C-Reach Hub brings HomeKit compatibility to C by GE's 'sleep' and 'life' LED bulbs
The family of devices compatible with Apple's HomeKit is soon to grow, with a bridge to make the established C by GE smart lightbulbs work with the system coming over the summer.
While the C by GE light bulb family has been available for some time, the company will ship a device to make them compatible with Apple's HomeKit and Amazon's Alexa this summer. The C-Reach Hub will allow consumers to use Siri through the Home app to control the bulbs like any other HomeKit-compatible peripheral.
The C by GE bulb line launched in early 2016, without any form of HomeKit compatibility. The bulbs themselves have Bluetooth transmitters, and without a hub or bridge lack any form of remote control outside the home.
A specific launch date for the hub is not yet clear, nor is expected pricing. A standard C by GE LED starter pack retails for $74.99 for a four-pack, with other options available.
Introduced in 2014, HomeKit allows users to connect to a variety of compatible so-called "internet of things" devices through the iOS Home app in conjunction with each other, as opposed to a series of disconnected interfaces. The addition of Siri control to HomeKit allows for complicated sequences of events to be induced from an iOS device or a Mac running Sierra.
While the C by GE light bulb family has been available for some time, the company will ship a device to make them compatible with Apple's HomeKit and Amazon's Alexa this summer. The C-Reach Hub will allow consumers to use Siri through the Home app to control the bulbs like any other HomeKit-compatible peripheral.
The C by GE bulb line launched in early 2016, without any form of HomeKit compatibility. The bulbs themselves have Bluetooth transmitters, and without a hub or bridge lack any form of remote control outside the home.
A specific launch date for the hub is not yet clear, nor is expected pricing. A standard C by GE LED starter pack retails for $74.99 for a four-pack, with other options available.
Introduced in 2014, HomeKit allows users to connect to a variety of compatible so-called "internet of things" devices through the iOS Home app in conjunction with each other, as opposed to a series of disconnected interfaces. The addition of Siri control to HomeKit allows for complicated sequences of events to be induced from an iOS device or a Mac running Sierra.
Comments
Don't take my word for it:
https://appsto.re/us/oxQIab.i
Home Automation requires understand and planning. A system should have no more than 3 brides.
I have-
Philips Hue
Lutron
Smartthings
People chasing crap from Startups will end up with a bunch of obsolete hardware. People that make silly decisions like going Lifx versus Hue are the ones still waiting for HomeKit support.
Bridges have their place and they make it easy to integrate systems but if you are a lowest bidder type of buyer your system will look and perform like one.
Thankfully in 5 years or so the market will clear itself out and only a few protocols will survive and large companies will have fast product offerings based on the most suitable protocol.
If you want something that exists without bridges take a keen look at IP based offerings. Right now the best odds are with The Thread Group but there's a competing protocol named HaLOW that appears to have little traction. Once you go IP you can basically integrate the tech right alongside existing IP stuff
Power. Wifi uses up MUCH more power than stuff like Zigbee or ZWave. Most of the low power protocols operate around 800-900mhz frequency so that they have long range and to further aid this they often employ a mesh network. The Bridge is there to move from these higher power protocols to lower power protocols and to store information. We need to hope that Apple supports Thread (protocol) which is lower power but still runs Internet Protocol. This would be the easiest way to meld high power IP like Wifi with low power IP addressable devices.
Buy the brands you want. Don't buy the ones you don't want.
I recommend you check out the Cree Connected bulbs or the Hue Dimming Kit. These are controlled with very basic wall mount or remote controls. Ikea's Tradfri system will get recommended when they have some integration.