If you were to venture into the AppleKit micro-site for HomeKit accessories that lists all the HomeKit accessories on the market, you will only see one device listed for humidifiers: Vocolinc Flowerbud. Although technically it can act as a humidifier, it is especially a HomeKit speaker.

It may be shy for a real humidifier, but this weird device doesn't matter yet. It can still serve a purpose in your home.

Design

Vocolinc Flowerbud is an interesting device. He is tall and curvy, and can stay out as he sits in your house.

Filling the Vocolinc Flowerbud water tank

There is a base portion that acts as a basin for water with or without essential oils, which also houses an LED light. Then there is the upper portion that sits on it like a hat, which acts as a diffuser for light, as well as a tunnel for diffused water to be channeled.

Physical checks on the Vocolinc Flowerbud face

On the front are two buttons to turn the light on or off (as well as to change the color) and to control the fog (as well as the sleep timer). Otherwise, there is a power cord that connects underneath. Vocolinc also includes a small cup of water to facilitate the filling of the device.

As a humidifier

Apple lists Vocolinc Flowerbud as a humidifier, although Vocolinc itself is primarily a speaker. After testing, it is easy to see why.

While we are in the winter, my house is exceptionally dry. I had to use a humidifier too many times to make it more comfortable and to prevent problems like dry skin. Without official HomeKit options on the market, I only had to use a smart plug on a standard "dumb" humidifier for control.

When I saw the Vocolinc Flowerbud, I was intrigued by how it could help. I installed the device in our bedroom, filled it with water and monitored the humidity level at my level of Eve, which was placed nearby.

After a while, I noticed that the humidity level in the room increased, but not so much. Our pretty small bedroom went from 37% humidity to 41% humidity in about an hour.

The usual humidity inside should be 40-50%, so from a technical point of view, this has reached our window, but only. It was also in close proximity to Flowerbud. In the bedroom, the effects were not as noticeable.

Vocolinc says that, as a humidifier, it works best in rooms below 400 square meters. Our bedroom qualifies for this, but it still seems insufficient. If you buy this with the sole intention of a humidifier, I could lean towards a larger standalone unit and match it with a HomeKit smart connector.

As a speaker

However, when it comes to a speaker, things have been much better. We were able to add essential oils to Flowerbud to add some aromatics to our home.

Vocolinc Flowerbud on a shelf

Flowerbud can work on a stopwatch, so you have a good morning scene that will wake you up with natural light as well as scented odors to energize your day. I really appreciated this while testing it.

It is a cold diffuser, which means that the air coming out of the top like a cold mist, rather than hot steam.

When comparing this with other speakers, we would take this with a heartbeat. It helps, however easy, with humidity along with it acts as a speaker and even has an adjustable ambient light.

All of these can be controlled via Siri, HomeKit or automated with scenes and triggers.

-HomeKit enabled

Configuring Vocolinc Flowerbud in Apple HomeKit

What is truly unique about Vocolinc Flowerbud is its HomeKit connectivity. As I mentioned, this allows you to control your device on your iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad or using the voice of Siri.

Control of the humidifier in the Apple Home application

Because this doesn't quite fit in as a "humidifier", it makes things uncomfortable in the Home app. The Home application allows you to set the desired humidity level, but Flowerbud cannot detect the humidity level.

So set the desired level to 100%, but you still need to make sure you touch the power button to activate it. For a moment, it can be a bit confusing.

More confusion comes with the name. Even if this is marketed as a speaker, if you ask Siri to turn off the speaker, she won't know what you mean. You must be sure that you call it a humidifier, even if you do not use it for this ability.

The easy way to bypass this is to call it HomeKit as a "speaker" and from now on it will be recognized by this epithet.

Both the light and the humidifier can be controlled independently of the Home application, including the choice of full color light.

LED light control inside Vocolinc Flowerbud through HomeKit

Thanks to HomeKit, there are many different Flowerbud applications. For example, with an environmental sensor, such as Eve Degree, you can turn the humidifier on or off depending on the humidity level, or you can turn on the speaker if the air quality is poor. It can be programmed to run and stop at different times of the day and can go automatically with a stopwatch.

There are, of course, many other options.

Should You Buy Vocolinc Flowerbud?

If you want a HomeKit compatible humidifier alone, look elsewhere. However, if you like Flowerbud's multi-faceted approach between humidifier, speaker and light, then this device is a sure thing.

Flower box Vocolinc

In our testing, it was reliable, responsive to our requests, and was a welcome addition to our home setup and HomeKit.

Pros

• It acts as a speaker, humidifier and light
• HomeKit-enabled for easy control, programming and automation
• Easy configuration and use
• Great speaker
• Also works with Alexa and Google Assistant

Versus

• Diffuser is not a real HomeKit category
• The control of the humidifier can be confusing at the first attempt
• The humidifier is not very powerful or works in large rooms
• Design polarization

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Where to buy

Vocolinc's Wi-Fi Smart Flavor Speaker is available on Amazon for $ 49.99.