Abode will add HomeKit to its new smart home hub
It's the latest part of Apple's push into the smart home.
Brilliant isn't the only smart home hub creator hopping on the HomeKit bandwagon. Abode has revealed its Gen 2 gateway, and it's "100% committed" to bringing HomeKit support to the platform. More details will come "soon," the company said. However, this already makes it one of the more flexible hubs to date. It can already communicate with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and IFTTT, and it supports a raft of smart home devices using Z-Wave Plus, Zigbee and Abode's own abodeRF.
Outside of HomeKit, Gen 2 is mainly notable for its inclusion of 4G cellular data backup on some models (if you subscribe to a plan) as well as the addition of Z-Wave Plus. It's clearly designed with home security in mind thanks a built-in battery for home security as well as a 93db siren.
The new Abode gateway will arrive in February for $199 as a replacement for an existing hub, and in bundles that range between $279 and $359 depending on whether or not you'd like cellular backup and extended storage. No matter what, it suggests that HomeKit could soon be a staple of many connected household devices where it previously wasn't an option.
