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Apple May Launch First iPad-Like Smart Home Accessory Next Year
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There's a subset of people who think that more features and flexibility is always a good thing.
Then there's the real world where you want the light switch to always be in the same spot or the home automation system that you don't have to look for because it is always in its place.
What I am suggesting that there's no reason why it can't also be an iPad app, but I think you discount the value of having an always-in-the-same-place device that is simple to use (and not burdened with the million other iPad features).
Having to tell my kids to get off the iPad or ask them where it is (or finding it with an empty battery) so I can adjust the lights or heating is just a nonstarter for me.
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I still fail to see the advantage of routing your lights through an iOT setup as additional failure points, so you can use some unergonomic touch panel or unreliable voice assistant where a simple switch on the wall would have sufficed.
- Remote access
- Audio Control
- Automation through time, Conditions.
- Level of control
- Colour choices (mood lighting).
- Ease of Installation (no wiring required)
Notwithstanding, I can still hit the hard switch and a quick off then on, it turns on.
So the hard switch works and so does the iOT.
I‘ve been using g1 and g2 HomePods for years and just a couple of weeks ago Apple sent me a 20-30 question survey on how I use them and what new features I’d like. Totally out of the blue. Interesting timing.
As someone who has professional installed and programmed automated lighting systems, allow me to share.
At the professional level, lighting is considered a life-safety function and typically requires municipal inspection to ensure stability (for new construction). These systems are indeed more fragile due to multiple points of failure but they're well established brands and are incredibly flexible and robust. This is why the "real" stuff costs a lot more than something like a Philips Hue light bulb.
As with most things in life, people are willing to pay for convenience (ex., Spotify, DoorDash, Prime). Sometimes even when that convenience is less convenient; in other words, novel. For multi story homes, the ability to turn all the lights off when you leave the home is a convenience. Setting a lighting scene in multiple rooms with the touch of a button, or instructions to Siri, is a convenience. Setting lights to 2% dimming when you wake up by speaking, "Good morning Siri" is a convenience. Holding a touch screen in your hands to monitor and adjust the brightness (and/or color) of every light in your home is a convenience. If you have a schedule that repeats every day, you could program some lights to dim to certain levels throughout the day - like when you leave and come home from work. This automated schedule could work in conjunction with an astronomical clock so lights turn on earlier in the winter and later in the summer.
Having worked in home a/v and automation for twenty five years, I can tell you that automated scene setting lighting is by far the most impactful thing I have ever worked with. It's like magic and it actually has an impact on your mood and well being.
Moreover, for most consumer grade lighting control, you're not losing manual control. If the interface loses connection or you're unable to access a "smart" device, your light switches still work as normal. If you're using smart light bulbs though, putting the light switch in the off position creates an air gap and prevents you from operating it elsewhere. A smart light switch typically avoids this issue and offers both direct physical and intelligent control.
I wholly agree with "unreliable voice assistant" but there's much more to it than that. We were using voice assistants in the 90s that were nearly as good / bad as Siri. Although, you had to pre-record each voice command back then. If nothing else, it was novel.
I also agree with "unergonomic touch panel". That would be ridiculous to have to unlock your phone and open the Home app to turn each light on / off. For general use, I prefer physical buttons. Some off the shelf products today support buttons, like Ikea. I also use Apple's Shortcuts and Widgets to more easily access scenes that I've programmed from any device and any location in the world. Apple's Home app is absolutely trash when it comes to user experience so I find this is the best way to operate lighting.
If you adjust your perspective from turning one light on from 0% to 100% towards setting dimming levels and programming lighting scenes that can be controlled without having to walk to the corner of the room, I think you might better appreciate "the advantage of routing your lights through an iOT setup".
Well I'm certainly discounting the value of it as a standalone product because I don't believe in it at all. I think most people who really want something like this have gone the extra steps required to turn an older iPad into it. There are plenty of hardware accessories and video tutorials out there on how to make it work. The only thing lacking is really good software for it, and a first party app, or even OS-mode that Apple could deliver to iPad, would take care of that minuscule need. Dedicated hardware seems like such a waste, and overkill.
There are some concrete news about the new device:
- Smart home display, Codename J490
- Arriving ~ March 2025
- 6 inch display
- Battery
- New standalone OS (similar to standy-by mode and watchOS)
- Silver and black color option
- Loundspeakers and camera
- Apple intelligence
- Wall mount
- Price tag 100-250 USD
www.businessinsider.com
www.bloomberg.com
www.netzwelt.de
- Smart home display, Codename J490
- Arriving ~ March 2025
- 6 inch display
- Battery
- New standalone OS (similar to standy-by mode and watchOS)
- Silver and black color option
- Loundspeakers and camera
- Apple intelligence
- Wall mount
- Price tag 100-250 USD
Apple's reported new smart home device will use its AI to help it catch up with Google
Apple's smart home device, featuring AI and FaceTime, could enter the market by March, Bloomberg reported, and could compete with Google and Amazon.
www.businessinsider.com
Apple’s Next Device Is an AI Wall Tablet for Home Control, Siri and Video Calls
Apple Inc., aiming to catch up with rivals in the smart home market, is nearing the launch of a new product category: a wall-mounted display that can control appliances, handle videoconferencing and use AI to navigate apps.
www.bloomberg.com
Codename J490: Neues Apple-Produkt im Anmarsch - das verbirgt sich dahinter
Apple arbeitet Medienberichten zufolge an einem neuen Produkt mit dem Codenamen J490. Wir verraten euch, was bislang zu dem Gadget bekannt ist.
www.netzwelt.de