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Smart doorbells and Apple HomeKit are not compatible, at least for now

Lulu Chang
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August Doorbell Cam Pro review wood
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Doorbells are not coming to Apple HomeKit anytime soon. At least, that seems to be what its Home Accessories listing suggests, now that Apple has purged all mentions of HomeKit-enabled doorbells. As 9to5mac reported, the page once listed the August Doorbell Cam, among others, as “coming soon.” Now, it seems that they are not coming at all.

For many smart doorbell makers, the idea of HomeKit support has been a far-fetched dream for months, if not years. August initially said that it would have HomeKit support in 2016, while Ring has claimed that its video doorbell has been in testing mode with HomeKit for several months. Strangely enough, smart doorbells seem to be particularly difficult for Apple to conquer. While HomeKit has expanded its smart home integrations in the last few months, with smart locks, smart thermostats, and other such appliances, doorbells remain nowhere to be found.

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While it seems unlikely that Apple will completely abandon its plans to introduce doorbell support in HomeKit, these latest website updates do suggest that the delays, already frustrating and far-reaching, will only continue. Once HomeKit-compatible doorbells do hit the market, the idea would be that the devices would send notifications to a user’s iOS device anytime a doorbell is triggered. The notification could include a live video feed so that you could monitor your doorstep, even from afar. In many ways, the smart doorbell would work much in the same way as a smart lock, which Apple does provide HomeKit support for. It’s odd, then, that such a similar device remains un-integrated.

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It’s not entirely clear what the holdup may be on Apple or third-party devices’ sides. August, for example, has now released a relatively large number of HomeKit-enabled smart door locks. Their smart doorbells, on the other hand, are integrated with other smart assistants, but Apple HomeKit remains out in the cold. Of course, Apple HomeKit is still in the preliminary stages of building its reputation and its abilities, so it’s likely that significant improvements are made in the future. But for now, it looks like a smart doorbell is still far away.

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Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
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