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Apple's Smart Home Command Center: What We Know So Far
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I am super curious how this will look and how it’ll function.
But Apple… please for the love of God improve Siri on HomePod.
But Apple… please for the love of God improve Siri on HomePod.
Really? They are basically bait & switching everyone with the base model – upgrade pricing scheme.
Comments like this will destroy your own credibility (not that you necessarily care).
IMO most apple hardware - especially apple silicon - is in excellent shape.
Software, on the other hand, has seen better days, but it is a hard thing to fix with the growing complexity and interdependence of modern tech.
I do unfortunately have Alexa and my family uses it all the time, mostly for IoT device control like lights and plugs.
We have an Echo Show 8, which has a screen as well. It's not a big screen, but still is always-on and there. So we also use it to show our photos. BUT the Echo has a larger landscape screen which is great for photos.
I have been wanting Apple to make a similar device that actually works well and can control smart devices and so on. But also, a major thing at this point would be displaying photos. And a square screen ratio would not be a good one for that, at all.
Maybe they're just thinking of all the Instagram type square pics out there, but those aren't what my family takes and would want to display. If that were the case, I'm sure whatever Meta's home thing is can just pull an IG stream much easier. Again, not what I want.
I just would love a more secure, non-Amazon controlled and well working device to use as an IoT controller, landscape photo frame and whatever other good features they can put in there. Safari would obviously be great, but so would having an app store so things like YouTube could have a native app for things like cooking in the kitchen.
Anyone else here thinking the square form factor of a screen would be a huge mistake?
We have an Echo Show 8, which has a screen as well. It's not a big screen, but still is always-on and there. So we also use it to show our photos. BUT the Echo has a larger landscape screen which is great for photos.
I have been wanting Apple to make a similar device that actually works well and can control smart devices and so on. But also, a major thing at this point would be displaying photos. And a square screen ratio would not be a good one for that, at all.
Maybe they're just thinking of all the Instagram type square pics out there, but those aren't what my family takes and would want to display. If that were the case, I'm sure whatever Meta's home thing is can just pull an IG stream much easier. Again, not what I want.
I just would love a more secure, non-Amazon controlled and well working device to use as an IoT controller, landscape photo frame and whatever other good features they can put in there. Safari would obviously be great, but so would having an app store so things like YouTube could have a native app for things like cooking in the kitchen.
Anyone else here thinking the square form factor of a screen would be a huge mistake?
Staaaahp with these Gurman hallucinations or at least preface the article for context. This reflects poorly on MR as a trusted source.
Agreed! And for being a logistics guy he takes FOREVER to bring things to market. And when they finally arrive they are incomplete and a let down. He’s no Steve Jobs.
If it is mounted on a wall, do you have to check on it daily to ensure it's still charged? Because this kind of thing for a wall should be installed and forget it. Hang it near a wall outlet? I could see the value of such a thing and have an old iPad around for this same sort of thing, but it's plugged in all day as it connected to my wifi door cameras, amongst other home devices.
I expect the CONCEPTUAL idea is that this provides a place where guests (or children) can control the home, in a way that's not feasible if that control is limited to the phone, as people are suggesting.
This is not a TOTALLY crazy idea. My house is heavily homeKit'ed and it would probably benefit guests if they could occasionally change lighting or blinds rather than just accept my automation.
BUT
I suspect this will not live up to its potential, not even close, in the same way as HomePod, but even more so.
1) Will there be a plugin scheme for 3rd party apps? Pretty much the only value I derive from my (free, when AMZ was excited by the things) 1st gen AMZ echo is that it shows me when a delivery is expected today, and when it has arrived. Will I be able to get that on my Apple Echo?
Along the same lines, will notifications of things like cameras appear on this device, so I can see eg who is at the front door, or walking down the driveway. Note this is not hooking into HomeKit Cameras, of course there'll be something for that. This is to hook into all the other infrastructure out there of Nest cameras or Ring Doorbells or whatever.
2) Will this be accompanied by a better framework for home automation?
HomeKit was garbage for a few years because of reliability. They have done well in the past two years or so to fix the reliability issues, but everything related to automation is still amateur hour. Writing Scenes is still pathetically inefficient, there is no way to perform obvious tasks everyone requires (eg equivalent of if/then/else, or automating by date, or grouping Scenes together for easy reuse, or replacing an existing item [eg lightbulb] with a new item that has the same role, etc etc etc).
All this stuff matters because the one group that actually derive value from this sort of product are builders and home remodellers. But they cannot fit this stuff into a house when Apple's entire model for HomeKit is amateur hour, with zero consideration for the needs of professional developers.
We had those in the 1960's.... The intercoms also played radio if you wanted, but the speakers were crap. Anyway, intercoms were awful - if they were activated you had to stop what you were doing and get up and walk over to them. I know that doesn't seem that inconvenient, but imagine you were asleep or it was you folks pestering you every 5 minutes to do chores. Some of the intercoms were fairly low (e.g., counter-top level in the kitchen), so our cats used to trigger them in the middle of the night. Amplified purring broadcast to the entire house at 2AM. No thanks.
Apple needs to consolidate devices (e.g., mini + Apple TV + music centre + home appliance control + secure backup) rather than this ridiculous least-sellable-unit strategy with multiple devices scattered throughout the house. Consumers see right through this strategy and at some point it is just taking the piss.
I don’t really see the point of it since I can use any Apple device I already have on me to change things in the home. Why would I want to walk across the house to use a fixed station?
If it uses the latest mmWave tech that some smart home companies are incorporating, which allows for full home motion tracking of any person in any room, then that would be useful and I would buy that. Would make it easy to turn on and off lights as you move around the house, for instance, without needing dozens of motion sensors with batteries that need replaced and complicated sets of rules and configurations.
If it uses the latest mmWave tech that some smart home companies are incorporating, which allows for full home motion tracking of any person in any room, then that would be useful and I would buy that. Would make it easy to turn on and off lights as you move around the house, for instance, without needing dozens of motion sensors with batteries that need replaced and complicated sets of rules and configurations.
Er, No, there’s an app for that.
Apple is working on a new Home accessory that is designed to serve as a central hub or "Command Center" for smart home management. The Apple TV and the HomePod are already home hubs and almost all Apple devices can control a HomeKit setup, but Apple is designing an all-in-one home management product to make control even easier.
This guide aggregates everything that we know about Apple's smart home hub.
Design
Apple's upcoming smart home product will somewhat resemble an iPad, and it will have an all-display design. It is expected to be square rather than rectangular, and it will measure in at six inches with thick bezels around the edges.
In terms of size, it will look similar to two iPhones that are side-by-side, and it will be small and lightweight to allow it to be moved from room to room. The device will support touch input for opening apps and controlling connected devices.
It will be able to be mounted on a wall, but Apple is also designing a dock that it can slot into that will let it sit on a table or desk. The desktop base could include additional speakers for playing music.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has suggested that the smart home device will have a hemispherical base similar to the iMac G4, with the small screen positioned at an angle on the base.
The original iMac G4
Built-in speakers will be included, and it will have a camera on the front for FaceTime and video calls, along with a rechargeable battery. Apple is planning two colors, including silver and black.
Sensors
The smart home hub will be able to determine how close a person is standing to it, adjusting features from there. When no one is nearby, for example, it might show the temperature, but as someone approaches, it could shift to an interface for adjusting the thermostat.
Person detection will likely allow it to be used in smart home automations for doing things like turning on the lights when someone enters a room. The sensor might be able to tell one person from another, and it could recognize hand gestures for longer range control.
Apple is also considering extra sensors that would plug into outlets throughout the home to interface with the hub, but it is not clear if these will be manufactured.
Chip
Apple's upcoming smart home accessory is expected to use an A18 chip for Apple Intelligence support. Given that Apple Intelligence requires 8GB RAM minimum, it will have at least 8GB RAM.
Interface
Apple does not plan to create a dedicated App Store for the home hub, but it will come with several apps pre-installed. The main view will be a customizable home screen with widgets that can show the weather, important home controls, photo slideshows, upcoming events, and more.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has described the interface as a mix between watchOS and the iPhone's StandBy mode. A software-based dock will be available for launching various apps, and it will support Siri.
Apple is planning to integrate Siri with Apple Intelligence for accessing and performing tasks in apps. By the time the device launches, the smarter version of Siri will be available, and will be able to control apps and tasks.
There will be a focus on controlling smart home products and also security, with Apple providing alerts and camera footage from connected smart home cameras.
Apps
Several Apple apps will be installed even though there won't be a dedicated App Store. Apps that are rumored:
- Safari
- Apple News
- Apple Music
- Notes
- Calendar
- Photos
- Home
Intercom
More than one of the devices can be used throughout the home, and two or more can serve as room-to-room intercoms.
AirPlay
With its built-in speakers, the device will support music playback and it will be able to work as an AirPlay receiver.
Future Smart Home Accessories
Apple is reportedly considering creating its own line of smart home accessories like an indoor security camera, but the company wants to see how the hub device does first. If that's successful, Apple could prioritize smart home products.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks Apple is already working on a smart home camera that will be manufactured starting in 2026. Kuo says that Apple will sell "tens of millions" of these devices over the long term, with wireless connectivity and deep integration with Siri and Apple Intelligence planned.
Apple could have an edge with security cameras because of its focus on privacy. Privacy would be a focus, providing an alternative to cameras from companies like Ring and Nest.
Pricing
It's not clear what Apple will price the device at, but Amazon's similarly sized Echo Show costs $90. By keeping the display size small at six inches, Apple may be able to keep the price low and competitive with similar products.
Competition
An Apple-designed smart home management product with an integrated display would compete with other smart home devices from companies like Facebook, Amazon, and Google. Facebook, for example, makes the Meta Portal, a device that can control Alexa-based products and that allows for video calls with friends and family.
Amazon makes the Echo Show, a smart display with a speaker that comes in sizes up to 21 inches. It can be used for controlling smart home products, watching video, making calls, and more. Google offers the Nest Hub Max for streaming content, listening to music, and controlling products that integrate with the Google smart home system.
With almost all of Apple's major competitors offering an in-home device that is designed to serve as a hub for controlling smart home products and making calls, it's not hard to imagine a similar device from Apple.
Launch Date
Apple's upcoming iPad-like smart home accessory could be released as soon as early 2025.
Article Link: Apple's Smart Home Command Center: What We Know So Far
Comparing Apple’s product to those from Facebook, Amazon, and Google will provide lots of ammunition for Apple haters to criticize the company. Apple’s product will be more expensive, but it will prioritize user privacy and not spy on them. With other companies, users are essentially the products.
As somebody that works from home a couple days a week with a Windows computer I think this could be a good addition to my desk. It connects me to all my Apple devices without all of the distractions of an iPhone and iPad.
It all comes down to price though.
It all comes down to price though.
The market simply disagrees with you. Profit comes from consumers purchasing and using your products. Your argument makes zero sense.
You know, that would be - really cool - of them to release some base firmware that turned old device into dumb screens for a universal dock/base station of sorts.
Put the ethernet, radios, old iphone chip in there, natively interface with lightning. and the docked device gets you all of the sensor/camera/screen/audio you could need!
Obviously they wouldnt want to support headache of dying hardware but would still be cool, and i think people would buy it to put that 'drawered' device to use, securely.
(Yes I am aware of the limitations of lightning. However both devices are capable of other means of communication and data transfer)
Put the ethernet, radios, old iphone chip in there, natively interface with lightning. and the docked device gets you all of the sensor/camera/screen/audio you could need!
Obviously they wouldnt want to support headache of dying hardware but would still be cool, and i think people would buy it to put that 'drawered' device to use, securely.
(Yes I am aware of the limitations of lightning. However both devices are capable of other means of communication and data transfer)