Belkin is finally making good on its on-again-off-again promise to bring HomeKit support to its WeMo smarthome device product line. Instead of making us buy all new accessories, however, Belkin is releasing a hub that links the WeMo products you already have into your HomeKit network.
The WeMo Bridge connects to your network via Ethernet, so there will be yet another smarthome bridge in the mix. The upside is that it’ll be the only extra device you need to add your WeMo gear to HomeKit.
Belkin’s WeMo product line has been stuck outside the HomeKit ecosystem even though the company was one of the first to commit support for the platform. The company later put those plans on hold because meeting Apple’s HomeKit requirements was proving more difficult than expected.
Now Belkin is taking a page from the Philips Hue playbook and making a bridge instead of reengineering the product line. That’s what Philips did a couple years ago, and it offered the its HomeKit compatible Hue bridge at a discount to existing customers.
The WeMo Bridge will ship sometime this fall. Belkin hasn’t said yet how much it will cost, but regardless of the price it’ll be cheaper than replacing a room full of WeMo devices.