Apple and Amazon Adopt Opposing Strategies as Smart Home War Heats Up

[adamjackson]

Since when has carplay failed?

Not that I agree with this assessment but developers interested in making their application work with CarPlay can't simply make the app. They have to contact Apple who approves of the process and only applications that play audio are accepted. Which is why there's no Waze application for CarPlay or Facebook Messenger or Yelp. Apple puts safety first, then privacy then security. They want applications that don't distract the driver and a lot of great applications that would work fine for the passenger to interact with or while you're parked aren't on CarPlay because of Apple's walled-garden.

There'd be WAY more CarPlay applications if Apple allowed developers to make them. Right now, the only 3rd party CarPlay apps I use are Overcast, Audible and Pandora. I'd love to see more.

 

[Zaft]

Can the echo give me traffic info on a random destination? As in I dont have to set it in the alex app?

 

[adamjackson]

You are a happy inmate to the apple prison. Enjoy the meals, and the sex (I hear it's great)

Apple has treated me very well for decades. I've never tried anything else and never needed to. I wish they made more products actually like a home server, Siri hub and 1st party HomeKit devices.

 

[Uofmtiger]

Exactly. I love the idea of homekit and I've invested in it heavily. But the more devices I get, the less reliable they all are. Something like this need to have a near 100% success rate for people to really start relying on it over traditional hardwired systems.

I keep waiting and hoping homekit will get better. So far progress has been very slow.

Personally, I have 10 or so Hue Bulbs. Two of them are on my front porch and are on timers to come on at the same time every single day. Other than when our power was out, I have never had a problem with them coming on at the exact time I set.

I have 2 Echos and they are great. However, the upside to Homekit is the ability to use it from anywhere I have my iPhone/Apple Watch without screaming to the Echo in the next room. The upside to the Echo is that anyone can use it, so it is great for high-use areas of the home. I am still hoping Apple comes out with an Echo competitor, but I am happy with my two Dots when I am in the room they are in. I also like Homekit for when I am in rooms with Hues or other devices (idevice/ihome) and can still tell Siri to turn on lights.

 

[Zaft]

Not that I agree with this assessment but developers interested in making their application work with CarPlay can't simply make the app. They have to contact Apple who approves of the process and only applications that play audio are accepted. Which is why there's no Waze application for CarPlay or Facebook Messenger or Yelp. Apple puts safety first, then privacy then security. They want applications that don't distract the driver and a lot of great applications that would work fine for the passenger to interact with or while you're parked aren't on CarPlay because of Apple's walled-garden.

There'd be WAY more CarPlay applications if Apple allowed developers to make them. Right now, the only 3rd party CarPlay apps I use are Overcast, Audible and Pandora. I'd love to see more.

Im sure its better now, but being forced to use apple maps in a car frightens me...

I use Waze when I need directions and its great for the most part.

 

[AppleFan360]

How's security with Alexa? Can someone just walk up to your window & yell "Alexa, open the garage"?

No, not possible.

 

[Weaselboy]

Can the echo give me traffic info on a random destination? As in I dont have to set it in the alex app?

No it won't. You have to setup a "commute" with start and end points then it will tell you the traffic for that commute.

 

[adamjackson]

Im sure its better now, but being forced to use apple maps in a car frightens me...

I use Waze when I need directions and its great for the most part.

I use CarPlay every day. I don't think Waze or Google Maps works with CarPlay yet.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I think what it comes down to is that people want this stuff to be like the movies where its perfect with no mistakes and compromise..

these are not real AIs, just a box that answers some questions with pre determined answers.

We are maybe 20 years away from that.

I would definitely not want to see my home here.

https://www.insecam.org/en/byrating/

 

[DrBobMI]

[deleted]

 

[Zaft]

I would definitely not want to see my home here.

https://www.insecam.org/en/byrating/

Those are hacked cameras?

 

[Apple 26.2]

Nope. Amazon just straight up beating Apple.

No, no... I meant Apple was a mile wide. I appreciate them stretching their legs, but it's almost as if they're jacks of all trades, ace of none.

 

[Zaft]

No it won't. You have to setup a "commute" with start and end points then it will tell you the traffic for that commute.

Thats unfortunate, I bet google home does this fine.

 

[Weaselboy]

How's security with Alexa? Can someone just walk up to your window & yell "Alexa, open the garage"?

I get annoyed that I have to unlock my phone while driving down my street for HomeKit/Siri to open my garage, but I also understand why.

No, not possible.

Why would that not be possible? What is to stop someone from yelling “Alexa, tell Garageio to open my door” into a nearby open window?

https://garageio.com/workswith/echo

 

[DrBobMI]

I think the author missed the boat on this.

The issue is not open vs. closed architectures. I think the home device market more than most others should have high security and well-curated interoperability.

The issue is functionality. I've been using HomeKit for over a year, and the lack of a "hub" of some sort is clearly a failing. HomeKit is flaky. It mostly works, but sometimes not. Sometimes one light won't come on. Sometimes your phone battery dies, and without a "hub" any schedule you have set up then ceases to work because your phone is dead. Sometimes internet connectivity to your home is less than reliable, and confirmations that an action actually happened aren't robust. Sometimes you inexplicably can do something from your phone, but you can't do the same thing from your Apple watch. Plus, programming ordinary use-cases is hard.

Apple is blowing it on the thing a closed architecture and Apple UI designers are usually best at - a consistent, easy, and reliable user experience.

 

[aristobrat]

I think I understand your point, but you don't really need a hub for everything. There are many devices that can work directly with the Echo. For example, I have a Wemo light switch that the Echo works with directly and there is no hub.

I don't think Amazon's solution has the Echo/Dot talking directly to stuff in your house. Doesn't the Echo/Dot have to relay the command out to the Internet and over to a server (run by whomevers device is being controlled), and then get relayed back down to your device? In that sense, there's a hub involved, it's just not in your house.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Those are hacked cameras?

Not secured. They probably could be but nobody bothered.

 

[Zaft]

Not secured. They probably could be but nobody bothered.

Thats baffling to me.. How do these people not secure a camera....

 

[Weaselboy]

I don't think Amazon's solution has the Echo/Dot talking directly to stuff in your house. Doesn't the Echo/Dot have to relay the command out to the Internet and over to a server (run by whomevers device is being controlled), and then get relayed back down to your device? In that sense, there's a hub involved, it's just not in your house.

It does use wifi, but not over the Internet in the case of the Wemo switch. That is handled directly over wifi in the house. There are also some bulbs (LIFEX is one that comes to mind) that work the same way over wifi with no hub.

 

[aristobrat]

Thats baffling to me.. How do these people not secure a camera....

Some cameras are secure (in the sense that the person changed the default passwords, etc), but have firmware that contain backdoor accounts (not visible to the owner) or known exploit. So the moment the owners setup port-forwarding on their routers so they can remotely view their cameras, they can be hosed without knowing it.

 

[az431]

Homekit. Security may be great. But I have 6 timers on my Philips Hue lights for my morning routine and invariably, every morning, at least one of them fails.

I have the same issues, and it's probably because the only part of the Philips ecosystem that is HomeKit compatible is the hub. Everything else talks to the hub using Zigbee via wi-fi. My non-Philips HomeKit devices work flawlessly.

 

[Sam_S]

Do we really need a smart home?

 

[az431]

I enjoy a stable secure OS too. That's not the point. Not enough do to make that argument a successful marketing strategy. Compare iOS and Android market share and tell me again I'm incorrect.

You're incorrect because market share is not relevant to whether IOT devices should be secure. The greater market share is due to the fact that a majority of people don't know enough about the security risks, or know but are willing to compromise their security to save money or to obtain a wider feature set.

And regardless of market share, Apple has and always will derive a higher percentage of profit, which is the measure of success of a business, not market share.

 

[Ries]

When Amazon openly admits they can't guarantee security... for a home device...

Yea I'm going Apple.

Because Apple can? The Apple that spends millions on specialised chips, signed boot loaders and what not on the security side of things. Yet there is jailbreak for most iOS versions out here giving full access to the device. Some how Apple poking the device a bit makes it invulnerable? You want to be secure? Don't buy any smart device you aren't willing to risk being hacked.

 

[aristobrat]

Do we really need a smart home?

I mean I guess I could hire someone to wait inside my house at night to turn on the exterior lights for me when I pull into the driveway (and then turn them off 5 minutes later), or text me anytime motion happens in the yard at night, or remind me that my housemate left the stupid garage door up, but ... I'm finding it pretty easy to automate all of that.