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Kajje

macrumors 6502a
Dec 6, 2012
722
958
Asia
Using this all the time!
LdU7vRK.png
 

Porco

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2005
3,314
6,908
This stuff all seems to me like the kind of thing we will look back on in 10 years in a 'really, they thought that was how to do those kind of things?!' -kind of way.

Using this all the time!
LdU7vRK.png

I tried to use Hammer Time earlier but I seem to keep getting an error message that says something like 'U can't touch this', maybe there is something wrong with my screen... in better news I finally found some trousers with pockets big enough for the 12.9 inch iPad Pro.
 

djcerla

macrumors 68020
Apr 23, 2015
2,310
11,990
Italy
No, it really doesn't.

Yes, it does. For simple commands and stuff like "good morning, Siri", it sure works very, very well.

Other things are off topic in this HomeKit related article, as the video itself clearly demonstrates. Commands are mostly done via the iPhone Home app.
 

Novus John

macrumors regular
Sep 27, 2015
128
228
Still waiting on that LIFX & Homekit integration, been waiting for so long my hair has gone gray.
 

jaymie1983

macrumors member
Nov 16, 2007
44
46
Earth
Call me old fashioned but 1) talking to a computer is just nutsy cuckoo and 2) unless your disabled it takes no effort to switch things on yourself 3) again, unless in need of assistance, beware of depending on machines, mark my words, beware
 
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Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
Where is the ad where Siri says "I'm sorry, but I can't do that right now." Or "I didn't understand. Could you rephrase that."

Or the one where you say "Hey, Siri,..." and the device lights up but won't accept commands.

Also would like to see the ad where the user has to restore their iPhone and then the Home app can't find some devices and the user has to struggle for 10 minutes reconnecting it.

These are real things that I've experienced since adopting HomeKit last year. The ad is a nice dream -- it works like that sometimes, but not every time. And the limited commands Siri understands make it feel like you are in a foreign land and you only know bits and pieces of the native tongue.
 
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Arran

macrumors 601
Mar 7, 2008
4,846
3,779
Atlanta, USA
When I use Siri on my iPhone 6 "she" is often not accurate. Dictation is ok, German and Italian. If I use "her" on my Watch (Series 0) she gets nearly everything. I can talk at normal speed. Any reasons for such a different behavior??
Interesting. I get the opposite with Siri.

My watch is slow and occasionally unreliable at controlling lights, but my Phone is lightning fast and accurate (most of the time)
 
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andreiru

macrumors 6502
Apr 18, 2008
404
142
Kurgan, RF
This made me laugh harder than I thought it would

But it's not THAT bad now is it..

It's bad enough. Alexa hears me perfectly every time. I've also got Blink, sense, Dyson fan, lifx, e-vac, withings all connecting to wifi and none work with the homekit (nor siri).
 

philotas

macrumors newbie
Dec 24, 2007
29
9
Spain
I want to know how she gets 100% Battery in the morning without being plugged in at night ;)

They have just spoiled the iPhone 8 with wireless charging and as we see, no design changes :p
 

ersan191

macrumors 68000
Oct 26, 2013
1,710
3,966
Through the 3rd-party homebridge program I've found HomeKit to be quite useful actually. It can control all sorts of things, if they ever block homebridge from functioning though it would immediately become completely useless to me. I think they need to add more device types though they are pretty limited at the moment.

I'm actually hoping they add HomeKit support to macOS soon - I don't understand why they didn't.
 
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Quu

macrumors 68040
Apr 2, 2007
3,419
6,789
We have Hue lights in our home and the integration with my iPhone is quite nice. Siri could be a lot better though.

Often when I want to turn a light on I may say "Hey Siri turn the lights on" and if my iPhone isn't really close to me Siri will very seldom understand what I said. The mics probably need to be improved for the "Hey Siri" hands free solution to work flawlessly.

As for Homekit itself, it's pretty good but not great. The interface needs work, it needs to be easier to access your appliances for example with a lock screen widget. Having to unlock your phone and do all kinds of sliding up from the bottom of the screen then to the side drawer. It's just too much to activate lights, needs to be more immediate.
 

AbSoluTc

Suspended
Sep 21, 2008
5,104
4,000
Really?

Because I've tried using Siri/HomeKit for controlling my home, and it's the most unreliable control system imaginable.

I use Siri/HomeKit several times a day. There are a few hiccups with some devices not turning on/off but most of the time, everything works like it should. I have timers, scenes, automation and the like. There are 22 Philips Hue bulbs, 1 Ecobee3 and 6 iDevices switches. All work as intended. I am able to also control everything outside the house, at work or on the go.

It has saved me quite a bit of time having all these things controlled automatically or verbally. Now that I think about it, 80% of my house is automated. Won't do door locks yet as I had no good experience with those. They need to improve more.
 

newdeal

macrumors 68030
Oct 21, 2009
2,509
1,769
dammit Apple take control of your hardware on this, your third parties suck!
 

alexgowers

macrumors 65816
Jun 3, 2012
1,338
892
There is nothing wrong with light switches.

There is nothing wrong with curtains.

There is nothing wrong with a kettle.

etc

Sorry but home automation relies on technology and requires heavy maintenance to ensure it's functioning as intended. That level of incompatibility over time makes the whole idea a farce and improbable imagining of the future.

Like many people I can't see the advantage of spending 10x the price for a single bulb only for it take me 30 seconds to switch on and off via an app on the phone! Apple needs to stop this foley and do something worthwhile with their piles of cash like maybe pay some tax. Caveat; I still love apple products.
 

BoltmanLives

Suspended
Feb 10, 2017
420
229
HomeKit was supposed to be great, then Apl got involved and that's that. See HealthKit for another example.

AllJoyn router is a running service in 10 part of AllSeen Alliance, one day it'll be used. Then home IOT will be better than simple hue light on offs..the curve gets navigated.

For home IOT to take off, it needs to be seamless like Star Trek pervasive/hidden , it'll get there but won't be an apl solution as that not in their wheelhouse. Wait for standardization like AllSeen and a winner in less than $400 tech

What you have with Apl Homekit is the equivalent of the original laserdisc Car GPS systems, expensive and pretty useless until Google Maps came along...like that

There will be early adopters who try, its cute. I hear them on apl podcasts, so exciting to turn on a light . wooH! Requires $800 slab and expensive add-ons but that light turned on 85% of the time. Trudge forward.
 
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PR1985

macrumors 6502a
Jun 16, 2016
893
241
Germany
Interesting. I get the opposite with Siri.

My watch is slow and occasionally unreliable at controlling lights, but my Phone is lightning fast and accurate (most of the time)
I talk about it in general. I don´t use HomeKit yet. I´m handicapped, so that´s what I´ve been waiting for.

I don´t need Siri to handle my phone, to type messages etc. but it´s fun, for now and convenient. If we talk about HomeKit, there will be scenarios where I will depend on such a system. So it has to be reliable. I don´t want tons of different apps.
 
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Adam Warlock

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2016
221
1,399
You obviously aren't aware of how many issues early elevators had.
This isn't like that. We're not talking about a completely new technology such as the 40s and 50s when computers (as we know them) were new. This is more akin to a well-established elevator company coming out with a new model and shrugging off failures as understandable because it's all so new. It isn't. Like the 2016 MacBook Pro, it was released before it was ready, obviously not tested enough.
 
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itguy06

macrumors 6502a
Mar 8, 2006
849
1,139
Call me old fashioned but 1) talking to a computer is just nutsy cuckoo and 2) unless your disabled it takes no effort to switch things on yourself 3) again, unless in need of assistance, beware of depending on machines, mark my words, beware
#1 - yes. It was cool for all of 5 minutes. The only place I use voice is in the car. I've been doing home auomation with Insteon and it is way cool.
 

arkitect

macrumors 604
Sep 5, 2005
7,047
12,030
Bath, United Kingdom
I'll keep my excitement under control until Siri manages to "Play the next song", or doesn't just offer me a Safari link to a question… you know the basic things.

Only then will I allow Apple's vision of the future to lock me out of my home, switch on appliances… etc.

Oh and MacRumors editors:
In addition to the new ad, Apple has refreshed its Home webpage with new verbiage.
Verbiage? Unless you think Apple really has added an excess of words to express what was meant. In which case, fair enough.
 
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