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How You’ll Be Able To Control Your Home With Siri

HomeKit

Consumers are beginning to see the fruits of Apple’s HomeKit framework as the first home automation accessories are shipping. Now Apple has added a full list of Siri commands to the HomeKit support page, showing how users will be able to use their voices to control the accessories.

As expected, there are commands for turning accessories on or off and adjusting temperatures. But there are also commands for groups of accessories — homes, zones, rooms and scenes. You won’t be able to perform certain commands from a locked iPhone. This is being done for security reasons; you wouldn’t want someone to pick up your iPhone and then be able to unlock your home, for example.

Here’s the list of example commands:

• “Turn on the lights” or “Turn off the lights.”
• “Dim the lights” or “Set the brightness to 50%.”
• “Set the temperature to 68 degrees.”
• “Turn on the coffee maker.”
• “Turn on the upstairs lights.”
• “Turn off Chloe’s light.”
• “Turn down the kitchen lights”
• “Dim the lights in the dining room to 50%.”
• “Make the living room lights the brightest.”
• “Set the Tahoe house to 72 degrees.”
• “Set the thermostat downstairs to 70.”
• “Turn on the printer in the office.”
• “Set up for a party, Siri.”
• “Set the dinner scene.”
• “Set my bedtime scene.”

Personally, I’m holding out for commands like “Vacuum downstairs and take out the trash,” but these are a good start.

Steve Sande
the authorSteve Sande
Contributing Author
Steve has been writing about Apple products since 1986, starting on a bulletin board system, creating the first of his many Apple-related websites in 1994, joining the staff of The Unofficial Apple Weblog in 2008, and founding Apple World Today in 2015. He’s semi-retired, loves to camp and take photos, and is an FAA-licensed drone pilot.
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2 Comments

  • No thanks! I not only find getting up and flipping a switch just as easy, it’s healthier than sitting on my rump.

    • No problem, use Siri to turn the light on and in 5 minutes your Apple Watch will remind you to stand up and move around. ;)