Apple Hires Ex-Microsoft Exec to Revamp Smart Home Business

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CNBC reports that Apple has hired ex-Microsoft exec and former CEO of a smart lock company to revamp Apple's home initiatives.
Hiring Jadallah is the latest signal that Apple plans to get serious about its own efforts in the home. Recently, the company acquired a start-up called Pullstring, a start-up that specializes in voice-enabled toys. That purchase could help the smartphone maker become the center of a connected living room.
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Apple has been making movement into the home space for years, with the introduction of HomeKit as well as the HomePod which is powered by Siri. HomePod, however, has lagged behind its competitors despite making steady improvements. Apple's latest hire as well as recent acquisition of a voice technology company seems to indicate that they are refocusing their efforts.

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Sam Jadallah's Linkedin page​

Jadallah was most recently CEO of failed smart lock company Otto. Otto was described as a "luxury smart lock":
With Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios packed inside the surprisingly compact design, Otto promises to let you or anyone you choose inside with just a touch whenever it senses an authorized phone within range.
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That company ultimately failed, but it appears that Jadallah will be applying that knowledge forward at Apple.

Article Link: Apple Hires Ex-Microsoft Exec to Revamp Smart Home Business
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/02/16/apple-hires-smart-home-business/
Apple should’ve acquired August.

They’re already in tune with Apple in the design sense and have the potential to expand beyond locks and doorbells. They were acquired by the world’s biggest lock company so I think they’re now off limits.

I could see August expanding into door and window sensors next and beyond that into cameras and a thermostat.

Had Apple acquired August, they would’ve had, pardon the pun, a turn-key operation.
 
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ipedro said:
Apple should’ve acquired August.

They’re already in tune with Apple in the design sense and have the potential to expand beyond locks and doorbells. They were acquired by the world’s biggest lock company so I think they’re now off limits.

I could see August expanding into door and window sensors next and beyond that into cameras and a thermostat.

Had Apple acquired August, they would’ve had, pardon the pun, a turn-key operation.
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Yep. Pretty much what Google is doing with Nest.
 
They are way behind google and amazon. Siri has to become smarter and Apple has to be more serious about a smart speaker than just the HomePod. It’s fine, but it can’t be their only entry. Amazon and Google penetrate millions of homes by have stuff like the echo dot and google home mini - cheap entries into smart speakers.
 
ipedro said:
Ever heard of Yale locks? Assa Abloy is the parent company. They’re the biggest lock company in the world, it doesn’t even come close. Now they own August which is a very well known brand in smart home products. They’re well positioned to be competitive in the smart home space going forward.
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I know Yale. But they operate and manufacturer independently.
 
AppleFan91 said:
They are way behind google and amazon.
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You should update your knowledge. HomePod entered the field behind the others who were already established but they haven’t stood still this past year. In recent tests, HomePod is now ahead of Alexa in its ability to answer questions, though still behind Google Assistant.

In terms of capabilities, what Amazon calls “Skills”, HomePod is quickly catching up with Siri Shortcuts, enabling iOS apps to perform functions from a HomePod. What’s more, Shortcuts are easy for developers to turn on in Xcode, rather than having to purposefully write a Skill like Alexa requires. If they have an app, then turning on Shortcuts makes it compatible with HomePod. So, we’ll see Siri catch up quickly. Hundreds of apps have already added Shortcuts in the 5 months that it’s been out.
 
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MacRumors said:



CNBC reports that Apple has hired ex-Microsoft exec and former CEO of a smart lock company
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I did some reading on Jadallah and it turns out that he wasn’t just the CEO of Otto. It was his company. Apple has essentially acquired a ready made, yet unreleased smart lock.


This thing is extremely well built and impossibly small, considering the other smart locks out there that are at least twice the size of Otto and have cheap plastic gears.

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I’m not sure Apple is going to start releasing its own smart home products other than HomePod, but if they do, they could go the route that Microsoft has taken with Surface and Google is doing with Pixel. Release a reference device and encourage third parties to release their own versions to grow variety in the market with plenty of choice.

If they do, I’d like to see this under an arms length sub company like Apple has done with Beats. I don’t know if we need Apple branded everything.
 
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Please come out with something like Samsung Smartthing hub.... I am about to throw this hub in the trash....Nothing but issues for the past 1 year.... I want to find a replacement.
 
dazz87 said:
Please apple throw something out like Samsung Smartthing hub.... I am about to throw this hub in the trash....Nothing but issues for the past 1 year.... I just want something that is stable.....
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HomePod is positioned to do exactly that. It’s already a HomeKit hub. Manufacturers can theoretically ditch their own hubs and let HomePod connect their devices to the HomeKit ecosystem. This would however require people to own a HomePod before they can purchase a third party company’s smart devices. Maybe they can make their own hub optional.
 
He founded a startup with the sole intention of being acquired. He got acquired instead, a year later. Many startups are created for that sole reason — to present a concept to the marketplace and hope someone will come along and swallow them up. Otto missed out, but the CEO did not. Sad for the Otto team, his previous customers, and investors, though.
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dazz87 said:
Please come out with something like Samsung Smartthing hub.... I am about to throw this hub in the trash....Nothing but issues for the past 1 year.... I want to find a replacement.
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Samsung ain't all that it's cut out to be... sad you learned that the hard way.
 
dazz87 said:
Please come out with something like Samsung Smartthing hub.... I am about to throw this hub in the trash....Nothing but issues for the past 1 year.... I want to find a replacement.
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ya some have had issues over and over and some not mine has been fine for years. but what little I use HomeKit I have had more issues.
 
ipedro said:
You should update your knowledge. HomePod entered the field behind the others who were already established but they haven’t stood still this past year. In recent tests, HomePod is now ahead of Alexa in its ability to answer questions, though still behind Google Assistant.

In terms of capabilities, what Amazon calls “Skills”, HomePod is quickly catching up with Siri Shortcuts, enabling iOS apps to perform functions from a HomePod. What’s more, Shortcuts are easy for developers to turn on in Xcode, rather than having to purposefully write a Skill like Alexa requires. If they have an app, then turning on Shortcuts makes it compatible with HomePod. So, we’ll see Siri catch up quickly. Hundreds of apps have already added Shortcuts in the 5 months that it’s been out.
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IMO “Shortcuts” seem like a bandaid for something that doesn’t work as promised... actually, and let’s put innovation aside, what has Apple done recently that “Just Works”?
 
ipedro said:
You should update your knowledge. HomePod entered the field behind the others who were already established but they haven’t stood still this past year. In recent tests, HomePod is now ahead of Alexa in its ability to answer questions, though still behind Google Assistant.

In terms of capabilities, what Amazon calls “Skills”, HomePod is quickly catching up with Siri Shortcuts, enabling iOS apps to perform functions from a HomePod. What’s more, Shortcuts are easy for developers to turn on in Xcode, rather than having to purposefully write a Skill like Alexa requires. If they have an app, then turning on Shortcuts makes it compatible with HomePod. So, we’ll see Siri catch up quickly. Hundreds of apps have already added Shortcuts in the 5 months that it’s been out.
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You should update your reading comprehension. Apple is behind Google and Amazon in smart home adoption and market penetration, which is clearly what I was talking about.
 
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coolfactor said:
Samsung ain't all that it's cut out to be... sad you learned that the hard way.
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its not perfect but it has been working fine for me for maybe 3 years. but I don't really need to screw around with it anymore.
sonos sucks on it I use it to announce when a family member gets home and it can take several minutes. but I use it to control hue, Sonos, arlo, memo and ecobee and home stuff.
 
mccaffertee said:
IMO “Shortcuts” seem like a bandaid for something that doesn’t work as promised... actually, and let’s put innovation aside, what has Apple done recently that “Just Works”?
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When Alexa requires developers to create skills and its users to memorize precise voice commands to engage them, it’s great but when Apple releases Shortcuts to enable users to interact with apps by voice, it’s a bandaid?

It seems like you’re thinking of Shortcuts, the app. Shortcuts isn’t just an app where advanced users can create their own interactions. It’s an underlying Siri framework that enables developers to integrate their iOS apps with Siri wherever it is, including on HomePod.

The original Siri that was acquired in 2011 was limited by its design on how it could expand. Apple has rewritten Siri from the ground up and Shortcuts is at its core. Any app can now integrate with Siri and Siri (the AI) can determine Shortcuts based on user routines. It’s not a bandaid, it’s a new framework for virtually unlimited expansion of Siri’s capabilities going forward.
 
Zenithal said:
Had to look them up. I've never heard of Assa Abloy. IMO, Apple should focus on polishing their services before attempting more home automation.


Or according to that one member from the other day, "What idiot buys all this smart home tech? It's all a fad, people."
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Assa Abloy is huge. They are used a lot in hotels and commercial buildings. We have over 3000 sites that use their smart door locks.
 
ipedro said:
You should update your knowledge. HomePod entered the field behind the others who were already established but they haven’t stood still this past year. In recent tests, HomePod is now ahead of Alexa in its ability to answer questions, though still behind Google Assistant.

In terms of capabilities, what Amazon calls “Skills”, HomePod is quickly catching up with Siri Shortcuts, enabling iOS apps to perform functions from a HomePod. What’s more, Shortcuts are easy for developers to turn on in Xcode, rather than having to purposefully write a Skill like Alexa requires. If they have an app, then turning on Shortcuts makes it compatible with HomePod. So, we’ll see Siri catch up quickly. Hundreds of apps have already added Shortcuts in the 5 months that it’s been out.
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Siri shortcuts are an awkward work around for basic functionality that should be included in developers (directly accessible) APIs.
 
steve knight said:
ya some have had issues over and over and some not mine has been fine for years. but what little I use HomeKit I have had more issues.
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Biggest issue is when I drive up to my house and I get the text alert (ST app on iphone) that Im home which should tell ST hub to disarm the house....... but it still keeps it in ARMED mode so when I open my garage door my Siren would go off cause the hub was in armed mode instead of home mode (disarm)....Smh
 
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