Apple Home and the HomeKit ecosystem isn’t just about turning your home into a comfortable and convenient roost The Jetsons would be proud of, it’s also all about making your home a safer place to live (or leave) for you and your family.
Many of the most basic safety features of a home that we now take for granted have been upgraded for the 21st century with smart home compatibility. That includes security cameras, door locks, and smoke detectors. So how can a smart home be a safer home? Here are five top HomeKit devices to get you started on your journey to a safer and more secure abode, powered by Apple.
Smoke and CO Detector
Smoke detectors and Carbon monoxide detectors are now a staple in any home, and often a legal requirement in some countries, such as Scotland where I live. With that in mind, it makes sense that one of the most important safety items in your home could benefit from a HomeKit upgrade. After all, a smoke detector can be vital in alerting you to the presence of smoke in your home, which is usually the sign of a fire. While I most often use our smoke detector as a harshly-toned cooking timer, a working smoke detector at the onset of a house fire can literally be the difference between life and death. The same goes for Carbon Monoxide, which is colorless, tasteless, and odorless (a lot like my aforementioned cooking). Low doses can cause serious health issues, and in high concentrations, CO can cause death in less than five minutes.
Thankfully, the best HomeKit smoke and CO detectors are often combined into one handy device, such as the First Alert Onelink Safe & Sound. In fact, Onelink offers three of our six top picks for a smart HomeKit-enabled CO and smoke detector that come with all of the features of a standard detector, plus smart home integration including all important alerts sent straight to your phone. That of course gives a smart detector one key advantage, it can alert you to a problem with CO or smoke even if you aren’t in the house, allowing you to take action accordingly.
Security Camera
The security camera is another safety device as old as home safety itself. Security cameras, both inside and outside your home can benefit your home safety in a number of ways. Visible cameras often serve as a deterrent to intruders and other folk up to no good, warding off potential crime before it even begins. Should the worst happen, however, and you experience a break in, theft, or vandalism, a smart security camera could be vital in helping you recover lost goods, making an insurance claim, or even during legal proceedings.
A security camera can also provide peace of mind, especially when you’re away from home, as you can use it to check on a pet, or just your dwelling in general. Smart security cameras allow you to access live feeds from all your devices using HomeKit Secure Video, they also store footage safely and securely in the cloud. Our roundup of the best HomeKit security cameras is littered with entries from Eve and eufycam, but we recommend the Logitech Circle as one of the only cameras that works both inside and outside.
Smart Door Lock
Five minutes after I leave the house, I always turn to my wife and ask “did we lock the door?” Locking your door is about as rudimentary as it gets when it comes to home security, and a smart door lock can transform the activity and give you immense peace of mind. A smart door lock can be checked and activated anywhere in the world through your iPhone, so you never have to worry about forgetting to lock your door again.
Many of the best HomeKit door locks for the Home app in 2023 come with multiple layers of entry, be it a key, NFC from your iPhone or Apple Watch, biometric security such as a thumbprint, and even a numeric passcode. This makes it easier for you to gain access and secure your home, all while making it even harder for troublemakers to gain entry. Like security cameras, global connectivity through your iPhone means you can lock, unlock, and check your front door from anywhere on the planet.
Water sensor
One of my favorite HomeKit uses is a lesser-known strand of water detection devices. As the name might suggest, these devices are designed to sit in areas that might be prone to flooding or water leakages, such as your boiler or under a sink. Sensors can detect rogue water and alert you to a leak before it gets out of control, allowing you to shut off the water supply and make repairs. The Eve Water Guard is a connected water leak detector that can alert you to water leakage as soon as it happens, preventing potentially catastrophic and expensive damages.
Motion and contact sensors
Motion and contact sensors are another important safety feature that HomeKit can fully leverage to make your home safer. Motion sensors are a known entity, used to detect motion of unwanted intruders and set off an alarm system. Through HomeKit, motion sensors can be used to do menial tasks such as turning on lights when you walk past them, but they can also form an important part of your home’s security system, with alerts for motion coming straight to your iPhone.
The best HomeKit motion sensor is the Eve Motion, with a sensor that can detect motion up to 30 feet away.
Contact sensors are a lesser-known, but still important item that can be used to detect whether a window or door is open or closed. These are perfect for a smart home heating system, ensuring you aren’t running the heating or the AC while your windows are open. But they can also be used to provide alerts for when a window or door is opened that shouldn’t have been. These contact sensors can save you money by making your heating more efficient, and save you stress by giving you peace of mind that all your doors and windows are shut.
