The only way I see this working is if Apple partners with Philips/Lutron/NEST to provide complete turn-key products for lighting/temperature/security, possibly with an Apple "Genius" Technician who will come to your home and install it. It has to be utterly simple to install and use, otherwise it won't sell in the multi-millions.
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Apple to Launch New 'Smart Home' Platform at WWDC
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The only way I see this working is if Apple partners with Philips/Lutron/NEST to provide complete turn-key products for lighting/temperature/security, possibly with an Apple "Genius" Technician who will come to your home and install it. It has to be utterly simple to install and use, otherwise it won't sell in the multi-millions.
I've had X-10 on my living room lights and media equipment for a few years now and love it. I operate all the lamps, my projector and turn off some appliances when I go out of town all from one remote. I also have Foscams in three rooms of my house so I can check on my cats when I'm on the road and bored. Bought a Garage Butler to make sure my garage door closes if I forget (after I left it open and kids went through my car, stealing my parking change) but I would rather have an iPhone-based garage door monitor so I can get an alert if the door is left open accidentally and can close it remotely. Products like that exist but I'll hold off now until I know what Apple intends to do.
Nothing like the phone, it will be using wireless for a start. The change in plug at the bottom of the phone did not change wireless printing !
So, add in security so each in home device needs to be registered to a "new" controller box (apple TV with extras ?) so it is secure. Start selling "approved" light switches and power/socket outlets.
Make a clever App that you can map your home, then on that map place the wireless devices, give them useable names, etc etc and allow control via iPad/iPod/iPhone/Apple TV based on this "map".
Have it linked into iCloud so you can query the status while you are away.
Have things like PVRs being able to link in so if you forget to set the thing to record Game of Thrones or what ever you can do it remotely. Same with motorised curtains. Add in the ability to monitor power useable, control Solar Panels, HVAC etc.
Now if you can scale this from the average home into large businesses then you have a winner.
And if the best they could come up with is Clappers and Geek Squad, Apple has truly lost its way.
There is no shortage of things that need to be done to improve the iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air, and OSX.
There is no shortage of devices that need exploring. Watches, TV's, Apple TV, Fiber, Cars, convergence tablets/PC's, Phablets...
And yet this is where Apple may be putting resources.
Yeah, bring back SJ.
How about building your map with the 3-D scanning tech that Apple just bought? Initial setup is as simple as placing the appliances around your house, each one containing an iBeacon, then just walk around the house scanning with your camera, and voila, a complete spatial map of all your home devices.
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So Apple should be exploring watches and cars and stupid "convergence" PCs but not the connected home? Why exactly did Google buy Nest then? And why is Microsoft partnering with Insteon?
And now they show their hand Dr. Watson....
Huge revealing move! This is pretty much what I've been expecting all along. This move just confirms it. Apple waits to the last minute to reveal info like this to try to keep people/competitors in the dark about their "big" plans / agenda.
Wait and see....the iWatch will be a central player in this new ecosystem of internet connected/controlled devices. Apples driving focus has always been centered on hardware platforms and they let the market build out the software ecosystem. I believe that most of their profits still come from hardware markups...namely the iPhone itself.
This might mean the iWatch is going to be outrageously over priced...wouldn't at all be surprised to see it in the 300-400 USD range and possibly even more.
Huge revealing move! This is pretty much what I've been expecting all along. This move just confirms it. Apple waits to the last minute to reveal info like this to try to keep people/competitors in the dark about their "big" plans / agenda.
Wait and see....the iWatch will be a central player in this new ecosystem of internet connected/controlled devices. Apples driving focus has always been centered on hardware platforms and they let the market build out the software ecosystem. I believe that most of their profits still come from hardware markups...namely the iPhone itself.
This might mean the iWatch is going to be outrageously over priced...wouldn't at all be surprised to see it in the 300-400 USD range and possibly even more.
MSFT is clueless without Apple giving a clue where the hockey puck will be.
As for Google...
It's more likely some self proclaimed analyst who is engaging in stock manipulation ahead of WWDC. Classic pump and dump! Happens every year, without exception.
More than likely, but who doesn't love 11 pages of nonsense?
Except that Mark Gurman from 9to5Mac tweeted that he's hearing the same thing as was reported by the Financial Times. His scoops are usually pretty accurate.
Because that's where the bulk of Apple's sales come from. Also because using an iPhone as a remote is more natural than an iPad. I use my iPad remote app at times for my TV, but I usually use the one on my iPhone.
Nothing about home automaton automatically says remote. I think they just forgot to mention something very obvious.
Say what? Modern protocols for home automation and security systems are wireless. I walk into a room and the lights turn on to a specific brightness based on the time of day- no new wires had to be run. You have a choice of screw in bulbs, bulb bases, plug dongles, scene controllers, motion detectors, etc; all available without hard-wiring anything. For more advanced options or a cleaner look, you can replace wall-switches, fan controllers, etc without running new wires.
We use a mix of zwave, insteon, and simple always-on/off security devices through a single controller. The legacy home automation stuff is way WAY more expensive, as you're aware.
The problem there is similar to the one with using "iTV". The brand already exists.
I do like zombies. If anyone opposes him, he could eat their brain
.Freely programmable lights can save electricity if you set timers, and you can set the keypads to anything you desire to have special things like preset dimmed modes or simply to rearrange your light switches to be more intuitive. Also "vacation mode" to record what lights are used to play them back while away for security purposes. AMX is so versatile that I don't know what to say about it. AMX can control dumb things like electronic shades or useful things like pool heaters and can connect with Lutron for lighting presets. The main flaw of these things is that they're hard to set up purely because of confusing and highly dated computer software and hardware.
Automatic shades and iPhone-controlled lights are only for people who are ridiculously lazy, are missing limbs, or who like to show off gadgets. I seriously considered making an iPhone app to control Lutron lights (which is very possible), but then I realized that by the time you pull out the app, you could have just done it yourself.
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There is real room for Apple to make this actually work. The problem with the current state of home automation products is that they aren't modular. It's all or nothing. You need to buy multiple products, with multiple standards that use multiple apps to function. On top of that, they use different software, with different vulnerabilities and they communicate with their controlling devices in varying ways.
It's a mess, which makes it undesirable to anyone but true early adopters.
All Apple needs to do is create the "brain" of the system and establish a standard for communicating with it. Let the "AppleHome" device handle communication with the outside internet--and all the security and encryption needed to keep it safe. The Made for iPhone type of certification would be to say that 3rd party devices communicate with this new "Brain" as intended. It could be implemented in any number of products from lamps, to air conditioners, to coffee makers etc.
To expand the system and make it more useful, iBeacons could be placed throughout the home that are triggered by various iOS devices that are programmed to them with their owners' Apple ID's. With the launch of wearable products like watches, jewelry or clothing--in addition to phones--your home would be able to recognize who you are, where you are, what you're doing and talk to you with Siri.
If this is implemented in this way--which I've been suspecting since the iBeacon rollout--it will be huge and the possibilities are limitless.
It's a mess, which makes it undesirable to anyone but true early adopters.
All Apple needs to do is create the "brain" of the system and establish a standard for communicating with it. Let the "AppleHome" device handle communication with the outside internet--and all the security and encryption needed to keep it safe. The Made for iPhone type of certification would be to say that 3rd party devices communicate with this new "Brain" as intended. It could be implemented in any number of products from lamps, to air conditioners, to coffee makers etc.
To expand the system and make it more useful, iBeacons could be placed throughout the home that are triggered by various iOS devices that are programmed to them with their owners' Apple ID's. With the launch of wearable products like watches, jewelry or clothing--in addition to phones--your home would be able to recognize who you are, where you are, what you're doing and talk to you with Siri.
If this is implemented in this way--which I've been suspecting since the iBeacon rollout--it will be huge and the possibilities are limitless.
Phillips has those wifi-enabled light bulbs, but they're so much more expensive than using regular lights with a Lutron or something behind them. But Lutron is still a pain. I haven't seen a modern light controlling system.
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I know what you mean, and you're right in a way, but it's more modular than you might think. AMX, Crestron, and Lutron are all separate companies but have products that work together through common standards like RS232 and telnet. But still, not nearly as modular as modern electronics.
You don't need to wire anything. A z-wave controller like the casaverde or zbox ones and a bunch of z-wave sensors talking to it from any brand that manufactures z-wave things
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Not really, you can use just one standard for all of your needs, controlled by just one box and just one program