Note: I should state that I’m taking this information both from what can be gleaned from the claim in the Apple document (link below) and my communications with someone involved in making devices that work with Apple Home. That being the case, there could be possible misunderstandings as to what Apple intends, but with little to go on, the following is what has been understood.

In the release notes in Apple’s List of Home Enhancements in iOS18 PDF, it states the following;

The post Does iOS18 Offer a Hub-Free Option to Apple Home Users? appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Starting with the company’s hub, dubbed the LuBase, this acts as a gateway for other Luon products. Whilst most hubs on the market for Apple Home utilise Zigbee or occasionally Z-Wave or variants of RF433MHz, the LuBase uses its own take on the ESP-NOW wireless protocol, with their version called (yes, you guessed it) LuAir. ESP-NOW was developed by Expressif and acts in much the same way as Zigbee or Thread, especially as it still occupies the same 2.4GHz wireless range. The hub also makes use of the latest ESP-32-S3 chip, ensuring fast and accurate operation.

What makes this hub different from some others is that it uses their own operating system, called luonOS (…) that claims to be a closed and totally local system, that communicated directly, and only with, Apple Home. So there are no servers to connect to, and for this reason the whole system can work offline, and remain totally with your own network. Any data that the hub collects is stored solely on the hub itself (for up to five years) and is not sent to any external servers or locations.

The hub also uses a built in AN connection, but once again uses its own wired communication standard, called (are you ready?) LuLine. Luon state that communication speeds between child devices and the company’s own app occur in a fraction of a second, so seemingly in line with Zigbee and Thread it would seem.

Currently, the company only has the aforementioned LuBase, and LuBulb, an E27 colour light bulb offering 806lm/9W. It also offers cool to warm whites, although its not clear if the bulb would be compatible with Apple’s own Adaptive Lighting feature.

Luon’s website does list other products, like LuTouch a four button controller that also comes with a both a built-in temperature sensor, and a sound-based presence sensor. It’s powered by an internal rechargeable battery. Each of the four buttons offers three button press types – single, double and long press – as standard. What’s more interesting is that it comes in both a mobile and wall mounted variant, with the latter also able to work in a wired or wireless capacity.

The LuModule Pro is designed to typically work behind devices like light switches, and can control two separate lighting circuits, offering energy monitoring features via the Luon app. However, it can also be used to control devices such as electric window coverings, like blinds or shutters, as well garage doors, wall outlets and much more.

Finally, the LuPresence is in fact a smart button, that happens to also contain sensors for motion, presence, light intensity, and temperature! Just like the four button LuTouch, this device can be powered by batteries or permanently powered. However, the ‘presence’ is not of the ind we’ve been seeing more of lately, which use mmWave technology, so the presence in this case uses a combination of both sound and motion to detect presence, so it’s more akin to occupancy sensors we’ve seen in some older devices. The sound and motion sensors can work in tandem or be programmed to work independently of each other.

Whilst it’s compatible with Apple Home only at present, Luon state that Matter compatibility for the LuBase is coming at a later date.

Luon also has its own app that works directly with Apple Home, called LuHome. As it’s a Apple Home compatible app, all of your Apple Home and Matter devices will show up in the app, much like any other third-party HomeKit app. Also like some of these third-party apps, LuHome offers advanced functionality not typically found in the standard Apple Home app, with features like watching multiple live streams from your cameras, and storing Apple Home and Matter QR codes from your devices directly in the app. You can also choose to hide specific devices or scenes if they’re seldom used, and they offer a ‘snapshot’ feature, that allows you to set or adjust a device’s state, and take a ‘snapshot’ of the state to create a new scene quickly. It’s also available for both iPadOS and macOS (M1 processors and newer). The app is mostly free, but does require a monthly or yearly subscription for creating automations in the app. There’s no fee if you own the company’s hub, however.

You can read more about the company and its products via their website, available in English, German, and Polish.

The post Luon Launch Apple Home Compatible Hub, Devices, and App appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The ThorBolt M1 is the basic model, that features a built-in keypad, whilst the MD1 has the same design, but integrates a fingerprint sensor on the top of the handle. The forthcoming MK1, has both the built-in keypad and fingerprint sensor, but also uses HomeKit over Thread, for compatibility with Apple Home. It does not use Matter over Thread, so this will only be of use to Apple Home users.

Visually, the only difference between the two models with the fingerprint sensor, is the rounded square design of the backplate for MK1, with the MD1 opting for a circular backplate.

The MK1 uses four AA batteries, stored within the inner handle, with the company claiming a battery life of up to 12 months, based on average usage. The body is made of a combination of aluminium and zinc alloys, with a rubber, backlit keypad. The outer portion of the lock is splash and water resistant.

Almost all options can be accessed via the keypad itself, including adding or removing users, changing passcodes, or setting up features like ‘Passage mode‘ that allows the lock to stay unlocked. Auto lock is set to on by default.

As the MK1 is Apple Home compatible, you can access the lock from your Apple Watch/iPhone, or remotely control it when you’re not at home (as long as you have a suitable Apple Home Hub), but it also offers the ‘Manage Access‘ feature in Apple Home, that allows you to create and manage passcodes and their users, directly within the Home app.

There’s no word on pricing yet, but considering the prices for the M1 and MD1 are pretty keenly set, we expect the MK1 to be the same, when it’s due to go on sale towards the end of August.

The post ThorBolt Announce Thread Latch Lock w/ Fingerprint Sensor appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING | CONTENTS

The front of the box features both the lock and keypad, and depending on the option you purchased, you’ll see either the silver or space grey model. I’m told there’s a white model, but have yet to see anyone with it. When it comes to the front, they really pushed the boat out when it comes to letting you know just how compatible this lock is;

• support for Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, and Google Home
• Offers Matter and Thread support (Matter over Thread, essentially)
• It doesn’t mention Apple HomeKey on the front, but then only Apple Home users get to use this, so…

The back of the box has the standard blurb, but it also outlines the type of locks the U200 works with. Bear in mind this is a retrofit lock, so for both deadbolts and eurocylinder locks, you get to keep your original lock. If you have locks other than these two basic types, the U200 is not guaranteed to work with it, but to be sure you can visit the company’s website to do a compatibility check to be certain. I’ve fitted the U200 to a deadbolt lock on one of our internal locks, so I guess this is probably the easiest of all the installations (that makes a change…).

The box lists some of the features;

• Matter over Thread support, which will no doubt please the more keen early adopters
• NFC support by using either Aqara’s own NFC fobs, or certain types of NFC cards
• Apple HomeKey support
• Quiet unlock mode
• The option to power the keypad with batteries or ‘wire-powerd’ [sic]
• Other unlock methods, including your own key of course
• And the fact that it works with your existing lock

The other side features the specs, which I’ll also list;

• Model: EL-D02E
• Wireless Protocols: Thread, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC
• Door Lock Dimensions: 62.3 x 60.6 x 152.5 mm (2.4 x 2.4 x 6 in.)
• Keypad Dimensions: 42.7 x 33 x 146 mm (1.7 x 1.3 x 5.7 in.)
• Powering Modes:
  • Door Lock: Aqara Rechargeable Li-ion Battery 7.4V
  • Keypad: 4 x LR3 AAA 1.5V Batteries
  • 12V-24V AC 0.5A 50/60Hz or 12V-24V DC 0.5A wired input
• Operating Temperature: -15 °C ~ 66 °C (5 °F ~ 150.8 °F)
• Operating Humidity: 0 ~ 93% RH, no condensation
• IP Rating (Keypad): IPX5

As you can see, you still get Bluetooth as an option, which means you can create a direct connection between your phone and the lock (actually the keypad), which is still something we’re unable to do via Thread, even with Thread built into the later iPhones.

So, there’s a ton of contents in the U200 box, to say the least.

• Smart Lock U200 × 1 (incl. keypad)
• User Manual × 1
• Aqara Rechargeable Battery × 1
• Cylinder Adaptor Kit × 1
• Hexagon Screwdriver × 1
• USB-C Cable × 1
• AAA Battery × 4
• 3M Sticker × 1
• EVA Pad Kit × 1
• Screw Kit × 1
• Power Bank Pouch × 1

If like me you’re adding this to a US style deadbolt lock, you won’t be needing the 3M sticky pads.

THE LOCK | KEYPAD

Unlike many locks with keypads, the U200 comes with its own keypad as standard, and isn’t an optional extra. The two are pre-paired at the factory, so if for any reason one of the two parts gets damaged, you can’t just replace it, so the lock and keypad would have to be replaced in total. That would normally make you understandably think twice about the purchase, given that an optional keypad would be preferable, but as it stands, none of the keypads you can buy as an optional extra come with Apple HomeKey included. Some have a fingerprint reader, which is probably just as good in most cases, but once again Aqara tops most other options with an included NFC reader too. The SwitchBot Lock Pro also offers both a fingerprint reader and NFC, but no Apple HomeKey support, but it does require their own hub due to it using Bluetooth, whereas with the U200, it’ll connect to an existing Thread network via Matter, so no hub required unless you plan on using it in the Aqara ecosystem, in which case the Aqara Hub M3 will be the device to provide Matter and Thread support. You don’t actually need the Aqara M3 to use the U200, as it’ll connect to the Aqara app via you phone using Bluetooth. If you want to make use of automations within the Aqara app, you will need the M3.

I can only speak from the perspective of fitting it to a deadbolt door, but it was very easy to install. I have had experience in fitting other retrofit locks though – having installed the Nuki Lock 2.0, August Pro, and the previously mentioned SwitchBot Lock Pro, so maybe I’ve had a bit more practice, but it is actually pretty straightforward. Deciding where to place the keypad is probably more tricky, but only because you need to ensure that the location you place it is going to be easily accessible for NFC, hands (with the keypad), but especially iPhone and Apple Watch. Having it in a location that makes you contort your wrist to use HomeKey on your watch or your phone is not going to be much fun.

Focussing briefly on the lock portion, removing the cover plate reveals a few things; first of all this is home to a rechargeable battery, so you don’t have the option to use standard disposable or rechargeable batteries. That’s ok, as long as the cost of a replacement battery is reasonable, and possibly more importantly, is readily available. So far, I’ve not seen any mention of replacements, but I’m sure that’ll come in due course. The battery clicks into place quite easily, and comes with a little tab to pull it out, so no complaints there. As it’s rechargeable, there’s a USB-C port at the top (or bottom, depending on how you’ve installed it), so in essence, you don’t even need to remove the battery to recharge it, as long as you’re a bit creative. There’s also an LED indicator that briefly flashes when the lock is activated in any way.

As this is a full-on Matter device, you don’t get a QR code for HomeKit, only a Matter QR code. This is going to be something we’re already seeing more of, but to HomeKit users it generally makes little difference – you scan the Matter code to add the device to Apple Home in the same way you’ve always done. There’s also a QR code for the Aqara ecosystem, which you may or may not need to scan, as once powered up, the lock should be sending out a Bluetooth signal allowing it to be discovered. If not, you can use the QR code. Below (or above) these codes are two buttons – Reset and Set – both of which are pretty self explanatory, although maybe less so for the set button. With the lock set up, you tend to need the Set button to add it to other ecosystems.

IN AQARA HOME

The main screen isn’t dissimilar to the screens for Aqara’s other locks, with user management, passcode and log options. Even though the lock uses Thread, Bluetooth is still available, which – as I’ve previously stated – means you don’t actually need the M3, or any other Aqara hub, to use the U200. As you can see from the second screenshot, I’m not connected to the M3, and I’m still able to access functions and settings for the lock, as long as I’m within Bluetooth range. For some reason, however, even if you’re connected to the lock via the M3, accessing most functions for the lock does require you to activate the keypad first, which would be achieved by pressing any button on the keypad. This means accessing most features can’t be done remotely.

When it comes to users, just as with the other Aqara locks, it’s broken down into three basic categories (not including users of one-time passcodes);

• Admin – this gives the user access to all lock settings, as well as locking or unlocking using all the available methods
• General – much like the Admin option, this allows the user to use all the available lock/unlock methods.
• Temporary user – This allows the user to access the lock only using a passcode. Additionally, you can limit access between specific dates, or certain days of the week and between certain times.

The one-time passcode option can generate a one-off passcode that can only be used one, and will expire after a set date. This also doesn’t require you to activate the lock, unlike the other options.

Both Admin and general users can access the lock using a registered fingerprint, passcode, with an NFC card, or with Apple HomeKey (Via Apple Home), if they have a suitable iPhone. There are no restrictions to the user in terms of dates, days, or times. Periodic/temporary users can be restricted by date – so you can allow access between specific dates, but you can also customise this access to only work on specific days of the week, and even between certain times of the day. If you’re worried you’re going to come up with an easily guessed passcode, the Aqara app can generate one randomly for you.

As with all Aqara locks I’ve reviewed so far – A100 Zigbee, U100, U500, the U200 has so many options I’m just not going to go into detail on each one. A possibly useful one for people who rent out their properties on a regular basis, the Door Lock Log is quite useful for keeping track of all comings and goings, as well as alerting you to other issues.

As for the long list of features, there are options for controlling the audio that comes from the lock, there’s auto lock, although in my testing I couldn’t get it to work consistently. There’s an option to lock the keypad if repeated failed passcodes have been attempted to be used. Night latch mode allows you to only allow for certain types of access to be used between specified times, and Auto-Turn is a good option for people with potential disabilities or issues with the strength in their hands. This allows the thumb turn on the lock to be turned just a little way, with the U200 completing the rest of the locking/unlocking action for you. If you turn the lock a little way, slowly, the deadbolt will lock/unlock slowly in kind. Turn it a little way more briskly, and it’ll respond with a fast lock/unlock. It may seem a bit strange to offer this, but it does work. I just wonder if a small button might have been better though.

The lock also has Quiet mode, which allows the U200 to lock much quieter and slower. In fact there are three speeds available, quiet, normal, and fast, with the latter being the default. To achieve this mode, you simply need to press the Confirm button (the one with a ‘tick’ icon) followed by the lock or unlock method you choose, and it’ll duly open in the slowest mode. You can also set the lock to perform and any of the three speeds on a schedule, which is great if you have a family member that regularly arrives home late, which means they’re less likely to wake other members of the family.

The lock also offers the following modes – Do Not Disturb and Passage, with the latter ensuring that the U200 stays unlocked for those times when you need the lock to be accessible for when people are constantly going in or out of the house.

IN APPLE HOME

You’ll not be surprised to see the U200 offers much the same level of detail as most locks. You get the one tile, and a toggle control beyond that. For the settings panel, you get to see the battery levels, but only for the lock itself, not the keypad. This is because it’s the lock that connects to your Apple Home via Thread, with the keypad connecting to the lock using Bluetooth.

If you prefer not to use the Aqara app for user management, you can still use both Apple HomeKey and passcodes, with the latter option using the ‘Manage Access’ feature, which allows you to create or generate passcodes directly within Apple Home. Manage Access doesn’t give you the range of customisation options you find in the Aqara app, so you can’t restrict the user to a start and end date, certain days or times. You can only give them access, turn access off, or remove it totally. What you do get is the option to allow the same passcode to be used with other locks in Apple Home, as long as those locks also support the Manage Access feature. If you look in the second screenshot, you can see both the U200 and U50 are present as options, but my now ageing August Lock is not present, as is the case with Aqara A100 Zigbee, neither of which has this option. You can then share the passcode in a variety of ways – AirDrop, Email, Messages, Notes, and much more.

IN DAY-TO-DAY USE

This is a tricky one to conclusively talk about, as I only have one front door, which is already being taken care of by the Aqara A100 Zigbee (review HERE, video HERE), so I’ve had to confine my testing to a bedroom door – hey we live in an apartment! This also means I’ve been unable to test the keypad with the outdoor elements. That said, in all the testing, which so far covered maybe just a tad under two months, I’ve been impressed by a few things. First of all, the response time between a fingerprint being pressed onto the sensor and the lock opening, is exceptionally  fast. This had been my experience with the A100 and U100 locks, but the keypad is hardwired into these locks, so you should expect nothing less. With the keypad not physically connected to the lock, only utilising Bluetooth, you’d rightly expect there to be a delay, at least initially. This simply isn’t the case, with response times being astonishingly fast.

All of the lock options – fingerprint, NFC, and Apple HomeKey – are as fast to respond, with only the keypad being slower due to having to tap in a passcode. I think aside from being able to offer HomeKey via wireless keypad, which I honestly had my doubts would actually come to pass, the reaction times really do put many other locks to shame when you compare like with like.

One downside is the fact you currently need to be with the keypad and have it activated in order to access nearly all the settings. Hopefully Aqara can address this. The other more minor downside is regarding issues I had with connecting it to the M3. When I first set it up, everything worked well in both Aqara and Apple Home. As I’m meant to be actually testing the device, I did remove and reinstall the U200 a few times, and this is where I encountered issues. The second installation went through, but on this occasion Apple HomeKey was added, but wouldn’t actually work. A third installation fixed this, but then I couldn’t bind it to the M3, which is the state we’re at currently. I did have separate issues with the M3, which I detailed in my review, so as it stands, the U200 is mostly used in Apple Home, with Aqara Home only used to change settings.

Build quality is of the usual Aqara standard, which can vary depending on some devices. For example, the Aqara A100 I have here is built like a tank, due to the two parts being mostly made of heavy, durable metal and glass. The U200 isn’t as ‘tank-like’ as this due to the keypad and lock bodies being made of plastic. They still feel well made and put together though, and don’t creak at the seams, or offer gaps where there shouldn’t be any.

I think the one thing that makes this lock stand out from other retrofit locks is that it can work with both European and North American style locks. The SwitchBot Lock Pro can too, but you have to have a separate model for this, whereas the U200 does everything with the one model. The Nuki only works with European locks, and the likes of August, as one example, are only meant for deadbolts, so the U200 is truly on its own in this respect.

If I were to offer a suggestion, it would be that if you want to replace a dumb deadbolt lock, you may want to consider the U100 or U100, as they have it all in one package. If, on the other hand, you’re renting, and aren’t allowed to simply replace the whole lock, then the U200 is best for the least intrusive option of the two. It goes without saying that for European users, this is probably the best option right now, and I say that having used locks by Nuki and SwitchBot.

The post Aqara Smart Lock U200 (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Possibly the most requested feature is energy monitoring, which is something you tend to find only with apps for the smart plugs and lights you have. Eve is one example where their plugs have energy monitoring features that are only visible within their own app. With iOS18, you can monitor energy usage directly within the Home app. There are two caveats at play here, however; First of all, although it’s fair to assume this is measuring usage from you smart devices in Apple Home, like outlets, lighting etc, it’s not entirely clear how it works. The other more sobering point is that this is only for users in the US at present, and is confined to consumers using Pacific Gas & Electricity.

Another feature that is probably going to welcomed with open arms is something that expands on the Guest Access feature that comes with some smart locks. This feature is currently designed to allow Apple Home users to generate a passcode for their smart lock that they can then send to someone else, allowing them access to that home via the smart lock. This will be enhanced in iOS18 with access to more devices, like garage doors, and security systems, whilst still keeping full Apple Home access confined to users the administrator chooses to give it to – typically other members of the family living in the same home. This would be of use for AirBnB type properties that would typically not only include a smart lock, but a security system too.

The third feature is possibly something we won’t be seeing for a while, which is strangely something that already exists in a slightly different format anyway; namely auto unlock. This new feature, dubbed Express Mode, utilises the UWB chip (Ultra Wide Band) chip found in the iPhone 11 and later (as well as some Apple Watches) to detect another UWB chip in a smart lock, and automatically unlock your door when you’re within range – typically 1.9m or 6ft. UWB is already found in Apple’s own AirTags, and so it would rely on smart lock companies to adopt this type of chip in order for such a feature to work. At present, many smart locks going back a few years already deploy this type of functionality, but instead relying on the Bluetooth signal from a user’s phone to achieve the same result. Whether recently released locks from Aqara for example (U50, U200, U300), have the UWB chip sitting dormant inside is not known, but many of these manufacturers would almost certainly been made aware of Apple’s plans for this in advance. We shall see who’s first to make this a reality.

Finally to a hot topic for Apple Home – Robot vacuums; Matter has offered support for this category since Matter 1.2 (we’re now on 1.3), and as Apple Home supports Matter devices, you’d expect this to be a hand-in-glove scenario. However, it would seem with iOS17, whilst you can add a Matter compatible robovac to Apple Home, you’re confined to on/off. With iOS18, Apple promises the following;

The Home app now supports the core functionality of robot vacuum cleaners, such as power control, cleaning mode, vacuum, mop, and charge status. They can also participate in automations and scenes, and respond to Siri requests. So you can add them to your cleaning routines — or tell Siri to do some spot cleaning in the living room.

This all sounds promising, although bear in mind this still won’t include mapping any time soon. Still, in a year where most speculation didn’t expect much for Apple Home, these are some promising updates we’re looking forward to.

The post Apple Announces iOS18 with Apple Home Updates appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

In the example above, I created a scene using multiple colours as part of the Aqara Ceiling Light T1, recently released in China. I was then able to save it, then go back in to find additional options, which previously only included ‘Add to Siri’. With the update, I’m now able to select ‘Add to Apple Home’. From there I need to choose a hub, and lastly, I can confirm it’s added to Apple Home.

The hubs you have need to be on firmware 4.0.4 in order for this functionality to work, with the original M1 and G2H hubs excluded, which comes as no surprise.

That newly created scene (‘Rainbow CL’) can now be accessed directly in the Apple Home app, so it can be used in other Scenes and Automations. If you go into the details for the Scene itself, however, the device being controlled doesn’t show up, like is the case for a Scene created natively in the Home app. This means creating a scene in this way could end up involving guesswork if you have a lot of them without a naming convention.

Onvis was able to do this with their own app which allowed multicoloured scenes for their Kameleon light strip to be exposed to HomeKit. The difference here is that Aqara has a much wider variety of devices than Onvis, Nanoleaf and LiFX, so the potential for more useful scenes beyond just multicolour lighting is amazing.

Here are just a few examples of what could be useful and not as easily achievable in HomeKit;

• The Aqara Camera Hub G3 has tons of useful features, but there are many that are exclusive to Aqara Home. With the update, you can create scenes in Aqara Home and use them in automations within Apple Home, like turning privacy protection on and off, record a video clip, play an assigned or custom ringtone, or even enable/disable tracking and motion detection.
• The Aqara Smart Magic Switch S1E can be set to turn the screen on or off, and even set a custom brightness level.
• The Aqara Pet Feeder C1 is not HomeKit compatible, but you could trigger scenes created in Aqara Home, and you could control some of the features with a smart button. However, the smart button would have to be an Aqara one. Now, you can trigger the pet feeder using any smart button within Apple Home.

Possibly the most useful application for this in my opinion is the ability to turn Aqara lighting products on and off with a single button. Within the Aqara app, you can program an Aqara wireless button or switch to trigger an Aqara lighting device (or indeed other devices) on if they’re off, and off if they’re on. This update now means you can turn an Aqara light on/off with any HomeKit-compatible wireless button. This can be achieved in Apple Home too, but it requires the button automation to be converted to a Shortcut. Even with this option, the response times can be quite slow compared to a button triggering solely on or off. So now, I can use the single press of, say, a Hue dimmer switch, to turn an Aqara smart light strip on or off, and quicker than with Shortcuts too.

These are just three simple examples of what’s possible with this new update, but one that could take some of the stress out of having to use Siri Shortcuts to achieve some of the same functions, and that alone is priceless for me!

The post Aqara App Update Ports Scenes to Apple HomeKit appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.