Conclusion:

With the Thinka you get a hub that does what it promises, and that is connecting Z-Wave devices with the Apple Home Kit. Once you've completed the installation, you'll have access to over 3,000 devices. As a result, you suddenly have many more devices at your disposal than those available via the Apple platform. Think of door contacts, motion sensors, built-in switches, the list is endless. This is all great, of course.

You install hub by logging in via the web interface and following the steps. After the registration, I found the steps not very well explained and user-friendly. This is partly because you have a Thinka APP and a web interface. I can imagine that this is a bit confusing for the average user. The messages in the APP are also not always super clear, some additional explanation would be desirable. For example, you do not see that you have to scan a code and that it takes a while until a device is added.

You have to connect to Apple Home Kit via the APP. I ran into some connectivity issues here. After receiving a new copy the problems were solved but after a while the same connection problems reappeared.

The strength of this system lies in being able to use Z-Wave devices. To do this, they must first be added to the hub. This did not go smoothly with all devices. Thinka indicates that in principle all Z-Wave devices should work and be easy to add. This is not always the case. Now we are not surprised about this because more hubs run into this problem.

Our tip is to inform you well in advance which devices are supported. This is how Fibaro products work well.

Who is the Thinka intended for? We are also wondering that. Real nerds/techies often have another solution to connect their devices to Home Kit. In addition, there are also plenty of hubs that can do this with a plugin/app. The Thinka does have an official HomeKit certification, which is an advantage and is a more stable solution.

For novice users, I think it's all just a bit too complicated. For example, it would already help if everything could be configured via the APP.

What would certainly help is the "Smart start" implementation in this way you can easily add the device via a QR code. Unfortunately, this is not yet supported by all Z-Wave devices, something that Thinka cannot do anything about. It will be only a matter of time until the majority of them support it.

If we put all this away at the price of € 429.00, I think this hub is a bit on the expensive side.

So: Are you looking for a solution to use Z-Wave devices in Home Kit? Then the Thinka is a great solution.

We would like to thank Thinka for making a copy available and for the good support.