First Alert has created the first HomeKit-enabled smoke alarm, today introducing the Onelink Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm with HomeKit integration (via The Verge). Similar to the Nest Protect, the Onelink Smoke Alarm is able to detect smoke and carbon monoxide, sending alerts to a user's iPhone.
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Through the iPhone app, the Onelink Smoke Alarm is able to test the viability of a smoke detector, notify users when an alarm goes off while they're away, and silence alarms that have been set off accidentally. It's also able to toggle a built-in nightlight (hardwire version only) on and off and each connected alarm will go off whenever one detects something harmful, directing users towards the problem with voice alerts.
With HomeKit integration, users can ask Siri to dim the nightlight or check for smoke or carbon monoxide alerts. The Onelink Smoke Alarm comes with a built-in battery that cannot be replaced and lasts for 10 years, putting an end to low battery alerts in home smoke alarms. There's also a hardwire version with a battery backup.
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The Onelink Smoke Alarm works over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and does not require a central hub. According to The Verge, First Alert will be introducing additional HomeKit-enabled devices in 2016, including a safe and a combo carbon monoxide, temperature, and humidity sensor.
The battery-powered Onelink Smoke Alarm is priced at $109 and does not include a nightlight feature, while the hardwired version with a nightlight is priced at $119. The Onelink Smoke Alarm can currently be purchased from the Lowe's website and will later be available on Amazon and in Apple retail stores.
Update: Apple is now selling both the hardwired Onelink Smoke Alarm and the Wi-Fi Onelink Smoke Alarm in its online store.
Top Rated Comments
When I heard that FirstAlert had released two HomeKit-compatible smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, I jumped to buy them not only because I love HomeKit but also because this was a safety issue I had been overlooking for some time. I made a video review and unboxing to discuss the features of these new FirstAlert Onelink HomeKit alarms.
In this video, I also discuss the third party app: Home - Home Automation with HomeKit By Matthias Hochgatterer.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/home-home-automation-homekit/id995994352?mt=8
(By my estimation, this is the best HomeKit app so far.)
As always: I have gone through a lot of time setting up these devices, troubleshooting problems, and resolving them, so if you have any HomeKit questions or comments please leave them below, and I’ll respond.
Is it me, or this just... too complicated?
FirstAlert is the top smoke and carbon monoxide detector manufacturer in the country. I don't have any fears that this will fail to work as a basic smoke and CO alarm. But, this really does have features that make it better than the average alarm. If you install several of them, they are interconnected, meaning that if any of the alarms go off, they all go off, and it tells you exactly which room is the one that set off the alarm. This is so much better than alarms where only one of them goes off, and if you have a large house you might not even hear it quickly enough.A smoke detector is the sort of device which almost never gets used, but when it does, it must work. Failure is not an option because people might die. I want the simplest damned smoke detector I can get, run off a cheap replaceable 9V battery, that I know will go off if a fire starts.
As awesome as advancement in tech is, this really isn't something that requires advanced technology. It just needs to be loud to wake everyone up so they can evacuate if necessary.
It also notifies you if an alarm is set off while you are outside of the house, using push notifications. I think those features are nice, and make them are useful than the average alarm.
We need to know how much RAM it has so people can whine about it on these forums.
Also can it stream 4K and run a full OS?