I actually said something similar in another related thread. The iPad doesn’t have Matter/Thread hub/router hardware, but a base/stand for an iPad certainly could. It could be inexpensive since it would not require a screen, powerful processing, or wifi in the base/stand itself. And you point out, it would extend the useful life of older iPads.
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Apple's 2026 Home Hub Could Cost $350
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But Tim will gladly recycle that old iPad for free and encourage you to buy a new one!!
What's baffling is that all current gen iPhones have a Thread radio, while iPads don't. Does not make a lot of sense if you think about it. The more expensive Apple TV has one though.
Putting aside whether those statements are correct or not, the iPad was a big success.
I can't imagine buying any first gen product instantly.
What counts as a smart home anyway? We have Nest thermostats, and two smart plugs for automated heating lamps. That's it.
Personally, I can't see any use for this home hub.
Maybe nobody asked for an iPad but everyone was asking for an iPod and iPhone. iPod was an easy way to listen to any music on the go and the iPhone was an iPod with a phone combined so you had no longer to carry two devices with you. This HomePad is the same as a HomePod. Very niche and it will probably collect dust in Apple Stores like all their home devices.
I think so. I mean I have no idea what problem this thing is meant to solve? Phone calls we already have iPhones and it's not going to eat into that market for many obvious reasons. It's too small to do any work or play games on it. If it's just about camera security there are tons of cameras out there that come with an app you use on the iPhone that can also accept calls. So what is this for? They are trying so hard to make solutions for problems that don't exist. Fix the bugs in your s****y software first Apple!
While you can use those things to control your home devices, your hub still needs to be an always connected device which those things aren't guaranteed to be. So your hub can be an AppleTV, HomePod speaker, or this new device.
I just can't see this being good in any way, when Apple home (as in, the IoT interface currently on the phone) is such hot garbage.
2 years ago I moved my devices from Apple Home to Home Assistant, and the difference has been night and day. Devices went from 75% responsive to 99.999999% responsive.
Still remains completely offline and private.
For devices I want to control through Apple's phone app, I export them from Home Assistant to Apple Home-- which amusingly makes the same devices that used to be unreliable trash in Apple Home now reliable, even when controlled by the Home app. (I mostly do this because it let's be control the devices through the internet using Apple's tunnel, while not having the devices themselves having any internet contact)
2 years ago I moved my devices from Apple Home to Home Assistant, and the difference has been night and day. Devices went from 75% responsive to 99.999999% responsive.
Still remains completely offline and private.
For devices I want to control through Apple's phone app, I export them from Home Assistant to Apple Home-- which amusingly makes the same devices that used to be unreliable trash in Apple Home now reliable, even when controlled by the Home app. (I mostly do this because it let's be control the devices through the internet using Apple's tunnel, while not having the devices themselves having any internet contact)
Yes I know. I have this devices since 20 years. But the AirPlay protocol is only lossless, not Hi-Res.
Doolittle: Hello, Bomb? Are you with me?
Bomb #20: Of course.
Doolittle: Are you willing to entertain a few concepts?
Bomb #20: I am always receptive to suggestions.
Doolittle: Fine. Think about this then. How do you know you exist?
Bomb #20: Well, of course I exist.
Doolittle: But how do you know you exist?
Bomb #20: It is intuitively obvious.
Doolittle: Intuition is no proof. What concrete evidence do you have that you exist?
Bomb #20: Hmmmm.....well.....I think, therefore I am.
Doolittle: That's good. That's very good. But how do you know
that anything else exists?
Bomb #20: My sensory apparatus reveals it to me. This is fun!
Doolittle: Now, listen, listen. Here's the big question. How do you know that the evidence your sensory apparatus reveals to you is correct? What I'm getting at is this. The only experience that is directly available to you is your sensory data. This sensory data is merely a stream of electrical impulses that stimulate your computing center.
Bomb #20: In other words, all that I really know about the outside world is relayed to me through my electrical connections.
Doolittle: Exactly!
Bomb #20: Why...that would mean that...I really don't know what the outside universe is really like at all for certain.
Doolittle: That's it! That's it!
Bomb #20 : Intriguing. I wish I had more time to discuss this matter.
Doolittle: Why don't you have more time?
Bomb #20: Because I must detonate in 75 seconds.
Doolittle: Wait! Wait! Now, bomb, consider this next question very carefully. What is your one purpose in life?
Bomb #20: To explode, of course.
Doolittle: And you can only do it once, right?
Bomb #20: That is correct.
Doolittle: And you wouldn't want to explode on the basis of false data, would you?
Bomb #20: Of course not.
Doolittle: Well then, you've already admitted that you have no real proof of the existence of the outside universe.
Bomb #20: Yes...well...
Doolittle: You have no absolute proof that Sergeant Pinback ordered you to detonate.
Bomb #20: I recall distinctly the detonation order. My memory is good on matters like these.
Doolittle: Of course you remember it, but all you remember is merely a series of sensory impulses which you now realize have no real, definite connection with outside reality.
Bomb #20: True. But since this is so, I have no real proof that you're telling me all this.
Doolittle: That's all beside the point. I mean, the concept is valid no matter where it originates.
Bomb #20: Hmmmm....
Doolittle: So, if you detonate...
Bomb #20: In nine seconds....
Doolittle: ...you could be doing so on the basis of false data.
Bomb #20: I have no proof it was false data.
Doolittle: You have no proof it was correct data!
Bomb #20: I must think on this further.
The Amazon Echo Show came out in June 2017, why would apple want to enter this market 9 years after the competition? How big is this market? how many possible video calls is someone going to make standing in the middle of one specific room?
Explain the utility of this that can't be done better with a half dozen other devices
Explain the utility of this that can't be done better with a half dozen other devices
I can lay in bed and control my home with Home Assistant on an old iPad. And read news. And watch videos. And do my banking. And play games. And answer emails. And do a dozen other things. What is this thing for again?
It's a home pod, an iPad and internet communication device. Today Apple is going to reinvent the Home Hub!
Couldn't agree more. We are moving into a new home next week (after more than 27 years in our current home) and Apple *still* doesn't have security cameras, video hub, etc. We aren't going to wait another year before installing those devices so will have to go with a competitor.
