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'HomePod mini' and Next Apple TV May Use Ultra Wideband to Track Your Location Around the Home

LFC2020 said:
Why would I want it to track me in my own house.
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I think you misunderstand tech companies in 2020.

It's not about what you want, it's about how they can creatively monetize your data.

In this case, one neat feature would be tracking how many people are in the home so you're not illegally sharing music you're renting from Apple. Or their TV streaming. They detect there's more than two people in your home? That'll be a 5 dollar upgrade.
 
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It seems like Apple is really investing in their U1 platform. I need to see some real world examples in the presentation of how this benefits me in a smart home because I'm having a hard time understanding why I need it.
 
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Siri:
"Please kneel and raise your fist in the air to support BLM and receive 5% off AppleTV."
"I detected that your Apple Remote fell behind your sofa. I've taken the liberty of ordering a new one."
"I detected a second person in the room watching you play a single player game of 'Mountain Dew™ Space Adventure ft. Nicki Minaj'. To upgrade to a multi user experience, both players need to drink a verification can, and say "Mountain Dew™ - DEW IT RIGHT!"
 
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orbital~debris said:
To auto-pause or lower the volume on Apple TV when you walk into another room?

To have music follow you from HomePod to HomePod as you move about your home?

Just a couple of thoughts using imagination.
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Nice features if you live alone perhaps, but I don't always pause my TV when I get up for something and my better half is watching, especially if its not something I am interested in and Im just surfing and reading in the same room.
 
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I can't believe how many people in this thread don't understand this.

IF it works the way it intends then you would FINALLY have room occupancy detection for home kit and smart homes this is MASSIVE and the final piece of the puzzle for proper home automation. Every room can start/stop scenes as you enter or leave a room - ensure heating is set appropriately if you're actually in a room or not, turn things off when you leave that you might otherwise forget. Music, podcasts and even TV shows could follow you from room to room.

You would of course need a wearable like an Apple Watch for this, but it beats iBeacons which were never enabled on the Apple Watch by a long way.
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BuddyRich said:
Nice features if you live alone perhaps, but I don't always pause my TV when I get up for something and my better half is watching, especially if its not something I am interested in and Im just surfing and reading in the same room.
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Easy to set "If only i'm at home" etc. You can get very deep with home automation features.
 
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Ah the famous "why would i need this" complaints start coming in, 28 hours before the event!

Let's recap some of the historical failed assumptions people have made about Apple and its products.


"Why would I need an iPod?! Portable CD-players are much easier!" (Apple destroyed MP3-player market)

"Why would I need iTunes? Does Apple want me to throw my CD collection away?" (Apple destroyed all psychical music stores and revived music industry after illegal downloads tanked their revenue)

"Why would I need an iPhone?! People want a phone with a physical keyboard!" (Apple destroyed market leaders Nokia and Blackberry)

"Why would I need a Macbook Air?! It doesn't even have a DVD-drive!" (No manufacturer makes notebooks with DVD drives anymore)

"Why would I need an iPad?! It's just a large iPhone and it doesn't even support flash!" (Apple destroyed Android tablet-market and has become the standard in tablet computing)

"Why would I need an Apple Watch?! Displaying the date and time is all that I need from a watch!" (Apple sells more watches than entire Swiss watch market)

"Why would I need AirPods?! Wired earphones are much easier to carry with me" (AirPods most popular wireless earbuds, copied by hundreds of other brands)


And still there are still plenty of people here screaming "WHY WOULD I NEED THIS!" when Apple launches something new. Give me a break.
 
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SkyRom said:
Apple: Launches a bunch of hilarious, well-written ads marketing how much they care about protecting our privacy.

Also Apple: ... but we need to track your precise location inside your home.
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Yeah you don't get it at all - anyone saying this is "Google type tracking" mixed up with room occupancy awareness. Apple won't be sending any of this back to any servers - it'll all be on device and kept within your own home.
 
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DinkThifferent said:
And still there are still plenty of people here screaming "WHY WOULD I NEED THIS!" when Apple launches something new. Give me a break.
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Whilst simultaneous saying they know what they need and asking for something that already exists somewhere else because they don't have the imaginative capacity to think of something actually new.

As Steve said, people don't know what they want until you give them it - Apple proves this time and time again.
 
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" Turns regular hardware into HomeKit hardware. " So this will somehow make normal light switches magically turn in to homekit switches?
 
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It would be nice if:
1. More than one iOS device was used as a HomeKit hub. One iPad at one end of the house, another upstairs or something.

2. It would be nice if the HomePod (any of them) would double as wifi 6 basestations along with HomeKit basestations/hubs.

3. I'll be interested in seeing the range of the ultra wideband. What is the distance in reality?
 
Off topic in a very minor way, but is HomePod doorbell announcements a live feature yet? And if so, which doorbells on the market does it work with? (UK user here if that matters).
 
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dannys1 said:
IF it works the way it intends then you would FINALLY have room occupancy detection for home kit and smart homes this is MASSIVE and the final piece of the puzzle for proper home automation. Every room can start/stop scenes as you enter or leave a room - ensure heating is set appropriately if you're actually in a room or not, turn things off when you leave that you might otherwise forget. Music, podcasts and even TV shows could follow you from room to room.
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I genuinely can't tell if you're having a laugh.
 
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Futurix said:
I don't understand the obsession with 120hz - I've seen it and it didn't blow my mind or anything. Especially on a phone.
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120 Hz is definitely worth it on a screen larger than iPads where screen elements will move across larger distances in the same amount of time, making the smoother animation much more noticeable when flipping Home Screen pages or scrolling. I can clearly see the choppiness of 60Hz iPads compared to the iPad Pro. It’s especially great for the Apple Pencil as well with the low latency due to the higher sampling rate. That being said, I haven’t been able to see too much of a difference on an iPhone or even the iPad mini.
 
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LFC2020 said:
Another useless feature to go with LiDAR 🤦‍♂️ This is where apple has been wasting their time instead of giving us 120hz.

Why would I want it to track me in my own house. 🤦‍♂️😂
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Apple doesn’t make the display panels. Samsung supplies most of them and use them on their flagship Galaxy devices. Not enough panels to do that and also supply Apple with the quantities they require. I’m still bummed about the lack of 120hz, but it time to upgrade from my iPhone X regardless.
 
maddogeco said:
Imagine a new device that merges an Apple TV into a soundbar with Homepod music functions. it coupled with a hand full of homepod minis could form a mesh network around your house reviving thw Airport branding.
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sounds like a wonderful product but Apple after adds their usual 38% margin what would be the final price?
 
LFC2020 said:
Another useless feature to go with LiDAR 🤦‍♂️ This is where apple has been wasting their time instead of giving us 120hz.

Why would I want it to track me in my own house. 🤦‍♂️😂
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Bill Gates spent literally hundreds of thousands to install precisely this feature in his high tech mansion, and from all accounts this will actually do it better. He uses it to track people to change environmental controls, lighting, even have his music follow him around, etc. This is many more times useful than 120 hz. Let go of iterative specs and allow for real change.
 
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LFC2020 said:
Rather 120hz and smaller notch, how lazy can people be, lower the volume yourself.
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Why be able to start a car with the push of a button, how lazy can people be, turn the crank on the front of the car yourself.

Or, maybe, over time, technology progresses, making things easier. Or should we get off your lawn now?

At this point I‘m looking forward to them not including 120 Hz, just just to piss off all the people who are whining about it.
 
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