Ever leave your house and 10 minutes later have to turn around because you can’t remember if you left the garage door open? Are you coming home late and want to turn on the lights to your house while driving? Well those days are over with Apple CarPlay, Apple HomeKit and Siri integration. Here are five steps to get hands free control of your smart home while you are driving:
1. Apple CarPlay
The first step will be to have an Apple CarPlay compatible stereo in your car. If your vehicle did not come equipped with this feature all you have to do is upgrade to a Pioneer stereo. With a wide range of head units from Pioneer you can get an Apple CarPlay compatible stereo starting at only $400.
2. Apple HomeKit
Apple HomeKit is an app built into all iOS devices. To use Apple HomeKit hands free while driving there are three devices you can use, Apple TV ($149), iPad ($329), or an Apple HomePod ($350). For security reasons Apple requires one of these devices to be on the same Wi-Fi network as the connected smart home devices.
3. Connected Smart Home Devices
From smart switches, lights, thermostats and garage doors there is a range of devices you can use with Apple CarPlay. Smart switches and lights range from $20 on up, thermostats will start around $150 and a smart garage add-on unit will be around $100. All of these devices would then connect to your Apple HomeKit device.
4. Siri
So now that you have an Apple CarPlay car stereo, Apple HomeKit and a connected smart home device you can check with Siri to see if your garage door is open just by saying, “Hey Siri, is my garage door open?” If the answer is yes all you have to say is, “Hey Siri close my garage door.” For lights it’s the same thing, “Hey Siri, turn on my living room lights.”
5. The Cost of Peace of Mind
Combing the connected car and connected smart home experience doesn’t need to cost you an arm and a leg. To get started it’ll run you under $700 for a Apple CarPlay compatible Pioneer car stereo, Apple TV, smart lights and a smart garage unit. With everything said and done the price to have hands free control of your home while driving is small price to pay for peace of mind.
