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Apple to Attend CES 2020 in Rare Official Appearance

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Apple will make a rare official appearance at next week's annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where its HomeKit smart home system will take the limelight, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

homekit-devices.png

With Amazon and Google expected to roll out new software capabilities for their internet-connected products and voice-activated smart platforms, Apple's own smart home system will also be on show.
Apple's HomeKit, a system for controlling devices in the home, will also be on display. Some companies will show off new gadgets for the home that work with Siri, Apple's digital assistant.
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According to the report, the company isn't expected to release any new hardware at the trade show, but Apple executive Jane Horvath is scheduled to speak on a consumer privacy panel on January 7.

Ahead of last year's CES, Apple put up a giant sign in Las Vegas touting the security of its devices, and in 2018 some Apple employees reportedly met with potential augmented-reality glasses suppliers there, but otherwise it has traditionally chosen to stay away. Apple's presence at CES 2020 is the first time in decades that the company has attended in an official capacity.

Article Link: Apple to Attend CES 2020 in Rare Official Appearance
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/01/02/apple-to-attend-ces-2020-homekit/
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This latest, desperate, (open-source) move to try and salvage HomeKit is a waste of everyone's time. GitHub for consumer iot? Microsoft is laughing since they now run that vast landfill of code projects.
 
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Reactions: realeric
Gurman’s really trying to make a story out of a non-story. A lower level Apple employee speaking on a panel is not really Apple being at CES. Plus Apple employees have attended CES for years.
 
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Of voice assistants I prefer Siri, but if we want to discuss privacy voice assistants are intrinsically less secure. I’m not referring to contractors or employees listening to calls or even to storage of voice recording, but rather the action of making a request.

There is a running joke that audio and video DRM will always fail so long as camcorders and voice recorders exist. If you want privacy you should realize that announcing your request verbally is the least private way to do this.

I’m not dismissing the range of benefits voice offers, for those who can not interact with touch interfaces it is an alternative that works. Let’s not kid ourselves however that it is private.

If you speak you should do so while you assume others are listening. Before someone says I’m missing the point please note that most invasions of privacy come not from corporate overlords or foreign hackers but rather friends, family, and neighbors. If you are worried about privacy than it is best to start where most leaks actually happen.

The government might want to know you got home home early, but it’s going to have less of an impact on your life than when your neighbor overhears you ask your watch to set the lights to ‘sexy time’ while your spouse is still at work.
 
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RogerWilco said:
This latest, desperate, (open-source) move to try and salvage HomeKit is a waste of everyone's time. GitHub for consumer iot? Microsoft is laughing since they now run that vast landfill of code projects.
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GitHub has useless things and useful things. Do you consider stuff like node.js to be useless garbage?
 
I just want them to fix the constant bugs I have with HomeKit.

Devices randomly “not responding” even though I can control them fine in their official apps. Controlling certain devices in the Home app actually affecting completely separate devices in a different room. The “status” of lights being the opposite of what they actually are (shows ON when it’s actually OFF and vice versa).

So many little things that just cause a headache, and yet I don’t have these issues when controlling from Alexa or Google.
 
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markfc said:
Having purchased an Echo Dot (£22.50) and 4 smart plugs (£25) all I can say is Homekit is terrible.
The echo dot can understand my three year old (which is more than I can do most days)
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This is more a Siri problem than a HomeKit problem. Siri has terrible recognition at times.
 
I think its good timing. People complain about specific issues with HomeKit, but the larger goal of having a more secure home IoT setup is pretty front and center right now. I've heard the conversation about recent Ring intrusions come up a couple times while with non-techy family members over these Holidays. It definitely seems to be something normal people are thinking about now after having spent a year or two filling their homes up with these cool devices, but not really considering the implications.

I think it's an opportune moment to position themselves as the one company that cares about your Privacy in the home automation space, the same way they've done this in the mobile device space. It would be so easy for them to explain it as well. It doesn't require some crazy, technical deep dive into encryption and stuff like that. You can show people a simple graphic illustrating a homekit device which doesn't connect to the internet at all vs. a Amazon device which necessarily connects to the internet.
 
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Murkrage said:
This is more a Siri problem than a HomeKit problem. Siri has terrible recognition at times.
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No, it’s an integration problem. This was the holiday I finally gave up on HomeKit. I’ve been diligent in trying to purchase HomeKit and Alexa compatible devices in case I have up on HomeKit, and now I have. I’ve purchased 2 echo dots and an Echo, 2 Firestick 4K’s, and selling my Apple TV’s. I’m done with the headaches.
 
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praterkeith said:
No, it’s an integration problem. This was the holiday I finally gave up on HomeKit. I’ve been diligent in trying to purchase HomeKit and Alexa compatible devices in case I have up on HomeKit, and now I have. I’ve purchased 2 echo dots and an Echo, 2 Firestick 4K’s, and selling my Apple TV’s. I’m done with the headaches.
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How is Siri not understanding a command an integration problem?

Also, what is the benefit of replacing an AppleTV with a firestick? Do you gain anything?
 
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praterkeith said:
No, it’s an integration problem. This was the holiday I finally gave up on HomeKit. I’ve been diligent in trying to purchase HomeKit and Alexa compatible devices in case I have up on HomeKit, and now I have. I’ve purchased 2 echo dots and an Echo, 2 Firestick 4K’s, and selling my Apple TV’s. I’m done with the headaches.
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It’s interesting to read of a totally different experience of HomeKit.

I’ve had nothing but near-perfect use of my HomeKit environment over the last 3 years.

Controlling HomeKit devices via Apple TV, HomePod, Apple Watch, Mac and iOS devices has been reliable and headache-free, and I’m sold on the secure approach Apple have taken.
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markfc said:
Having purchased an Echo Dot (£22.50) and 4 smart plugs (£25) all I can say is Homekit is terrible.
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I don’t think I follow… are you saying HomeKit is terrible based on competitor price-points, or some other factor?
 
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Yea I definitely don’t get the HomeKit hate. We moved into a new house last year and I went all in on HomeKit. At the same time I upgraded to Orbi mesh WiFi which I think makes a big difference.

Lutron switches, Hue bulbs, multiple Homepods, Apple TV, Hunter ceiling fan, LiftMaster MyQ for the garage, Ecobee thermostat and remote sensors...all work pretty flawlessly together through the Home app. Even had the Christmas tree and lights on HomeKit this year.

My 4 year old controls scenes through the HomePod on her own. It’s still pretty cool to hear/see.

Looking forward HomeKit in 2020 but really don’t know what I’d need to add at this point.
 
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people are so invested in their ecosystems already with cameras, doorbells, thermostats, smoke detectors.. apple missed the boat and failed to innovate in this sector big time.
 
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Love HomeKit but to each their own. We're using Home Assistant to bridge in some accessories that don't work natively with HomeKit but it hasn't been the easiest to set up and when that bridge fails, half of the house doesn't work until its fixed. Its awesome at 3am when your keen smart vents (installed in the ceiling) start flashing that they've lost connection. Its like waking up to an apocalyptic hospital scene. I think its the mac mini running HA in a docker installing OSX updates at that time and rebooting that messes everything up. I need to see if I can change the time for auto-updates to be installed, or disable that option all together.
 
PostApple2016BrainWash said:
Wouldn't it be more appropriate if Apple to Promote Homekit at MacWorld 2020?
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Yeah if we take a time machine back to 2000 or so. Was great, lots of good memories and quite a few “gaps in memory “ 😎
magicschoolbus said:
people are so invested in their ecosystems already with cameras, doorbells, thermostats, smoke detectors.. apple missed the boat and failed to innovate in this sector big time.
Click to expand...
Maybe late to the dock is a better metaphor, given the size of the customer base Apple could easily be a dominant player with some great services/product offerings. Given the privacy problems Amazon/Ring and Google are experiencing I hope they do.
 
Rogifan said:
Gurman’s really trying to make a story out of a non-story. A lower level Apple employee speaking on a panel is not really Apple being at CES. Plus Apple employees have attended CES for years.
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Attending CES and being an official representative of Apple at CES don't mean the same thing, or convey the same level of significance. Apple being more open and engaging, be it baby steps like this or big leaps like the revamped Bug Bounty Program, is a good thing.

Personally, I would have preferred them send someone to talk services and product instead of privacy. I know it's their calling card but it doesn't seem to resonate with the larger public.
 
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