Google Says Assistant Works With Over 5,000 Smart Home Devices, HomeKit/Siri Around 200

[vipergts2207]

Well one of those products is Nest Thermostat which is arguably the best connected stat on the market.

Already been discussed in this thread. Nest is not the best t-stat on the market. That honor would go to ecobee. They're even copying ecobee's room sensors.

I meant Siri does not work with Harmony remotes. For example, I can tell Alexa to "turn on the movie" and my movie activity will start. Siri does not support Harmony.

The Harmony hub came out in 2014, when HomeKit was just announced, so that's not really surprising. Obviously the required hardware wasn't included. And Apple just recently started allowing for a software solution. Considering that the Harmony Elite came out in 2015, I suspect Logitech is working on a new model to be released sometime with HomeKit compatibility.

 

[Stella]

Anyone who puts one of these spy devices in their homes are dummies...

What we have voluntarily given up between social media and convenience is staggering.

I suggest you go off the grid. Live in the mountains, cut yourself off from civilization or something.

Everything about you is data crunched and analysed - your shopping habits ( supermarkets, credit cards etc ), internet ( ISPs, Google etc ), electricity usage, cell phone usage ( cell phone provider, Apple will do this also ) , government, just to name a few.

 

[BuffaloTF]

Gee, IFTTT sucks, Nest sucks...what DOESN’T suck in your book?

Well, ecobee doesn't suck, it actually keeps the correct temperature. Honeywell works too.

But to stick to Nest, the Nest Cam Outdoor is the best security cam you can get -- tho it does have some negatives, such as the need to hardwire which may disqualify it for some.

Home automation in the proper manner is great too, as IFTTT often fails to trigger properly and is basically a hack job to proper support.

 

[1rottenapple]

Yeah, I’ve got all of that. Nest protect, Secure, and thermostat (with additional sensors), and indoor cams. Works really great.

Later this year I’d like to get the Doorbell and outdoor cam.

I just wished the nest alarm sensors didn’t cost so much. They made it super sophisticated but to outfit a home would be cost prohibitive

 

[BuffaloTF]

Well one of those products is Nest Thermostat which is arguably the best connected stat on the market.

Arguably amongst whom? It's easily the worst connected thermostat on the market. It can't keep an accurate temperature, so right off the cuff, it can't do the basics.

 

[1rottenapple]

I suggest you go off the grid. Live in the mountains, cut yourself off from civilization or something.

Everything about you is data crunched and analysed - your shopping habits ( supermarkets, credit cards etc ), internet ( ISPs, Google etc ), electricity usage, cell phone usage ( cell phone provider, Apple will do this also ) , government, just to name a few.

I know. NSA is listening through your iPhone. Better go back to a dummy phone. Or don’t post on the internet they’re tracking you.

 

[deckard666]

Yeah as home automation is certainly going to help with a) fitness and b) even more terrible social media crap like" OMG I have switched my kettle on from the beach" ad nauseum

 

[MacBH928]

This "everything is connected wirelessly to the internet" must stop somewhere. I will not have some 18 year old hacker using some firmware bugs to play around with the locks, electricity, oven, washing machine, lights , and garage door of my home.

Can imagine having to upgrade the software to all these items and having to reboot each one to work proerply

 

[ersan191]

I meant Siri does not work with Harmony remotes. For example, I can tell Alexa to "turn on the movie" and my movie activity will start. Siri does not support Harmony.

It does via homebridge.

Well one of those products is Nest Thermostat which is arguably the best connected stat on the market.

Nest works via homebridge.

-

I could probably do this for half the posts in this thread.
[doublepost=1525456326][/doublepost]

Yeah as home automation is certainly going to help with a) fitness and b) even more terrible social media crap like" OMG I have switched my kettle on from the beach" ad nauseum

Automation is the idea that you can make repetitive tasks automatic to save you time that you can spend doing other things... I personally don't like going around the house and turning all of the lights/tvs/whatever off every time I leave, so it's automated. I don't like adjusting my thermostat 4 times a day because I'm cold or hot, now it's automatic. I don't like opening the blinds in the morning when I get up every single day, automatic. I don't like vacuuming or mowing the lawn, automated.. This is all time saved that I can spend doing things I enjoy or that provide value instead.

All this petty nonsense about home automation is for lazy people is stupid, you sound like cavemen. How about you give up commonly accepted automations like timers on your sprinklers, washing machines with different cycles, the timer on your coffee machine, or ice maker, or dishwashers that wash/rinse/dry.

You can get even more extreme with the examples - why have running water when you could just go down to the creek with a bucket every day? Won't that make you fat and lazy? If social media existed back then the first few people would have posted saying "OMG I just filled up this cup of water and I didn't have to walk a mile and a half to do it! Amazing!" - so the hell what? The novelty dies off eventually and it becomes standard over time if it is useful.

I do not understand the idea of disparaging people who don't see value in doing the same thing over and over again manually. You only have so many hours on this earth, why spend any percentage of them adjusting thermostats or vacuuming if you don't have to?

 

[Stryder541]

I agree, and why can't I control my appletv from my phone, Mac or HomePod?

I guess because you’re not paying attention. The AppleTV Remote app for IOS is the only decent way to control it. I also AirPlay to both my AppleTV v4 and AppleTV 4K from my Mac all the time.

 

[mattopotamus]

It does via homebridge.


Nest works via homebridge.

-

I could probably do this for half the posts in this thread.
[doublepost=1525456326][/doublepost]
Automation is the idea that you can make repetitive tasks automatic to save you time that you can spend doing other things... I personally don't like going around the house and turning all of the lights/tvs/whatever off every time I leave, so it's automated. I don't like adjusting my thermostat 4 times a day because I'm cold or hot, now it's automatic. I don't like opening the blinds in the morning when I get up every single day, automatic. I don't like vacuuming or mowing the lawn, automated.. This is all time saved that I can spend doing things I enjoy or that provide value instead.

All this petty nonsense about home automation is for lazy people is stupid, you sound like cavemen. How about you give up commonly accepted automations like timers on your sprinklers, washing machines with different cycles, the timer on your coffee machine, dishwashers that wash/rinse/dry.

You can get even more extreme with the examples - why have running water when you could just go down to the creek with a bucket every day? Won't that make you fat and lazy? If social media existed back then the first few people would have posted saying "OMG I just filled up this cup of water and I didn't have to walk a mile and a half to do it! Amazing!" - so the hell what? The novelty dies off eventually and it becomes standard over time if it is useful.

I do not understand the idea of disparaging people who don't see value in doing the same thing over and over again manually. You only have so many hours on this earth, why spend any percentage of them adjusting thermostats or vacuuming if you don't have to?

Homebridge is a terrible solution and not secure at all.
[doublepost=1525460826][/doublepost]

I love that I can control everything with my google home. I just say "Ok google watch a movie" And the TV, receiver, blu ray player all turn on and change to the right inputs/ports. The lights dim as well.

Its so easy and I have it set up for video games/netflix exc.

likewise (with Alexa)

 

[ersan191]

Homebridge is a terrible solution and not secure at all.

Homebridge is just as secure as any other software-authenticated device in HomeKit, and it's not exposed to the internet... So they are both as secure as your home network is. You genuinely have no idea what you're talking about.

If anything is insecure it's Amazon and Google devices, that run every smarthome call through the open internet. But nobody is complaining about them - you're actually promoting them for some reason.
[doublepost=1525464500][/doublepost]

I agree, and why can't I control my appletv from my phone, Mac or HomePod?

You absolutely can control your Apple TV from all 3 of those (the 3rd only while you are airplaying to the HP, but I'm sure that will change eventually).

 

[mattopotamus]

Homebridge is just as secure as any other software-authenticated device in HomeKit, and it's not exposed to the internet... So they are both as secure as your home network is. You genuinely have no idea what you're talking about.

If anything is insecure it's Amazon and Google devices, that run every smarthome call through the open internet. But nobody is complaining about them - you're actually promoting them for some reason.
[doublepost=1525464500][/doublepost]
You absolutely can control your Apple TV from all 3 of those (the 3rd only while you are airplaying to the HP, but I'm sure that will change eventually).

That may be true. I was just looking into what I read when I considered installing it.

 

[Dormammu]

I just wished the nest alarm sensors didn’t cost so much. They made it super sophisticated but to outfit a home would be cost prohibitive

I agree. They do work well and they do sense motion and serve as a nightlight in addition to being a contact sensor. But because of the price I’ve only installed them on doors.

 

[dilbert99]

Hah oops, thanks fixed.
[doublepost=1525358921][/doublepost]
Oh really?

Yes, give it a try

 

[1rottenapple]

I agree. They do work well and they do sense motion and serve as a nightlight in addition to being a contact sensor. But because of the price I’ve only installed them on doors.

How do you cover large areas and windows ?

 

[InfoTime]

Congratulations Google. I bet about 4000 of those products are garbage. The best stuff works with multiple platforms anyway: Lutron, Hue, Schlage, Hunter, ecobee, etc. Why do I care if low-end junk also works on your platform?

So then 1,000 of them are decent. That still gives you five times as many choices as HomeKit.

 

[Dormammu]

How do you cover large areas and windows ?

I have two installed as motion sensors to cover the big rooms in the home. None on the windows -mainly because to do the lower window on my home I’d need around 8 sensors which is cost prohibitive (ouch)

 

[vipergts2207]

So then 1,000 of them are decent. That still gives you five times as many choices as HomeKit.

Don’t care, as top companies still have all the bases covered with HomeKit products. For instance, I don’t need ten door locks, just one.

 

[andrewmarich]

Is there any sign of HomeKit control from the Mac, or workarounds ? It seems like a pretty major oversight..

 

[341328]

Just a bit of advice. All platforms, including siri / Apple's send data home to their own servers for analysis.

MacOS for example sends spotlight searches back
https://lifehacker.com/safari-and-spotlight-can-send-data-to-apple-heres-how-1648453540


it's reasonable to believe that SIRI and it's use also does the same. if you are concerned about your data leaving your own network, no smart / home automation is going to be for you.

Is an article from 2014 still relevant? And this is different data than using smart home appliances.

Nice try though.
[doublepost=1525577925][/doublepost]

And Siri sends the audio files from your Home pod over the internet to fairy land, right?

https://www.fastcompany.com/4044305...g-siri-smart-without-endangering-user-privacy
And
https://www.apple.com/au/privacy/approach-to-privacy/

 

[neutralguy]

And google sends everything you say to their DB and AI systems. Congrats.

I would take that any day over the response "here is what I found on web.."

 

[v3rlon]

Ok, I love the idea of home automation, but how many of these products NEED it?

I use lights (mostly Hue, but there are plenty of options). I use Nest (yeah, yeah, I know - but really a properly trained smart thermostat doesn't need a lot of attention unless you are someone's wife who likes to fidget with half degree F.) thermostat. I useLogitech Harmony to control my entertainment center.

That last one is the kicker I want working with Siri. Alexa works just fine.

My door locks are not integrated (yet), but one I find a solution I like that will happen.

But do I need a smart coffee maker? No. While there is an app for my washer/dryer, it doesn't do anything useful except sent fault codes to the maker if generated. What would a smart fridge do, exactly? A smart garbage disposal? See, these aren't 'must have' until someone finds a way to integrate new and useful features. Unless you count light bulbs individually, I don't need 200 smart devices. A handful works all right.


Now I would like the devices to be smarter, like better geo-fencing to turn lights on for multiple users (me, wife). I like to be able to control the entertainment center similar to how I do with Alexa now. ("turn on Apple TV" turns on TV, soundbar, AppleTV, and sets all inputs as I like). Then seamlessly integrate "play" "Pause" search movies for Avengers" "volume up" "mute" "back up 30 seconds" and so on.

Finally, allow homepod to wok as multi speaker setups for whatever I want. If I want 7 speaker surround, wouldn't you LOVE me to buy multiple homepods toward that end?

What else is there? A Smart garage door opener? How much smarter will it be?

So like another poster said: 200 good smart devices that do not spy on me is better than 5000 with security/privacy concerns, especially if some of those are cameras.

 

[verniesgarden]

You absolutely can control your Apple TV from all 3 of those (the 3rd only while you are airplaying to the HP, but I'm sure that will change eventually).

I was meaning from Siri on those devices.
[doublepost=1525729228][/doublepost]

I guess because you’re not paying attention. The AppleTV Remote app for IOS is the only decent way to control it. I also AirPlay to both my AppleTV v4 and AppleTV 4K from my Mac all the time.

I think the point of my complaint was lost, I was referring to Siri not being able to control the Apple TV from other devices.

 

[wozmatic]

What other commands would you like Hue to really do? I'm thinking of buying a kit so I'm honest in asking this question. Like "Siri dance party" is going to do something unique and appeasing to you and guests vs "Siri, Sunday night reading" ?

Well my comment was more about the fact homekit DOESN'T work with many things, it only works with ONE smart tech I own and that's HUE.

I have a Nest, smart plugs, etc.

For example a simple "Turn on the fan" that one of my plugs is connected really isn't asking for much, but because of the walled garden (pros and cons yes, but for a damn outlet come on now) it's a tough go.

Clearly the Nest is legit and secure, but an Apple competitor so let's not support that right? Thank you super hip 60 year old dudes on Apple's design team.

As for HUE, the commands are limited in the sense that it's not very smart. You can't say "turn on bedroom lights to 50%" in one go, or whatever variable you wanted for that matter.

Instead, you'd have to say "turn on bedroom lights" (then wait for it to happen) then say "lights 50%" so it's not incredibly user friendly or smart in that regard.