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Apple TV is required for the ideal Apple smart home experience

homekit


CES doesn't typically yield much info on Apple products, but the impending smart home push led some device manufacturers to bring their not-entirely-working HomeKit devices to the year's biggest consumer electronics show and a few tidbits of reliable info have emerged. As The Verge reports, Apple's tiny TV box-that-could, Apple TV, won't be mandatory for Siri voice control -- as long as you're on your home Wi-Fi network when issuing commands.

However, anyone wanting to ready their home before arriving by whispering commands to Siri while on your way home from a rough day at work, you'll most definitely need an Apple TV in order to pull it off. Commanding HomeKit devices via the app will still work without Apple TV, regardless of whether you're actually at home or not.

This little bullet point isn't likely going to be enough to get many more people to adopt an Apple TV specifically for away-from-home Siri smart home control, but for anyone who has already committed to Apple's vision of a home streaming box, it's a nice little bonus.