, the product will be added to your home app, and you'll be able to perform automation with it.

To make the best of HomeKit, you'll need a hub, which could be something like an Apple TV or a HomePod mini. Once a hub enters the equation, it becomes the nerve center or the brains of your HomeKit set-up. Once you've set up an Apple HomeKit hub using a hub like the HomePod mini, you can simply issue voice commands that initiate an automation routine. "Hey Siri, turn off the lights in the living room."

Off course, you can talk to Siri on your iPhone, but along with other benefits, a hub like HomePod mini increases your range. You can talk to it from a much further distance across the room.

Also, with a hub at home, you can remotely issue commands with an Apple device when you're not at home. For instance, you could be on vacation in San Francisco and remotely open your front door for a visitor to your home in New Jersey.

6. How Does HomeKit Compare With Google Home and Amazon Alexa?

Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa logos against a home backdrop

Amazon Alexa and Google Home are the two other big names in the smart home space. In terms of adoption rates and compatibility with smart home devices, HomeKit trails both Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Siri is the voice assistant that powers HomeKit and is comparable in performance with Alexa and Google Assistant.

In terms of security, HomeKit is as safe as it gets. When compared to Google Home and Amazon Alexa, HomeKit scores highest in security and privacy.

HomeKit places a lot of emphasis on security. If you'd love to learn more about how HomeKit fairs with other smart home ecosystems, check out our Amazon Alexa vs. Apple HomeKit vs. Google Home comparison.

Give Apple's HomeKit Technology a Try

Although HomeKit is sometimes painted as an overly complicated smart home ecosystem, there's a lot of simplicity in it once you get the basics right.

If you are already a fan of Apple devices, you'll find HomeKit very comforting since it fits in well within the larger Apple ecosystem.