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.
CES 2017: Chamberlain Reveals HomeKit-Compatible Smart Garage Door Openers
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It was unfortunate. They assumed they could firmware update their existing controllers but HomeKit requires hardware encryption you cannot update via firmware. In the end we will be much happier for hack-free smart homes with HomeKit. Without it, others were going down the road of open port clear text JSON interfaces. What a nightmare that would have been.
Yes, but so far it's not announced for their LiftMaster brand. As far as I'm aware the bridges aren't interchangeable?
I wish Apple would make a HomeKit hub so I would not need to buy one from every single manufacturer just to use HomeKit with their products. Maybe a get rich quick scheme. Someone want to partner with me
The hub is supposed to be AppleTV. The reason some devices don't work without a special hub is they are not HomeKit compatible. For example, Hue uses zigbee. To make hue devices works with HomeKit requires the hue bridge, which allows the zigbee devices to communicate with HomeKit.
The better question is why doesn't apple require devices to natively compatible with HomeKit without the use of a bridge.
I think what he was getting at is that we need a device that bridges everything to Homekit. Meaning, if I want to use Homekit with my Hue lights, I have to upgrade my hub to a Homekit compatible. Same with my garage door. What about zwave and zigbee? I would have to have some kind of proprietary hub with home kit that will then interface with an AppleTV. Instead of all of this, why isn't there a true Hub like Smartthings or Wink or Vera, that bridges ALL of these devices and has homekit compatibility....
I wish Apple would make a HomeKit hub so I would not need to buy one from every single manufacturer just to use HomeKit with their products. Maybe a get rich quick scheme. Someone want to partner with me
The Gen 4 Apple TV is their hub today. An iPad can also be set to be a hub as well.
The device manufacturers are not using hubs to support Homekit. They do that to connect their devices to other gateways, including their own.
For example, the Schlage Sense door locks are controlled only through Homekit, and they do not have a bridge. Schlage does have their own app, but it uses Homekit to connect to the locks, not their own proprietary hub.
If the user does not have an Apple TV or iPad (at home), the devices can still be controlled locally through Bluetooth however, remote access will not be possible.
All that said, we do need something like some small, cheap, single-purpose devices that put Homekit devices onto the web. Right now, I need an iPad or Apple TV fairly close to my door locks to control them while I'm away. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to point out that isn't a final solution.
I asked them again about this last week. Their answer, as always, is that it is "coming soon" and to sign up at their site to be emailed when it is ready. At one point, the folks actually involved in the code were talking on a forum about it and were targeting end of April for general availability. Clearly, that didn't happen.
There are many things that can cause delays in products like this, especially the ones that use a combination of hardware and software.
For example, the initial manufacturing prototypes get finished, and the tolerances of the power supply input are too loose and the cord won't reliably stay in. This means they have to modify the large metal mold that makes that part, produce more prototypes, and try them out. Meanwhile, this is all being done over in China, so Bob has to go live in a hotel near the factory to test prototypes. Bob doesn't speak Chinese, but he's pretty good at Pictionary. A little problem like this one means 6-8 weeks of delay and isn't at all unusual.
I just hope they haven't stopped working on it, which is why I bug them about it every month or so to see what they say.
Sean
There are many things that can cause delays in products like this, especially the ones that use a combination of hardware and software.
For example, the initial manufacturing prototypes get finished, and the tolerances of the power supply input are too loose and the cord won't reliably stay in. This means they have to modify the large metal mold that makes that part, produce more prototypes, and try them out. Meanwhile, this is all being done over in China, so Bob has to go live in a hotel near the factory to test prototypes. Bob doesn't speak Chinese, but he's pretty good at Pictionary. A little problem like this one means 6-8 weeks of delay and isn't at all unusual.
I just hope they haven't stopped working on it, which is why I bug them about it every month or so to see what they say.
Sean
I was reprograming my garage door remote and decided to give the site a visit, surprisingly
https://www.chamberlain.com/apple-partnership
The page is obviously half done, but surprisingly, the page has changed from "Notify Me", to "Buy Now", though the page leads to 404...
https://www.chamberlain.com/apple-partnership
The page is obviously half done, but surprisingly, the page has changed from "Notify Me", to "Buy Now", though the page leads to 404...