It has been a while coming, but Meross has finally added a HomeKit compatible version of their Smart Oil Diffuser to their smart home lineup of products, which now includes a rather comprehensive range of devices – smart plugs, bulbs, strips, garage door openers, and smart switches etc.
I saw “a while” for two reasons; one is that they’ve had a smart diffuser for at least a year now, although at that time it was only compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Secondly, up until this device surfaced, there have been no other HomeKit enabled diffusers from any other company since the introduction of the Vocolinc Flowerbud way back at the tail end of 2018! Since then we’ve seen Vocolinc issue the much larger MistFlow, which serves as a humidifier, although it can still function perfectly well as a diffuser too, alongside the much smaller Vocolinc Ripple.
Still, for Meross fans, you now have another option in the ‘diffuser’ HomeKit space, and the Meross option does have one benefit over the Flowerbud, namely the water tank, which comes in at 400ml/13.5 floz compared to the Flowerbud’s 300ml/10.1floz, and the Ripple’s rather paltry 200ml/6.76floz. This is all despite the fact that the Meross version is actually smaller and lighter than the Flowerbud.
The design of the Meross Diffuser is in some ways similar to many other diffusers on the market, using a faux wood covering, two physical buttons on the front, and a thin LED ring light around the bottom half, that is exposed to HomeKit as a separate ‘service’, so in essence you get two devices in one – the diffuser and a light, both of which can be used in scenes and automations. It uses 2.4GHz WiFi as expected, so no Thread functionality unfortunately, and unlike the Flowerbud (which I’m sure it’ll be constantly compared to), it doesn’t have a built-in humidity sensor. although many users have said the sensor is inaccurate to the point of being useless.
the Meross smart WiFi Essential Oil Diffuser (MOD100HK) is not officially on sale yet, but it can be purchased online via the Meross store for US$59.99, with only a US power adaptor available at the time of writing. This listing also notes that as it’s not officially on sale yet, and is a ‘beta version’, whilst it will come with the required HomeKit code, your Home app may report that it is an ‘uncertified accessory’, which is standard for unreleased beta products.