5 Apple Home Compatible Devices That May Be Useful for Homeowners

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If you’re looking to upgrade to a smart home, Apple Home is designed to help members of the iPhone ecosystem easily control and automate just about everything, including lights, thermostats, and even home security. These are all connected via the Home app, available on any Apple product with access to the App Store, but you’ll need to connect the smart gadgets first. At this point, Apple Home isn’t compatible with as many devices as its competitors, but the company clearly views its smart home platform as a priority.

Apple is set to launch a smart home hub in late 2026, so increased device support is surely on the way. While there may not be as many options, there are still some incredibly useful gadgets that Apple Home users can use right now. As of this writing, Apple only makes two smart devices, both of which serve as both a gadget and a hub. Several new Apple smart home products could be arriving sooner than you think, but for now, these five first- and third-party devices are useful options for any homeowner looking to improve their home.

The Apple TV media streaming device can do a lot of cool things, including serving as a smart home hub. In fact, it’s currently considered the best option for Apple Home, especially for more complex smart setups with many devices. Besides being an easy way to control your smart home, Apple TV 4K also lets you access the company’s other services like Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and, of course, Apple TV (the other one).

Apple TV 4K costs $199 for the Wi-Fi model with 64GB of storage and $249 for the Wi-Fi + Ethernet model with 128GB. This is a case where the more expensive option is worth the extra cost for the cabling option for a stronger, more consistent connection, making it a more reliable hub than the Apple HomePod or Wi-Fi-only device.

We hope that Apple’s dedicated hub will deliver an even better Apple Home experience, but at the expected price of $350 and without the other media player features, it’s likely that the Apple TV 4K will become an ideal mid-priced option. As for the box itself, the Apple TV 4K features 4K Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos technologies that allow it to deliver dynamic, vibrant video when used with a compatible TV.

Apple’s only other smart home product is the HomePod, a speaker that can also serve as an Apple Home hub. As with the previous device, it comes in two models: the HomePod Mini ($129) and the HomePod ($349), with the main difference between them being audio quality. Both have Siri, sound recognition, and sensors to monitor temperature and humidity that let you use them for smart home controls and as a virtual assistant.

While the Apple TV 4K is the better option overall, the HomePod Mini’s price makes it a great starter device for new and simple setups that you can continue to use as a smart home speaker and controller even if you decide to upgrade. That said, the HomePod is a much better speaker featuring a high-excursion woofer, spatial audio, and other advanced technologies to deliver high-quality sound. For the average user, this probably won’t matter enough to justify spending $200+ more, but if you’re an audiophile or want a good speaker on a better hub, go with the base HomePod over the Mini.

A smart thermostat has many major benefits, including reducing energy consumption, making it one of the first things any smart home needs. Not only is it more environmentally friendly, but it will also reduce your utility bills. While there aren’t as many Apple Home-compatible options, the Ecobee smart thermostat is a favorite among Reddit users and has been called the best smart thermostat across all smart home platforms by CNET and Wirecutter.

Ecobee offers three different models: Essential ($139.99), Enhanced ($199.99), and Premium ($259.99). All offer things like temperature control, scheduling, and basic security features, but Premium has much more to offer, like a built-in air quality monitor and a smoke alarm detector that can hear if the alarm goes off and alert you via smartphone. The only real downside here is the price. There are cheaper options like the Sensi ST55, but a smart thermostat is one of those things worth investing in, and the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium is truly second to none.

Smart home technology can improve basic things that you probably didn’t think you could improve; a major example is the locks on your home. Being able to verify that you’ve actually locked the house from your phone is incredibly useful, and providing more ways to unlock the front door makes it much more difficult to lock out. While there are smart locks that completely replace your doorknob, the best options available to Apple Home users are deadbolt locks.

Our pick is the Aqara Smart Lock U100, available on Amazon for $149.99. In addition to a keypad and fingerprint reader, it’s one of the first to be compatible with Apple Home Keys, allowing you and anyone you set as a resident or guest to unlock the door with a single tap on an iPhone or Apple Watch. You can even set it to enable automations when a certain person returns home.

Technically, you don’t need an Apple Home hub to use the U100, but you’ll miss out on many major features without one. That’s because the lock doesn’t have built-in Wi-Fi; instead, use Bluetooth for local connection and Zigbee (the networking standard for smart home devices) to connect to a hub. The Aqara Smart Lock comes highly recommended by users who appreciate its range of features, including its Apple Home Key compatibility.

It’s probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about smart home devices, but a water leak detector is one of the best investments you can make. Leaks, flooding and water damage can quickly become costly, but problems often go unnoticed until it’s too late. A leak detector can alert you to things ranging from a burst pipe to an overflowing bathtub, allowing you to handle the problem as quickly as possible. Among Apple Home compatible options, the Eve Water Guard offers some of the best protection.

It uses a 6.5-foot-long cable as a sensor for extended coverage and plugs into an outlet, meaning you don’t have to worry about the battery dying. If water reaches the sensor, you will be alerted by a 100 dB siren and a flashing red warning light. As with the Aqara Smart Lock, you will only receive a notification on your smartphone if you are at home, unless you connect your leak detector to an Apple Home hub. This leak detector is even recommended by Apple itself, which sells the Eve Water Guard on its website for $99.95. It’s also available on Amazon, where it’s often on sale for around $80. For more coverage, you can also get extensions for around $20 each.

While it’s important to highlight the two Apple-made devices since they’re currently the only hubs, the rest of the Apple Home-compatible gadgets on this list were selected primarily based on their necessity for a smart home setup. We’ve narrowed it down to a thermostat, a lock, and a water leak detector, all of which play an important role and are made much more convenient with smart home technology. When it comes to specific products, we looked at reviews from trusted outlets, social media users with experience with the devices in question, and devices approved by Apple itself.