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Netatmo adds further HomeKit functionality to its security cameras

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Netatmo Presence
Simon Cohen/Digital Trends
Protecting your home from your phone just got a little bit easier. Netatmo, the smart home company behind the Welcome and Presence indoor and outdoor security cameras, announced a new integration with Apple HomeKit. This means that both existing and new Netatmo users can create an easily manageable smart home system capable of being controlled with nothing but their voice and a tap of a finger. The new feature will roll out via an automatic firmware update, and applies to security cameras already being used and those on store shelves.

Presence, Netatmo’s outdoor security camera, is capable of distinguishing people, cars, and animals, and notifying users of these faces and objects. Welcome, on the other hand, is meant for indoor use, and notifies users whenever a familiar face is detected, or when a potential intruder appears to be in the house — all notifications come complete with photos and video. And now, with HomeKit, homeowners can control their security cameras more easily than ever. For example, you can now say, “Hey Siri, show me the entrance” or “Hey Siri, show me the front garden,” and check out a live-stream of that particular area. But it’s not just monitoring that you’ll be able to do from afar — you can also say, “Hey Siri, turn Presence’s light on,” and enable the security camera’s companion flood light to scare off a stranger.

“Having both of our security cameras compatible with Apple HomeKit through a software upgrade demonstrates Netatmo’s mission to constantly provide our existing and new users with the most advanced smart home system and technologies available,” said Fred Potter, founder and CEO of Netatmo. “Through regular software updates, Netatmo can ensure the best and most up-to-date services to our clients.”

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Thanks to HomeKit, users can also create custom scenarios that can align a number of different functions from different connected devices using a single command. For example, if you have an “Arrive home” scenario, you can ensure that the Presence smart floodlight is turned on, your door unlocked, and your thermostat set at your favorite temperature when you walk through your front door. These scenarios can either be activated by way of a gesture in the Apple Home app, in your smartphone’s Control Center, or simply via your voice with Siri.

A number of other Netatmo products already boast HomeKit integrations, including the Netatmo Smart Thermostat, the Netatmo Smart Radiator Valves, and the Netatmo Healthy Home Coach. Presence will be made HomeKit compatible later this fall, whereas Welcome’s compatibility will come at the end of 2017.

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