Honeywell has today announced the second-generation version of the Honeywell Lyric thermostat. The first version (currently discounted ahead of the new hardware) was labelled with HomeKit advertising in various places, but that support never materialized. Honeywell has clarified that interested customers will have to buy the new $249 hardware to use the Lyric with HomeKit, currently available for preorder from the Honeywell website.
If you don’t want to wait, check out the ecobee3 system. You can buy a comprehensive thermostat and remote sensor smart home system with full HomeKit support through ecobee today.
Honeywell is a bit behind the curve, although the Lyric has generally been praised outside of HomeKit integration. HomeKit lets users control the heating in their home via an iPhone app or with voice control via Siri. The physical design of the second-generation Lyric has not changed, it remains a circular unit with touch screen controls and motion sensor to automatically light up the display. See more suggestions for improving your home with HomeKit accessories in our 2015 HomeKit gift guide.
