Someone needs to make a pie chart for this, how many people like the idea of the Home app vs how many people actually have a use for the Home app.
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Here's the New 'Home' App for Controlling HomeKit Devices in iOS 10
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That may have been great for me 10/15 years ago, and I might have even done my own project on contributed to one like that. But that isn't what I'm looking for anymore. More likely I'll look the Amazon Echo route since Amazon has done a much better job at enticing 3rd parties to add support to existing products.
I'm glad that my new home I'm moving into doesn't have any of this yet, so I can start from scratch with things that integrate with Homekit. I already had a Nest thermostat and some Hue bulbs at my old home. I'm switching to an Ecobee 3 in the new place, mostly due to the ability to pair with additional sensors throughout the house, but the Homekit integration is a big part of it too. Then once we build the garage later this year, the openers will need to be Homekit enabled too.
It's been awesome having Hue lights throughout the interior & exterior of the house. I can set them to turn on within a 30 minute window so it's random and looks like I'm not always on the exact same schedule, but still saves energy since they're so efficient to run. I want to add in a Homekit enabled doorbell too with motion sensing camera too.
Nest does not integrate with Homekit at this time. No word out of their camp on whether or not they plan to in the future, but I've been concerned about the future of Nest since word leaked they were hemorrhaging money at Google. There are others (Ecobee 3) that work with Homekit right out of the box.
...too bad siri can't control grinding my coffee fresh, tamping it, and pouring me a double shot. damn you and your auto coffee crap
I agree! I saw DeLonghi on the list of partners, and I got excited for just a second. I have a fully automatic espresso machine, but I just can't see a way for HomeKit to speed up or make more convenient my Americanos.
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So instead of being a lazy arse you've just decided to be an obnoxious one?
Echo has been what I had hoped HomeKit would have been when introduced 2 years ago. The fact that when released, there wasnt a product on the face of the earth that supported it was a good clue.
Couple Echo with IFTTT, and it becomes even more powerful. Skills and AWS extends it even further.
I am a big fan and user of Apple gear, its mostly what I do. However I think they completely missed the mark on HA with HomeKit.
Yeah, motion detectors are great, because they'll turn on every light in the house when you, or your cat walk through.
Schedules for thermostats are great, and I have one on my HomeKit compatible Ecobee. But being married to a schedule with no ability to adjust it easily is not so great.
GPS/geofencing is good for some things. Not so good for things like unlocking your front door. If I walk up to my front door and unlock it with my voice that's one thing. Quite another when I pull into my garage and my front door unlocks.
And I'm so glad that you pointed out to me that HomeKit doesn't work with "most of the existing HA hardware out there." I guess I'll throw away my thermostat, front door lock, 8 or 9 Lutron lights switches, Hunter ceiling fans and Hue bulbs and lightstrips that I own that have been working with HomeKit just fine for me.
I disagree... For me, Apple adds enormous value by requiring compatible switches/sensors/cameras/etc be vetted and certified by Apple using their encryption protocols. It has been a pain in the butt for some manufacturers, but that is now quickly changing, and will accelerate now that Apple released their Home app.
As a HA user, a secure system is essential. There's no way I'd have an Amazon or google HA product in my home where usage stats and data are collected by those companies for marketing/advertising/whatever purposes.
Apple has taken a very public stand on security pushing back on law enforcement and speaking before Congress. That's worth a ton of value to me. Where were the execs from google and Amazon, to name just two, when all that was happening?
And relatedly... Why is it the New York City district attorney only has an issue not being able to get into seized iPhones with almost 300 devices collected so far? Must be because android phones are not used in NYC?
Have you ever gotten into bed and realized you left lights on all over your house? I have. I love having remote access to all my lights. Also great for toggling lights on and off for security reasons when you're not home.
I'll never not have this in a house I live in. It's fabulous.
It should be pet of the automation functionality. I wonder if it will talk with 3rd party apps that provide functionality maybe not provided by Apple?
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Most of your points make sense and just to be mindful of safety here, in the case there is fire and you have the HVAC blower at full speed then you may be blowing more air and O2 to the fire and enabling it to spread even further.
So having smart vents in the system + some fire protection may be the way to go.
The highest rate of home fires occur in the kitchen and by simply installing a fire protection sprinkler there would make US homes safer. My local fire department suggested making it part of the city building code and regulations, but you know people are more concern on the kardashains.
HomeKit users have long wished for a centralized, Apple-designed app for controlling HomeKit-enabled products, and in iOS 10, Apple has granted that wish, with the debut of the new "Home" app. Designed to be used on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, Home is Apple's new one-stop HomeKit control solution.
As can be seen in the video below, Home offers a simple, fast, convenient way to manage all of the connected products in your house. Not all accessories are fully functional with Home right now as its a beta, but support will improve before Home launches as part of iOS 10 this fall.
Opening the Home app brings up a main screen that lists all favorite Scenes and favorite accessories for quick access. The app's wallpaper is customizable, and a Settings section offers options for changing the name of a home and inviting additional users. The "Rooms" section of the app is where new accessories can be added and new Scenes can be created, with Scenes able to work with all of the HomeKit-connected products in your house.Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Each accessory can also be controlled individually by pressing on its name to bring up a set of options. With Philips Hue lights, for example, a long press or 3D Touch offers options for dimming lights and changing colors.
An "Automation" feature in the Home app allows HomeKit accessories to be set up to perform actions based on time and location, such as turning on the lights when the sun sets or turning on the air conditioning when you leave work. The Apple TV serves as a remote hub for HomeKit and in iOS 10, you can also set an iPad to serve as a hub to enable HomeKit devices to work remotely.
Along with a new Home app, iOS 10 brings support for additional types of HomeKit devices like air conditioners, heaters, air purifiers, humidifiers, cameras, and doorbells.
For full details on the new features coming in iOS 10, make sure to check out our iOS 10 roundup. Don't miss out on our previous videos, which have covered watchOS 3, macOS Sierra, and other iOS 10 features:
- WWDC 2016 Overview in Seven Minutes
- iOS 10's Overhauled Lockscreen
- The New iOS 10 Photos App
- The New iOS 10 Messages App
- macOS Sierra - Siri
- iOS 10 Hidden Features
- watchOS 3 Overview
- iOS 10's Redesigned Apple Music Experience
- 3D Touch in iOS 10
We've also got roundups for all of the upcoming operating systems, including watchOS 3, macOS Sierra, and tvOS 10.
Article Link: Here's the New 'Home' App for Controlling HomeKit Devices in iOS 10
What all the folks lamenting the lack of some devices to currently work with HomeKit don't seem to realize is that the reason they don't currently work is primarily that they haven't yet met the security standards required of HomeKit. In other words, Apple is, once again, the one that is focused on protecting your privacy and security as you delve into the world of the IOT. Of course Amazon, Google, etc., have other priorities, so if immediately working with as many devices as possible is more important than solid privacy and security protection, they should be your choice.
I've seen that before too. So far, the arguments seem weak to me. Time will tell.
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Motion detectors have lots of options fortunately. Software can determine how and when they are employed. I find that quite effective in determining when they go on and off and which lights.
Schedules are effective as well. Combine that with manual control via voice, phone, PC, etc and it give most all they ever need.
GPS works quite well with doors. It both locks and unlocks. For those without garages, automatic is good. For those with, its less useful and probably wouldnt be used. Voice still works well too.
Its useful to look at the gear supported by Echo and that for Homekit. One has lots more than the other...
I tried HomeBridge a few months ago, installed on my always on iMac via Terminal. It worked well until Terminal went to sleep, then I had to keep remembering to issue the Terminal HomeBridge command. I stopped using it.
Has there been an improvement? Is anyone selling a HomeBridge hub? I'd love something like that so that I could continue using Nest until I move away from that ecosystem.
I'm getting the new HomeKit enabled Canary in the Fall to replace my NestCam and I'm waiting for the next generation EcoBee as I'm not happy with the current model's plastic build. Good design is important in my home and so far, Nest has the nicest thermostat. Haven't found a HomeKit enabled smoke detector though.
I run Homebridge on a Raspberry Pi in the background using a shell script.
Homebridge starts on boot and runs without a visible terminal window.
You should be able to do the same on your iMac.
Having an alarm go off if the garage door is open after 11pm would be nice. And I dod want a smart thermostat that will monitor outside temps and see if it needs to heat, cool, or use a fan. It also needs to know if the phone is not in the house to go to a lower energy use setting. And I would like a water monitor in case a pipe leaks. Motion detection and a security camera might be nice, but that is about it. I'm not sure this app will be the best option, but I am willing to see what happens.
This sounds great. Looks like it's been improved. I'll have to try it again. Anywhere you suggest I look up some resources for this?
I was a (relative) early adopter 3-4 years ago and put together a Z-wave based system with three cameras, two electronic door locks, light and outlet switches, etc, all managed by a Vera Light hub, and controllable anywhere in the world from my iPhone or iPad.
What I put together worked fine, though it took a lot of nerding getting it going. Def not for someone without a tech background. Had to rely on external services to get around my dynamic IPs for the cameras to operate properly for remote streaming and control.
Most importantly, I never felt comfortable with the (in)security of the system. And thus, it was not something I could recommend to my friends and relatives.
Apple jumping in the game with their mandate that sensors/cameras/switches/etc be certified by them, along with their robust encryption protocols and Home app changes all that. Although a lot of device manufacturers have products certified, it will take time for other manufacturers to get on board. The wait will be worth it, especially for those who do not have a strong tech background.
My point is not to give it a name, but to point out "Home" probably means "home menu" to most people for computers, etc., not "home automation" simply because that's what it's been used for on computers for ages. Thus, seeing a "home" button on an iPhone makes me feel like it's going to go to the startup screen or something.
"Automation" would work well for me. "House" would work for me. "Home" sounds like a menu on the iPhone itself. I assume that Apple called it "HomeKit" for that reason to begin with instead of just "Home". "iHome" would probably tell everyone what they need to know, of course, but Apple seems to have decided to get away from the "i" moniker even though it means "Apple based" to most people (I guess some mean people trademarked some of the names before Apple could).
HomeKit as specified by Apple needs stronger encryption then Belkin thinks the existing wemo's CPU can handle.
So Apple could strongly influence Belkin here by lowering the bar, but that might result in an unsafe product (note: if so the existing wemo is very likely already unsafe).
Nest I think has thrown their ball into the platform owner ring and wants other things to be compatible with them. I don't know enough details on what they use to say how well justified that is
Apple eventually faced legal quandaries as the company had been working on home automation well before "HomeKit" was announced. The intention was to allow already owned smart home devices to work with iOS, allowing owners to keep their existing hardware as Apple has no intention of producing their own smart home devices, they simply wanted to create the backend to eventually bring everything together.
The problem: Should any device become compromised due to inadequate hardware and entry into someone's home, Apple would be held legally accountable in addition to the smart home device manufacturer. This resulted in Apple's "MFi" program, establishing an agreed upon set of requirements for third party manufacturers to ensure security.
Apple should be given credit for trying to avoid requiring new hardware costs then realizing the entire system would be comprised should one device be the weakest link in the chain by cutting costs. It has required years of work with many third party smart home device manufacturers to ensure proper security, and for that I am thankful.
The problem: Should any device become compromised due to inadequate hardware and entry into someone's home, Apple would be held legally accountable in addition to the smart home device manufacturer. This resulted in Apple's "MFi" program, establishing an agreed upon set of requirements for third party manufacturers to ensure security.
Apple should be given credit for trying to avoid requiring new hardware costs then realizing the entire system would be comprised should one device be the weakest link in the chain by cutting costs. It has required years of work with many third party smart home device manufacturers to ensure proper security, and for that I am thankful.
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Shame this is not closer to top comment. Thanks for typing this up. I'm trying to find time to educate myself more on the home automation options.