New Mi Desk Lamp 1S – with HomeKit?

News of the kind we’re going to mention seems to be getting so regular that it could soon have a whole section to itself, with devices that at first seem incompatible with HomeKit, then appearing to be the exact opposite at a later date. In this case, it’s a new device discovered within the lighting section of the Mi Home app.

The new device in question is labelled the Mi Desk Lamp 1S, and from what we can make out, it looks pretty much identical to the current Mi desk Lamp (branded as Yeelight in some regions). The difference here, ostensibly, is that when you go through the process of adding the lamp, you’re told, just like with the Yeelight bulbs and light strips we reported on earlier, that the device is compatible with HomeKit, although, as is the case with the devices we previously mentioned, they don’t actually end up being exposed…at the moment.

As it’s so similar looking to the current Mi Desk Lamp, we first assumed that HomeKit compatibility had been added to this model, but in fact, the Mi Desk Lamp and the Mi Desk Lamp 1S are listed as separate items in the Mi Home app. Additionally, we have a Mi Desk Lamp here, and after testing to see if even a sniff of HomeKit compatibility would appear after adding the device again, we can confirm the current model is definitely not getting any HomeKit love right now.

This brings us to the point where we should consider what Yeelight/Mi’s plans are with these devices that are showing HomeKit compatibility, but aren’t! It could be that they’re simply waiting for certification from Apple for these devices, which is the most likely scenario. In addition, it could also be that this lamp is the last part of a larger puzzle, where they hit us up with multiple HomeKit enabled device in one massive Tech Tsunami: Light bulbs – Bam! Desk Lamp – Bam Bam!! Light Strip – Triple BAM!!! Let’s face it, there’s a nice feeling when you buy something and are resigned to the fact it’s not a HomeKit device, only to find overnight it has turned from an ugly duckling to a beautiful (HomeKit compatible) swan.

Thanks to Bob in Poland for the tip-off.