Best HomeKit devices in 2024

The diminutive HomePod mini may be small but there are a lot of features packed into this smart device. When it comes to audio quality, this produces a room-filling sound that matches its Echo and Nest rivals, and it gives you hands-free Siri access and acts as a hub for your other smart home devices.

Now that Apple has resurrected the design of the original HomePod, it's the clear best pick for the best audio quality from a Siri-compatible smart speaker.

We wouldn't recommend it to anyone using Android, but it's an essential if you love Apple Music and control your smart home gadgets through HomeKit. We love the spacious and room-filling sound, which makes it feel like the music is all around you rather than coming from a specific source.

After a cheaper smart plug that’s just as effective? You miss out on the energy monitoring features with the Meross plug but gain a much smaller form factor. It’s just as simple to set up and we use ours to control salt lamps that won’t fit a smart bulb.

One of the most powerful streaming devices around, this is an excellent way to get all your online video services in one place, and showing in the highest quality on your telly.

It’s ideal if you’re already on Apple’s systems, as it can connect to your photos, you can cast from your phone, and you’ll have your existing movie and TV shows purchases ready for you too.

Beyond this, and like the HomePod above, the Apple TV 4K also acts as a hub or control centre for all your smart devices at home.

It’s a little bulky, comparatively, but this plug won’t obscure neighbouring sockets and gives you loads of data on how much energy you’re using through the outlet.

We connected it to an extension cord powering our TV, games console, soundbar and Blu-ray player, and then set it up so that we could monitor energy usage and switch them all off in one go. The whole process is seamless and we had it working in minutes.

Sometimes you have a few devices in the same corner of a room and want to make them all more connected. What you need is a smart power strip.

This one has four outlets so that you can control up to four appliances (like a fan, a lamp, a security camera and a wireless charger, for example), four extra USB slots for charging phones and a 1.83-metre long cord so you can put it wherever you like.

The Nanoleaf bulb is hands down the best bulb you can buy for HomeKit.

It comes with all the latest connectivity and reliability upgrades, an exceptional 1,100 lumens of brightness, millions of colours, and clever “HomeKit Adaptive Lighting” that adjusts the temperature of your smart lights throughout the day.

It’s pretty affordable at £17.99 per bulb, but if you’re on a budget we’d recommend going with the Meross.

If you’re looking to set the ambience at home without spending a lot, it’s worth picking up a few of these budget Meross bulbs.

They’re much cheaper than rivals and while they lack some of the latest tech for responsiveness, we found them more than speedy enough in our setup. They get bright and can reproduce a wide range of colours too.

The reliable Eve Cam is our top pick for an indoor security monitor that lives within HomeKit. Ideal for your hallway or living room, this works with HomeKit Secure Video, which uses your existing iCloud storage plan to keep recordings each time it notices movement in its field of view.

We set it up to watch over our front door, and found it was super quick to deliver motion alerts (it can identify people, animals, vehicles and packages) and we liked how we could set it to look at only a specific zone and integrate into our home automations.

When it comes to a video doorbell that keeps an eye on your front door, we think this Netatmo option is best for its HomeKit integration and how you can control it via Siri.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t have HomeKit Secure Video like the indoor camera above (Logitech’s Circle View is the only doorbell with it, and it’s not yet available in the UK), so you have to check recorded videos via its app. However, it can use your HomePod as a chime and it streams to your Apple TV too.

Door and window sensors are often a key part of a smart burglar alarm setup, but you could also pick up one of these individual contact sensors to let you know when your front door is open or closed.

Ideal if you’re not setting up a full-on security system or live in a smaller flat, we use ours for the peace of mind you get from knowing the door is closed while you’re out. It’s super reliable and fast to send notifications.

You can also use it to trigger an automation, such as turning on the lights in the hallway when the door opens in the evening.

“Hey Siri, make it warmer.” Owning a smart thermostat can open up several super smart features within your home, like having the whole system work with schedules, automation and location tracking based on whether you’re home or not.

We recommend picking this full-featured Hive model if you use Apple’s Home app – and it’s pretty affordable compared to rivals too.

We know, you’d assume something as complex as a smart lock comes with a lot of drilling, wiring and a tricky installation.

While we’d still recommend the help of a pro engineer, it’s possible to self-install this UK-specific HomeKit-compatible smart lock and we love how it fits just to the inside of the door, preserving your existing external handle. Say goodbye to wondering if you locked up for the day.

For those who want a complete home security system that connects to HomeKit, this is the way to go. With the Abode starter kit, you get a motion sensor, a pair of door and window sensors, a hub with a siren, and a keyfob.

With a monthly subscription (starting at £7.99) you’ll get more out of it too, including alerts, smart home integrations (with brands like Yale and Philips Hue) and unlimited users. Opt for the top-tier plan (£13.99 a month) and you get a 4G backup that’ll keep sending alerts even if your wifi fails.

Want to get started with some smart lights without screwing in any new bulbs? Opt for a smart lamp like this that connects straight to your wifi, changes colours, and can fit into your scenes and automation.

Meross is known for some of the best affordable HomeKit-compatible devices on the market, and this is no exception. We found it easy to control with the rest of our home, and easy to integrate into our custom scenes for movie nights and waking up in the morning.