Home automation company has launched the Smart Climate Assistant utilizing HomeKit for controlling its thermostats and smart radiator valves for its customers mostly in the EU and UK-- but the HomeKit support promised for the Intelligent AC Control by the same company will likely never surface.
At Friday's IFA show in Berlin, Tado showed off its Smart Climate Assistant, with open window detection determined by changes in temperature or humidity, a repair services button to summon HVAC help from an expert, weather adaption based on the forecast and current conditions, and geofencing. The update is not very relevant to U.S. users, as the Smart Thermostat and Smart Radiator Thermostat are only available elsewhere.
Tado's sole product in the US is the Smart AC Control. It connects to just about any infrared-controlled air conditioner, and utilizes a smartphone for control.
While Tado once promised HomeKit compatibility when the product launched in the summer of 2015, that support is not coming. A customer of the product detailed the abandonment of the support in Reddit thread, the details of which have since been confirmed by AppleInsider.
"We thought we could get it HomeKit compatible and in theory it is possible but our WiFi Chip does not support IPv6 only IPv4. The issue is that HomeKit requires that the device fully supports IPv6," Tado claimed. "This was not clear in the design phase. This issue makes it impossible for us to make the Smart AC Control HomeKit compatible."
It is not clear why Tado makes that specific claim about the "design phase," as support of the IPv6 stack has been mandated since very early HomeKit product developer's information. It is possible, that Tado Smart AC Control that shipped in late 2015 entered development before HomeKit was revealed in June of 2014.
Technically savvy users with suitable always-on hardware who wish to use the Tado Smart AC Control can connect the device through HomeBridge with a plugin specifically designed for the device.