My dog hated this HomeKit smart pet feeder, but this is why yours will love it

[iMore.com]

The Aqara Pet Feeder C1 does exactly what it is supposed to, but my French Bulldog hated it.

My dog hated this HomeKit smart pet feeder, but this is why yours will love it : Read more

 

[Barrymore]

If you did actually test this product you’d know that it isn’t HomeKit compatible, as pet feeders aren’t even a supported category.

 

[Annie_M]

One thing to try in order to get Kermit to get used to the bowl is to put some special treats into it. If he associates it with good things, then he might be more secure in eating from it.

 

[JD Roberts]

It’s not his personality. It’s his head.

look at the picture: his head is much too close to the feeder tower to comfortably eat out of the bowl. This is particularly an issue for flat faced dogs like Bulldogs of all types.

some dogs will learn to use their paw to scoop the kibble out of the bowl and then eat it off the floor.

otherwise, if the bowl is detachable, you may be able to put the dispenser up on a stepstool or some thing and have the food fall down into a bowl that is easier to eat out of. But I don’t know if that’s possible with this particular model.

 

[TheNotoriousJ-A.D.]

If you did actually test this product you’d know that it isn’t HomeKit compatible, as pet feeders aren’t even a supported category.

Hey! Writer of this article here. It is HomeKit compatible via some workarounds, you can set it up to use Shortcuts and automation in the Home app by connecting to an Aqara hub. Check this video out:

I 100% tested the product, fyi.

 

[TheNotoriousJ-A.D.]

It’s not his personality. It’s his head.

look at the picture: his head is much too close to the feeder tower to comfortably eat out of the bowl. This is particularly an issue for flat faced dogs like Bulldogs of all types.

some dogs will learn to use their paw to scoop the kibble out of the bowl and then eat it off the floor.

otherwise, if the bowl is detachable, you may be able to put the dispenser up on a stepstool or some thing and have the food fall down into a bowl that is easier to eat out of. But I don’t know if that’s possible with this particular model.

He has a slow feeder that is the same height. I tested this product thoroughly for 3 weeks, and it wasn't to be. Not to say it isn't a good product, it just doesn't work for my dog, but it might work for yours!

 

[JD Roberts]

He has a slow feeder that is the same height. I tested this product thoroughly for 3 weeks, and it wasn't to be. Not to say it isn't a good product, it just doesn't work for my dog, but it might work for yours!

I didn’t say it was the height, I said it’s his access to the bowl being blocked by the feeding tower it’s attached to. Either his head or his ears are going to hit the tower every time, so that’s why he doesn’t like it.

 

[JD Roberts]

Hey! Writer of this article here. It is HomeKit compatible via some workarounds, you can set it up to use Shortcuts and automation in the Home app by connecting to an Aqara hub. Check this video out:

I 100% tested the product, fyi.

HomeKit and the Apple Home app are two different things, although it may not matter much to most users. Being able to work with Siri Shortcuts is not the same thing as being HomeKit compatible.

The most obvious difference that users are likely to encounter is that you cannot use a homekit trigger, like a HomeKit-connected motion sensor from another brand, to activate a Siri shortcut that uses a third-party app, like your pet feeder does.

in this case, you could get around that by using an Aqara motion sensor and creating the automation in the aqara app instead of the Apple home app. The aqara motion sensor would show up in the Apple home app so you could use it for other things as well, and you would have Siri voice control through Shortcuts, but the pet feeder itself will not show up in the Apple home app homekit automations.

A Siri shortcut can run a HomeKit scene, but a HomeKit scene cannot run a Siri shortcut that activates a third-party app.

I know all of this stuff is really technical, but as a popular writer on this topic, it would probably benefit both you and your readers if you dug a little deeper into the differences between Siri Shortcuts, the Apple Home app, and the HomeKit framework. They have overlapping functionality, and again, the casual user may not care, but there are important technical differences and “works with homekit“ is not the same as “works with Siri shortcuts.“