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Apple's Smart Home Command Center: What We Know So Far
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Wrong is when your future is increasingly out of focus and designed by committee.
Not saying Apple is doomed!, not yet, but if this is what they’re gonna throw at the market it does leave cause for concern.
When in the world will the standards they have been working on to tap into Alexa devices with HomeKit ever see the light of day? So much doesn’t work with HomeKit like my Lennox thermostat. It’s ridiculous
They need to open up the Homekit API, make it easier (and cheaper) for developers to integrate Homekit, and get more hardware manufacturers on board. When you search for wifi-enabled lights or security cameras, it seems there are a million options for Android and Alexa, but very few Homekit-rated items. And the Homekit-rated products are 3x as expensive. Having a "homebase" only makes sense if everything in your home works with Homekit. They need more Homekit products on the market.
Apple is in no way ready to do this. Their home automation chops are weak and massively incomplete. Home Assistant will eat their lunch for years to come. I'd rather buy a cheap Android tablet, or use an old iPad, and build my own Control Center.
I think Apple is betting on a device that controls more than just Hue lights. A lot of you sound like people who asked why anyone would buy an iPad when a laptop can do the same thing. This device would control everything (eventually) in a home, and phones aren't ideal for that because more than one person would need to use it. This would sit stationary in a room and be accessible by the entire family.
I’ve avoided buying any additional Ring Chimes because everyone has a phone that gets the alerts, and I share the Home app info.
The dog also acts as a Ring extension. She even lets me know when someone on TV rings the bell!
Hopefully the pricing doesn’t go aggressively high.
While most people would want it, we have priorities, and an old iPad could serve as a good controller.
While most people would want it, we have priorities, and an old iPad could serve as a good controller.
My dog barks and checks the window for visitors when my phone chimes because I have a driveway camera.
I can think of almost nothing less compelling than the "Smart Home" that is full of electronic crap that I need to upgrade every 5 years or so. No thanks to all of this stuff.
Given its apparent capabilities (and size), it would have to be significantly cheaper than even the basic iPad. I just don’t see that happening. It would probably also have its own chip series, given that even the standard A series would likely be way overkill (and make it way too expensive) or use the S series like the HomePod.
I honestly hope this remains a rumor and they scrap this product. Just build a dock for the iPad and a more involved mode for the Home app — more efficient and practical without as much potential to quickly become e-waste when support for it inevitably sunsets.
$90 for a dumb screen isn't bad, but I'd really like it to have an app platform. I have a unique app that would work really well for it.
Ooh! Calendar! I’ve been waiting for a good standalone calendar hardware for a while, the offer was meager and expensive, until this!
Under cook’s leadership his focus has been more on stock value and profit…than customers, products and services.
What has Cook done , other than play it safe with everything, that’s so great?
Why do most apps in this “home hub” type device seem to be aimed at a single user? Excepting the “Home” app (presumably for home automation/control), all other apps imply user-directed preferences (bookmarks, followed news channels, music playlists, notes/reminders, calendar events, slide shows/memories). And we already have those apps in our iPhones and iPads. If you live alone or don’t care who knows you calendar, for example, I guess it’s ok.
I suppose they could implement a multi-user preference scheme with facial recognition, but at that point it still seems easier to pick up my already individually customized iPhone or iPad. I don’t think a device like this would be my first choice to surf the web anyway.
I don't hate it, honestly — I hate having more than one smart thing around and we use the Echo and we have a Google Hub for our nest cameras. I would prefer to consolidate all of it under Apple and their hardware for better security.