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

Aqara Pet Feeder C1 with a French Bulldog
(Image credit: John-Anthony Disotto)

When I first saw the Aqara Smart Pet Feeder C1, my ears perked up like my dog hearing the words “dinner.” It’s an automated feeder for cats and dogs that can be set up to work with the Home app and Siri, and I loved the idea.

HomeKit has come a long way from smart light bulbs, now, you can control curtains, heating, doorbells, and even your pet’s feeding patterns. And with devices now getting Matter support, we’re going to be seeing even more smart products in the Home app very soon.

Imagine never having to weigh your dog’s food again or automatically feeding it when you’re out at a restaurant. It sounds awesome, and I couldn’t wait to set it up.

This was straightforward, where it was your typical plug-in, download the app and sync up process, similar to most smart home products on the market. To use the Pet Feeder C1 with HomeKit, you also need the Aqara Hub M1S, a compact smart home hub that works with all of Aqara’s smart home accessories.

Everything was going swimmingly. I had found a spot for the feeder in my kitchen, weighed out my dog’s food to make sure the scheduled feeding times would feed him his daily allowance, and I couldn’t wait to get everything going. 

And then, Pet Feeder C1 met Kermit, my lovable, demonic French Bulldog. And unfortunately, he wasn’t Aqara’s biggest fan.

Aqara Pet Feeder C1 with a French Bulldog

(Image credit: John-Anthony Disotto)

As soon as Kermit woke up that bright spring morning, he walked to the door of the room where he slept and made the cat-like screeches he always does to alert my girlfriend and me that it’s time to wake up - imagine an obnoxious morning rooster but in your home and less than 10 meters away. After he went out to do his morning business, I took him into the kitchen, ready to show off the new tech that would make his life so much better. He’d never worry about starvation again; it would be glorious.

The Pet Feeder C1 started to spit out Kermit’s kibble, all 80 grams of it, and then…nothing. 

My tiny energetic bundle of muscle just stared at the contraption, and then he stared, and then he stared some more. Only then did I realize that Kermit was far more obedient than I had ever given him credit for. “Ok, Go,” and he ran over and started munching away at his food. 

I was a little concerned about his lack of urgency, but I thought it would be easily solvable by adding the command to the Aqara app so that my voice would say “Ok, Go” every time the food was dispensed. Unfortunately, the command wasn’t the issue. A week went by of the Pet Feeder C1 dispensing kibble and Kermit grazing before refusing to eat anymore. Every evening, I’d move the kibble into his other food bowl, and he’d chomp away happily, leaving the bowl clean.

Aqara Pet Feeder C1 with a French Bulldog

(Image credit: John-Anthony Disotto)

I love the idea of using Shortcuts and the Aqara hub with HomeKit to never worry about feeding my Kermit again, never needing to weigh food, and all the other first-world problems that I moan about daily. But, unfortunately, my dog seems to be the biggest technophobe I know, and he didn’t share the same enthusiasm that I did for a smart pet feeder.

As a product, the Aqara Pet Feeder C1 is a great piece of equipment that does exactly what it is supposed to do. The only caveat is whether or not your dog agrees. As Kermit gets closer to the age of two, I’m pretty sure that he’s the problem, not the tools that want to make his life better. So, if you’ve got a normal dog that loves food, the Aqara Pet Feeder C1 could be an excellent product for you. If, like me, you have a rebel without a cause, you might find yourself out-of-pocket, wishing your dog could understand how cool a smart life could be.

John-Anthony Disotto
How To Editor

John-Anthony Disotto is the How To Editor of iMore, ensuring you can get the most from your Apple products and helping fix things when your technology isn’t behaving itself.

Living in Scotland, where he worked for Apple as a technician focused on iOS and iPhone repairs at the Genius Bar, John-Anthony has used the Apple ecosystem for over a decade and prides himself in his ability to complete his Apple Watch activity rings.

John-Anthony has previously worked in editorial for collectable TCG websites and graduated from The University of Strathclyde where he won the Scottish Student Journalism Award for Website of the Year as Editor-in-Chief of his university paper. He is also an avid film geek, having previously written film reviews and received the Edinburgh International Film Festival Student Critics award in 2019. 

John-Anthony also loves to tinker with other non-Apple technology and enjoys playing around with game emulation and Linux on his Steam Deck.

In his spare time, John-Anthony can be found watching any sport under the sun from football to darts, taking the term “Lego house” far too literally as he runs out of space to display any more plastic bricks, or chilling on the couch with his French Bulldog, Kermit. 

  • 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.
    Reply
  • 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.
    Reply
  • 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.
    Reply
  • TheNotoriousJ-A.D.
    Barrymore said:
    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: 9TWvE1X6NFE
    I 100% tested the product, fyi.
    Reply
  • TheNotoriousJ-A.D.
    JD Roberts said:
    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!
    Reply
  • JD Roberts
    TheNotoriousJ-A.D. said:
    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.
    Reply
  • JD Roberts
    TheNotoriousJ-A.D. said:
    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: 9TWvE1X6NFE
    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.“
    Reply