CES 2017: Mixtile Hub Promises to Expand HomeKit to ZigBee and Z-Wave Smart Home Devices

by

Focalcrest, a Chinese company focusing on intelligent hardware solutions, today debuted a new HomeKit hub that promises to bring HomeKit connectivity to various connected home products that would not otherwise be able to interface with Apple's smart home platform.

The Mixtile Hub, which is MFi certified by Apple, is designed to connect to ZigBee and Z-Wave products and interface with HomeKit, allowing them to be controlled in via Siri and with Apple's Home app.

mixtile1
The hub plugs into a television set, which is used as a display to allow users to discover smart devices located in the home. From the television, the devices can be connected to the hub, and an accompanying smart phone app allows users to designate what a product does so that it can be used appropriately through HomeKit.

mixtile3
According to Focalcrest, it can interface with Z-Wave and ZigBee products, as well as connect to various smart home devices through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Focalcrest did not provide specific examples of the kinds of hardware the hub can work with, so there are some unknowns with the product at this point in time.

The Mixtile Hub supports wireless communication protocols such as ZigBee, Z-Wave (optional), Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It can also communicate with various other sensors (temperature and humidity sensors, optical sensors, door sensors) surveillance devices (monitors, alarms, intelligent locks) and smart home products (intelligent lamps, outlets and air conditioners), through ZigBee and Z-Wave.

Several existing hub-based HomeKit products work the same way as the Mixtile Hub, such as the Philips Hue. The Philips Hue base station is HomeKit enabled, while all bulbs connect to and receive commands from the base station using the ZigBee protocol.

ZigBee and Z-Wave are popular options for smart home products that don't support HomeKit. Many home security companies use Z-Wave, as do some major brands like Honeywell, GE, Schlage, D-Link, and First Alert. A wide range of connected home products use ZigBee, like the Logitech Harmony Remote, Cree lightbulbs, GE lightbulbs, and more.

Hardware wise, the hub is equipped with a quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, and 8GB of storage space. It has a built in 2,500mAh battery, dual microphones, an Ethernet port, an HDMI port, a micro-USB port, and a USB 2.0 port.

mixtile2
Focalcrest says the Mixtile Hub will be priced at approximately $150, and it will tentatively see a release sometime around March of 2017.

Tags: CES 2017, HomeKit Guide, Mixture Hub

Popular Stories

Apple Wallet ID Illinois

Apple Plans to Expand iPhone Driver's Licenses to These 7 U.S. States

Wednesday December 24, 2025 8:40 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
Read Full Article • 43 comments
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in...
Read Full Article • 94 comments
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
Read Full Article • 166 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features. Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen A new slider in the Lock...
Read Full Article
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Brings AirPods-Like Pairing to Third-Party Devices in EU Under DMA

Monday December 22, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
The European Commission today praised the interoperability changes that Apple is introducing in iOS 26.3, once again crediting the Digital Markets Act (DMA) with bringing "new opportunities" to European users and developers. The Digital Markets Act requires Apple to provide third-party accessories with the same capabilities and access to device features that Apple's own products get. In iOS...
Read Full Article • 100 comments
maxresdefault

10 Mac Apps Worth Trying in 2026

Wednesday December 24, 2025 9:27 am PST by
2026 is almost upon us, and a new year is a good time to try out some new apps. We've rounded up 10 excellent Mac apps that are worth checking out. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Alt-Tab (Free) - Alt-Tab brings a Windows-style alt + tab thumbnail preview option to the Mac. You can see a full window preview of open apps and app windows. One Thing (Free) -...
Read Full Article • 83 comments
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Why Apple's Foldable iPhone May Be Smaller Than Expected

Tuesday December 23, 2025 5:21 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone, rumored for release next year, may turn out to be smaller than most people imagine, if a recent report is anything to go by. According to The Information, the outer display on the book-style device will measure just 5.3 inches – that's smaller than the 5.4-inch screen on the ‌iPhone‌ mini, a line Apple discontinued in 2022 due to poor sales. The report has led ...
Read Full Article • 195 comments
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Iridescent Search

Samsung Developing 'Wide Fold' With iPhone Fold-Like Design Ahead of Apple's 2026 Launch

Tuesday December 23, 2025 11:55 am PST by
Samsung is working on a new foldable smartphone that's wider and shorter than the models that it's released before, according to Korean news site ETNews. The "Wide Fold" will compete with Apple's iPhone Fold that's set to launch in September 2026. Samsung's existing Galaxy Z Fold7 display is 6.5 inches when closed, and 8 inches when open, with a 21:9 aspect ratio when folded and a 20:18...
Read Full Article • 84 comments
iphone fold 3d print

Have a 3D Printer? You Can Make Your Own iPhone Fold Dummy

Tuesday December 23, 2025 1:31 pm PST by
Apple is working on a foldable iPhone that's set to come out in September 2026, and rumors suggest that it will have a display that's around 5.4 inches when closed and 7.6 inches when open. Exact measurements vary based on rumors, but one 3D designer has created a mockup based on what we've heard so far. On MakerWorld, a user named Subsy has uploaded a 1:1 iPhone Fold replica (via Macworld), ...
Read Full Article • 125 comments

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
AngerDanger
117 months ago
I wonder how people in the comments are going to twist this article to make bad comments about Tim Cook.
Let me take a crack at it.
Mixtile Hub Promises to Expand HomeKit to ZigBee and Z-Wave Smart Home Devices
A third party device shouldn't be required to connect non-HomeKit devices with HomeKit. Maybe if Tim "bean counter" Cook would actually try to innovate or get fired, this wouldn't be the terrible, horrible, awful, bad, no good issue that it is. Also, Tim Cook killed my dog once! (He wasn't involved in the other killings.)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EdT Avatar
EdT
117 months ago
I wonder how people in the comments are going to twist this article to make bad comments about Tim Cook.
Someone beat me to it, but:

[LIST=1]
* It took a Chinese company to add on the functionality that should have been there out of the box.
* Fire Tim Cook.
* Samsung already did this. Apple has lost all innovation.
* Someone should fire Tim Cook.
* Google has already done this. Apple is years behind the competition.
* So Fire Tim Cook.
* Android.
* Fire Cook.

I do have to admit I have taken part in some of the Apple bashing going on lately, although I blame the company as a whole and not one man.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisCW11 Avatar
ChrisCW11
117 months ago
So yet another 3rd party filling in the gaps of Apples lack of innovation or cooperation with the tech industry.

Don't get me wrong, HomeKit is a good idea, but promoting it as the only way your Siri enabled device will talk to home automation devices is short sighted. There are a lot of products that work together without licensing a proprietary sdk, Echo for instance can work with Philips Hue or Nest thermostats without Amazon imposing its own intellectual property on other companies and forcing them to work the way Amazon warns them to work. Instead Echo adapted to work with other products, even products that came out years before it like Nest.

Apple wants you to have to rebuy products to work with its platform, and I don't like that. I'm not in the habit of buying $300 thermostats whenever someone happens to support Apples platform. And Apple has a long history of deprecating technology to promote a new platform on a whim, I wouldn't be surprised if all HomeKit devices today no longer work in a few years when HomeKIt 2.0 comes out or Apple decides home automation is absurd because they failed to make it captivating.

While HomeKit might be the AAA solution for Siri support in the home today, there is no reason for Apple to not play nice with other platforms and protocols. I mean it can only be a win/win for Apple to empower more devices with Siri, even if they begrudgingly have to use a third party protocol, yet Apple's constant walled garden approach to innovation is why their platform has been slow to establish in the home while Alexa has taken off far more quickly.

So, the idea of a third party box acting as a mediator between Siri and the rest of the world is attractive, but it's a shame you need to, once again, glom on another box, dongle, or add-on to make Apple work better for you in the real world.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tasset Avatar
tasset
117 months ago
I want this. REALLY BAD. I have been halfway surprised nobody has made this yet, then again not so surprising as it seems every manufacturer has an outsized value of themselves and think they are a platform. (Wink, Wemo, etc etc).
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iapplelove Avatar
iapplelove
117 months ago
I'm slowly moving backward with technology. The more I know the less I desire a "smart" life.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AJ5790 Avatar
AJ5790
117 months ago
eh why bother with home kit. Get an amazon echo or a google home
Yeah, why does the security of a device IN YOUR HOME matter at all... meh, just go with the devices that can become great botnet candidates. Excellent choice.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments