CES 2019: Gardena Smart System Now Works With Apple HomeKit

Tuesday January 8, 2019 11:39 PM PST by Juli Clover
The Gardena Smart System is gaining support for Apple's HomeKit, with HomeKit integration coming to Gardena devices like the Smart Water Control, Smart Irrigation Control, Smart Sensor, and Smart Power.

Gardena accessories are gaining HomeKit compatibility through a software update, allowing existing Gardena Smart System owners to upgrade their systems to work with the Apple Home app and Siri voice commands.


Gardena's Smart System consists of a range of products, including watering sets for various areas like hedges and bushes or balconies, irrigation controls for controlling multiple irrigation zones, a control set for managing water usage, a water controller for automatic irrigation, sensors for measuring soil moisture and other parameters, and a smart power adapter.

The Gardena devices, available since 2016, are designed to allow gardeners to precisely monitor everything that goes on in their homes while also automating care in many ways. All of the devices have been able to be controlled via the Gardena app, but HomeKit offers more versatility and allows for integration with other HomeKit devices like outdoor lights, sensors, and more.

HomeKit compatibility will be added by the end of the first quarter of 2019.

Tags: HomeKit, CES 2019
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NightFox
2 weeks ago

HomeKit compatibility will be added by the end of the first quarter of 2019.


There's a B-I-G disconnect between that statement and the article headline! "HomeKit support coming soon" must be one of the most broken tech promises of the last few years and I still have devices that I foolishly bought on the back of those empty words before I learned better. However, it still seems that any IoT company can grab free publicity (especially out of CES) by just vaguely muttering that they're going to add HomeKit support. Sometime. Perhaps. On the next version.

Let's start giving them the kudos and coverage when they actually come up with the goods!
Rating: 6 Votes
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NightFox
2 weeks ago

While I definitely fall into the "HOMEKIT ALL THE THINGS!" camp, I have to wonder with these sprinklers and Hue's expanding outdoor lighting... how is one getting the WeeFees out to these devices?

Are they assuming that the somewhat-above-average consumer is going to invest in enterprise-ish outdoor access points?


EoH (ethernet over hosepipe)?

Actually, if you can do it over mains electrical circuits (Powerline), I guess there's no reason in theory why you couldn't transmit data through a (full) hosepipe...
Rating: 2 Votes
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NightFox
2 weeks ago

you may say that next quarter not now. they tell it will be added this quarter, so...


Sorry but in no way does committing to a timescale equate to the headline "Gardena Smart System Now Works With Apple HomeKit". It doesn't. Whether it will by the end of Q1, we'll just have to wait and see. But if HomeKit support was on my checklist, I certainly wouldn't be rushing out to buy this on the back of that promise.
Rating: 1 Votes
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moiety
2 weeks ago

Right, but there then has to be some sort of device that converts that communication back to a protocol that the Apple TV can understand. For Hue, it's the bridge.


Correct. But since it’s a mesh network, only the last bulb/irrigation controller needs to be close enough to your Apple TV/HomePod/Hue bridge/whatever.
Rating: 1 Votes
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H3LL5P4WN
2 weeks ago

EoH (ethernet over hosepipe)?

Actually, if you can do it over mains electrical circuits (Powerline), I guess there's no reason in theory why you couldn't transmit data through a (full) hosepipe...


If I'm translating from Queen's- to American- English correctly, I literally just laughed out loud at EoH. Cheers!
Rating: 1 Votes
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