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Apple's Home Services Head Departs Company After Two Years
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I have been nothing short of unimpressed in the past two years with Apple’s HomeKit and home integration. As a matter of fact I switch to Amazon for a lot of my smart devices. I found those to work much more reliability than Apple.
Apple should have kept their AirPort line alive and fully supported into the wifi6 mesh network world. What better home hub than one’s home internet hub..? Making each of their peripherals like AppleTV and HomePod into mesh points to boost the wifi network. I still love having TimeCapsules at the same time as iCloud.
Privacy focused smart homes that just work…
Privacy focused smart homes that just work…
I am invested in HomeKit. I really don't want to sell my soul to Google and/or Amazon in this area. I wish the cost of HomeKit compatible devices was a bit more affordable. Sometimes I have issues with my HomeKit devices not responding, but I think it's my poor Wi-Fi router more than anything.
I agree with a lot of what was said. I am a bit invested in Apple HomeKit, and honestly, as I get more devices, I am less impressed as things are quicker to fail and overall the experience is more disappointing.
I have a decent size environment, 1x HomePod, 2x HomePod Mini, 1x Doorbell, 1x indoor camera, 1x smart fan with light, 2x dimmers, 4x light switches, 4x smart plugs, 1x garage door, 1x thermostat.
My idea of the HomeKit is that I woundnt need any 3rd party apps to manage my home kit devices. This is far from truth and the first area where the HomeApp and HomeKit fail - limited functionality. For instance, why I can't program my thermostat from the HomeApp, or why I can have separate scenes per room? I had to return the Nanoleaf bulbs cause I was soo annoyed by that limitation. Next limited notifications - for instance, why I can't have garage 'door open" reminder from HomeApp; instead, I am forced to use the vendor's app for that?
Overall my biggest gripe is limited device availability or lack of the devices. My house was due for a new smoke/carbon sensors. Well, there is only one vendor/model available (at least in the US). Even though the ratings are terrible, I purchased it cause I kept telling myself that this can't be true. Well, it was true, that CO2 sensor I got was awful, and there was nothing smart about it, so I returned it. So no smart smoke sensor for me. Next example, smart fans, again, there is literally one, perhaps two available. Doorbells, garage door openers are other categories with no real choices. I am stuck with a doorbell that keeps rebooting because of the overheating problems (design flaw). My next area of interest are smart locks - where is Baldwin's product, for instance? I don't want some cheap lock. I wonder how long we will need to wait for a compatible Apple Home Key lock?
I have a decent size environment, 1x HomePod, 2x HomePod Mini, 1x Doorbell, 1x indoor camera, 1x smart fan with light, 2x dimmers, 4x light switches, 4x smart plugs, 1x garage door, 1x thermostat.
My idea of the HomeKit is that I woundnt need any 3rd party apps to manage my home kit devices. This is far from truth and the first area where the HomeApp and HomeKit fail - limited functionality. For instance, why I can't program my thermostat from the HomeApp, or why I can have separate scenes per room? I had to return the Nanoleaf bulbs cause I was soo annoyed by that limitation. Next limited notifications - for instance, why I can't have garage 'door open" reminder from HomeApp; instead, I am forced to use the vendor's app for that?
Overall my biggest gripe is limited device availability or lack of the devices. My house was due for a new smoke/carbon sensors. Well, there is only one vendor/model available (at least in the US). Even though the ratings are terrible, I purchased it cause I kept telling myself that this can't be true. Well, it was true, that CO2 sensor I got was awful, and there was nothing smart about it, so I returned it. So no smart smoke sensor for me. Next example, smart fans, again, there is literally one, perhaps two available. Doorbells, garage door openers are other categories with no real choices. I am stuck with a doorbell that keeps rebooting because of the overheating problems (design flaw). My next area of interest are smart locks - where is Baldwin's product, for instance? I don't want some cheap lock. I wonder how long we will need to wait for a compatible Apple Home Key lock?
I suspect it won’t hurt Apple a bit. Home services is Apple‘s worst product area so it can’t get much further behind the competition.
Just a quick reminder, you can request features in Home here: https://www.apple.com/feedback/home-app/
I know I am requesting features quite often and hope someone is reading them.
I know I am requesting features quite often and hope someone is reading them.
Seems I’m not alone in wondering: was this person holding Home back, or did he quit because Apple doesn’t care enough about Home? Probably the latter.
Apple REALLY needs a “no new features” year. Siri is just as bad as it was when it was released.
Apple REALLY needs a “no new features” year. Siri is just as bad as it was when it was released.
This. How they would miss a huge smart appliance sector that is robo-vac is a total headscratcher. It totally shows that Home division at Apple is probably just two people of which one has already left. So, so bad.
Home is a pile of unintelligible nonsense. I have no idea what it is or what it does. Makes no sense. I keep getting alerts my router needs firmware updates. I look and the the routers report all up to date. Aside from that, I have no clue what the program actually does. It's complete garbage and wasting icon space. This was 2 years of wasted salary if you ask me.
I have been thinking about going back to Alexa and Nest. I looked at The Google and Alexa apps on the store. I laughed when I saw how Apple presented the App privacy practices on both. Fear to keep us from straying from a half baked product.
Apple WAS a hardware driven company, now services drives their profit margins.
Apple's Services Revenue Reaches $17.5 Billion in Q3 2021, Setting New All-Time Record
Apple's services category, which includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, AppleCare, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, and more,...
www.macrumors.com
Apple just recorded a 42.5% gross margin for the quarter, the highest in nine years
Long stuck at around 38%, Apple's gross margin has jumped the past two quarters because of more expensive iPhones and a growing services portfolio.
Apple TV should be the Home Center, with iPhone mirror for those without Apple TV.
I'm still waiting on doorbells, indoor camera, outdoor cameras, garage door openers, and Smart Plugs. It's like Apple only cares about iPhones and iPads. There are so many other products they can make.
I'm still waiting on doorbells, indoor camera, outdoor cameras, garage door openers, and Smart Plugs. It's like Apple only cares about iPhones and iPads. There are so many other products they can make.
You're right.Apple WAS a hardware driven company, now services drives their profit margins.
Apple's Services Revenue Reaches $17.5 Billion in Q3 2021, Setting New All-Time Record
Apple's services category, which includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, AppleCare, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, and more,...Apple just recorded a 42.5% gross margin for the quarter, the highest in nine years
Long stuck at around 38%, Apple's gross margin has jumped the past two quarters because of more expensive iPhones and a growing services portfolio.www.cnbc.com
But their services are still hardware-driven, i.e. based on the Apple ecosystem.
All my hue lights stopped working with HomeKit with iOS 15. I've been using the Hue app since. I hope they can get it fixed sometime.
Home/HomeKit and their home-based products have been such a disappointment.
The Home app itself is quite nice... but they stubbornly insisted for years on hardware authentication and licensing fees, leaving Amazon and Google with their free (?) APIs to dominate the market. Even now, after they finally let up, there are significantly less options. I always have to spend 2x or more for Home support.
...Which would be fine if it was rock solid, but it isn't. And there are so many holes (very few doorbells, no robot vacuum/smart appliance/etc. support, etc.) that I really wonder what goes on inside.
They finally have a cheap HomePod. Now we need a cheap AppleTV, and more device support.
The Home app itself is quite nice... but they stubbornly insisted for years on hardware authentication and licensing fees, leaving Amazon and Google with their free (?) APIs to dominate the market. Even now, after they finally let up, there are significantly less options. I always have to spend 2x or more for Home support.
...Which would be fine if it was rock solid, but it isn't. And there are so many holes (very few doorbells, no robot vacuum/smart appliance/etc. support, etc.) that I really wonder what goes on inside.
They finally have a cheap HomePod. Now we need a cheap AppleTV, and more device support.
Alexa was built to increase shopping for Amazon. Google was built to gather more data about you and sell it to advertisers. As long as there is no real monetary incentive for Apple to better Siri, it will be more about catching up with competition than anything else. Either Apple produces smart appliances (which I am not a fan of) or seriously partners with a handful of manufacturers with shared revenue goals. Apple needs to have more “skin in the game” to better Siri, besides one mini home speaker. Partner with Hartman Kardon, B&O, Loewe, Miele, Electrolux, Philips, Osram, Vitra. And have some interest. Otherwise HomeKit will be at a loss. Much like CarPlay. Apple has never been good in partnerships and, for better or worse (mostly better), this has limits. Siri development, CarPlay being the most prominent ones.
I have to ask ...
what work did he do at Microsoft before joining Apple that would've helped him become the lead for Apple Home/HomeKit?!
These kind of cross hiring without really digging into the 'whats the benefit what expertise can be applied here' needs to be re-thought.
what work did he do at Microsoft before joining Apple that would've helped him become the lead for Apple Home/HomeKit?!
These kind of cross hiring without really digging into the 'whats the benefit what expertise can be applied here' needs to be re-thought.