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By Adrian Justins
Most smart home technology can be managed when you’re at home using an app on a phone, but to control your devices when you’re away from your property or to automate multiple products together, you need a platform (or ecosystem ) for the optional smart home. As we discussed in the part two of our smart home technology seriesNot all devices are compatible with all smart home control platforms and it is best to ensure that any products you purchase work on the platform of your choice. Alternatively you can choose to work outside the control platforms, but there are limits.
Here we explain the main differences between the platforms to help you identify which system best suits your needs.
Apple HomeKit
An Apple HomeKit hub, like an Apple HomePod Mini (pictured below and main image above) or an Apple TV box, allows iPhones, iPads and Apple Mac computers to control individual smart home devices and trigger grouped automations. Siri is Apple’s voice assistant that can be used to control multiple devices in sync with each other and can be invoked simply by saying the “Hey Siri” command into your phone or within earshot of an Apple smart speaker (aka a HomePod or HomePod Mini).
Unlike Google, Amazon, and Samsung, Apple doesn’t make smart home products (aside from its hub devices). There are also far fewer HomeKit-enabled gadgets from third-party manufacturers than there are platforms from Google and Amazon (hundreds compared to tens of thousands). This is largely due to Apple’s tighter control over third-party certification, although it does help make it a more reliable and secure system. The platform has proven to be less vulnerable than Google’s or Amazon’s to being hacked, and data is typically stored locally rather than in the cloud.
Google Home
Google’s smart home platform is controlled by Google Assistant, which is compatible with over 50,000 smart home devices from over 10,000 companies. Its voice control is considered superior to that of Siri (Apple) or Alexa (Amazon) and is capable of issuing more complex instructions, such as ordering the television to turn on and dim the lights in the same sentence rather than two separate commands .
Google Home the hubs are available as smart speakers and smart displays — speakers with touch LCD screens — some under the Google Nest sub-brand as the second-generation Nest Hub (pictured below), others called Google Home. Google also makes a WiFi router, the Nest WiFi Pro that acts as a smart home hub. Like Siri in iPhones, the Google Assistant is built into Android phones and Google hubs and is available out of the box.
Amazon Alexa
Alexa supports more smart home devices than Google Home, Apple HomeKit or Samsung SmartThings. If you’re using an Android or iOS phone to access Alexa voice control, you’ll need to manually open a separate app, but Amazon’s hubs like the Echo, Echo Studio, and Echo Show 10 (pictured below) are always on standby.
Samsung Smart Things
SmartThings is both a hardware brand and an app-based control platform that is compatible with hundreds of products. SmartThings devices can be controlled by the Google Home and Amazon Alexa apps, but not by Apple HomeKit. A SmartThings hub (pictured below) is only really needed to control devices that use Z-Wave and Zigbee, which are low-power alternatives to WiFi that don’t work with other platforms and are probably the most compelling reason to choose the platform. .
Working outside the control platforms
It is possible to circumvent the restrictions of various control systems. For example, Google Nest devices, such as security cameras, thermostats and smoke detectors, can’t be added to Apple’s HomeKit platform but can be controlled through the Google Home app on an iPhone or iPad.
Similarly, Amazon smart devices such as Ring doorbells can also be operated with an iPhone and in some cases may be easier to manage than when using the Apple platform. With a Hive heating and lighting system, for example, the Alexa app can search your network and automatically add every thermostat, radiator valve and light bulb, while the Apple Home app prompts you to manually rename each device and tell it which room is found.
Configuring automations
We still recommend sticking to one platform to simplify device configuration and programming routines. These can be programmed: you can set your bedroom curtains to open at a certain time and a smart speaker to play your favorite radio station to wake you up in the morning. Alternatively, you can use voice control to activate pre-programmed automations, such as saying “Alexa, good night” to turn off the lights, lock exterior doors and set the heating to a lower level.
Devices can also be set to be triggered by external factors. You may want the lights in a room to flash when a wash cycle has finished or when your soccer team scores a goal. These “If this, then that” (IFTTT) routines may involve a bit of fiddling with the settings in the Control Platform app, but there are various downloadable “skills” that simplify the process.
Setting up a smart home may seem complicated, but seeing devices do useful things, including saving money by reducing unnecessary use of lighting and heating, is rewarding and fun. If everything still seems too complicated, the option of using a remains professional custom installer.
Photography: Apple; Google Home; Amazonia; Samsung Smart Things
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