New products reaffirm Apple TV's central role in HomeKit ecosystem

With the first round of HomeKit-enabled devices beginning to arrive, Apple's plans for its new home automation framework have become clearer, including the important role that the Apple TV will play for HomeKit users.

One of the best things about home automation is the ability for you to control it —  or for it to control itself — while you're away. Turning on the air conditioner on your way home or unlocking the door for housekeepers or kids when they've forgotten their key are just a couple examples of the power of remotely-accessible home automation.

Getting this to work well generally requires an expensive proprietary system from a major player like Crestron. If you're willing to endure a little more pain, it can be cobbled together with components from smaller firms, but that means lots of apps and different systems to juggle.

Apple wants to change this with HomeKit, letting you control any HomeKit-enabled accessory from wherever you are. This has its own set of challenges, especially when you consider that many connected home accessories simply aren't designed to respond to requests from the outside world.

Enter the Apple TV. As we detailed last summer, Apple's set-top streamer is the ideal device to act as a bridge between your HomeKit devices and your mobile life:

Imagine bringing home a fourth-generation Apple TV, connecting it to your Wi-Fi network, and immediately being able to ask Siri to turn off your downstairs lights and raise the temperature in the house when you go to bed, no matter which smart home manufacturer made the bulbs and thermostat. All of this with minimal additional configuration — and minimal investment — thanks to the behind-the-scenes work done by Apple with HomeKit.

Our prediction turned out to be a good one, as the company surreptitiously added support for HomeKit in Apple TV Software Update 7.0. The functionality was later mentioned in beta release notes, and confirmed on Tuesday when the first HomeKit-enabled accessories hit the market.

In the fine print for Elgato's new Eve line of environmental sensors, the company notes that controlling HomeKit devices "away from home requires an Apple TV (3rd generation or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later and an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8.1 or later."

The system works by automatically registering a compatible Apple TV as a remote access peer once the user signs into iCloud. Home and accessory data is stored using CloudKit, while paired keys are synchronized via Keychain.

With a house full of HomeKit accessories, this opens up some fun, Star Trek-style interactions. Imagine using your Apple Watch to ask Siri to open the front door as you walk up with arms full of groceries, or tapping on your iPhone to turn on more lights in the garage while you're changing your oil.

The HomeKit future is bright, and the Apple TV is right in the middle.