Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple's Home Services Head Departs Company After Two Years
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Sounds like me whenever I have to get off my butt to do something...
I had those issues. Then I got a decent WiFI and it's spot on all the time.
HomeKit is only usable for a lucky few who can harness the power of Homebridge software. Although it might be buggy, the experience of controlling devices from the native Apple ecosystem is unmatched. I can this code or reuse Homebridge plugins to connect to door bells, light switches anything really… they do need to lift their game
Too bad they discontinued their Airport WiFi line of products. Those would have made great hubs for smart/IoT devices.
On what planet does sticking two failed products together = more sales?
I love my Apple TV and Homepod Minis - and I want a Homepod replacement.
But why would I want my Apple TV glued to a speaker?
Nothing about that makes any sense.
I want 5.1 speakers, if anything.
I love my Apple TV and Homepod Minis - and I want a Homepod replacement.
But why would I want my Apple TV glued to a speaker?
Nothing about that makes any sense.
I want 5.1 speakers, if anything.
HomeKit may be the worst service Apple has ever provided. I install home automation and have tried them all; Apple is by far the worst. Nothing is reliable. HomePods lose their WiFi connection repeatedly. HomeKit devices don’t respond most of the time.
In July of 2020 I heard a noise at 2am outside the house. Asked Siri to “turn on all the lights.” In September of 2021, she finally said “Here you go.”
In July of 2020 I heard a noise at 2am outside the house. Asked Siri to “turn on all the lights.” In September of 2021, she finally said “Here you go.”
My home has many HomeKit-compatible devices. Every single light switches, window shades, outdoor lights, security cameras, doorbell, TVs, exterior door locks, garage doors, sprinklers, thermostat, smoke detectors, and Wi-Fi routers. And many outlets. All in all, about 50 devices. Perhaps more.
When they work, it's a thing of beauty. I can check the status, operate them, notified when they detect something, and create automation rules.
The problem is, many sometimes fail to work or too slow to respond. I have replaced many devices with a better solution, such as finicky Hue light bulbs with Lutron switches and dumb light bulbs. I am avoiding Bluetooth and Wi-Fi-based devices as much as I can, replacing them with Thread or bridge-based solutions whenever possible. While things are working much more reliably now, aside from Lutron, things are still not 100% rock solid.
What I want is Apple to recognize this problem and create a category of smart home products that are just as reliable as Lutron's. I want Apple's door locks, door bells, garage door opener, security cameras, sensors, smoke detectors, and thermostat.
When they work, it's a thing of beauty. I can check the status, operate them, notified when they detect something, and create automation rules.
The problem is, many sometimes fail to work or too slow to respond. I have replaced many devices with a better solution, such as finicky Hue light bulbs with Lutron switches and dumb light bulbs. I am avoiding Bluetooth and Wi-Fi-based devices as much as I can, replacing them with Thread or bridge-based solutions whenever possible. While things are working much more reliably now, aside from Lutron, things are still not 100% rock solid.
What I want is Apple to recognize this problem and create a category of smart home products that are just as reliable as Lutron's. I want Apple's door locks, door bells, garage door opener, security cameras, sensors, smoke detectors, and thermostat.
Nope. The whole point of Homekit and ANY home system is that it works with multiple vendors and protocols. They are one of the Founding memebers of Thread and Matter, along with Google, Amazon and hundreds of other companies.
MATTER will be the protocol in the future. If it's on the box it will work with any of the main smart home systems.
Thread is like zigbee on steroids - an IP mesh network.
For those of us that use it daily it works great, certainly better than some of the others. Ad now you can use Automator / Siri Shortcuts together there is very little you can't do.
Alexa and Google are SERVER based and require constant connection and no way are they listening in to everything I do. Homekit works on the Hub, and a lot of people have issue as they use an iPad or older Apple TV... and they are clunky. Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini are great hubs and I rarely have an issue.
I want a replacement for the OG HomePod as well. I have two of them linked to my TV and they sound fantastic.
Recently purchased a HP Mini for my bedroom, and it sounds good for its size... but the OG ones had so much more depth and bass.
I don't see how combining an Apple TV and speaker makes sense if it has its own display—a display version of HomePod would be cool to use in different rooms, but combining an Apple TV with a soundbar makes more sense to me.
Utterly disagree - Mine is solid asa rock. Instant communications - You must have WiFi issues. The only issues I *sometimes* have had ( twice in 3 years ) are when my ISP goes down.
I have to reboot in Order Router > Mesh WiFi > Hubs > AppleTV/Homepods last.
And this is Problem with my carppy ISPs router. When it goes down it kills the internal routing sometimes - I need to switch the router to the Velop mesh.
TL;DR - It's always the WiFi.
Very often it is the router and the placement.
Might be because he failed in making Homekit functional. HomePods had communication errors but after I bothered Everyone at Apple on Twitter and complained about it - they suddenly work again. I think maybe he was to blame for the languishing and rotting on the vine of this product.
Agreed with most of what you said—really wish that HomeKit supported more types of devices like smoke detectors and sensors. And my Philips Hue bulbs cause the most issues in the HomeKit department—have some Meross bulbs that work much more reliably and don't require a bridge (and work with "follow the sun" unlike Hue). I stick with HomeKit for most things because the cross-device integration is excellent and I like iCloud Secure Video over trusting another company's paid cloud storage services.
If the device compatibility improved, HomeKit would be much better. I have a couple Nest Hubs but they are finicky and I generally don't trust Alexa/can't stand her voice for some reason. Hopefully that open standard they're working on will help, eventually.
My biggest gripe with the Home app is that it's way too hard to set colors for lights—you can only remember a few hues, and it's impossible to copy the hue from one scene to another. I also wish you could set scenes for specific rooms without creating multiple versions of a scene.
“Apple is aiming for a total living room strategy that will ultimately see the HomePod and Apple TVcombined into a single device that will be able to be used for controlling smart home devices, entertainment, communication, and more.”
And we know this how?
And we know this how?
It is not clear why Jadallah is leaving Apple-
Doesn’t take too much imagination to guess why
Doesn’t take too much imagination to guess why
Of course he quit. There’s nothing in the Home Services dept. It’s an empty space where Homepods go to die.
its simply astonishing Apple isn’t doing more in this space.
its simply astonishing Apple isn’t doing more in this space.
end of year purging.
I don't understand Apple's refusal of making a Hub type of product with screen+speaker. Seems only nature of merge iPad screen with HomePod speaker into a standalone Hub, and then develop software specific for Home + Siri integration. Seems like a natural fit, but I guess no one in Apple agreed...
I don't understand Apple's refusal of making a Hub type of product with screen+speaker. Seems only nature of merge iPad screen with HomePod speaker into a standalone Hub, and then develop software specific for Home + Siri integration. Seems like a natural fit, but I guess no one in Apple agreed...
Well my experience is not so bad.
Apple TV 4K as hub.
Windows, Thermostat and light (48 items) all connected with 3 different bridges.
No problem at all.
Maybe I'm lucky but I can't be disappointed if not because alarm cannot be included as HomeKit not supported.
Apple TV 4K as hub.
Windows, Thermostat and light (48 items) all connected with 3 different bridges.
No problem at all.
Maybe I'm lucky but I can't be disappointed if not because alarm cannot be included as HomeKit not supported.
This area seems like Apple is asleep at the wheel they should be doing so much more!
I hope you enjoyed your well payed holiday at Apple, Jadallah, and now find yourself off to another equally relaxing lark.
Hopefully nobody “knows” it because it would be stupid.