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Siri Control of HomeKit Devices While On the Go Requires Apple TV as Hub

cogitodexter said:
I'll bite.

The device doesn't really need an update. It's a low cost networked streaming device that provides 1080p output on HDMI.

It's low power and perfect to be an 'always on' hub for other household devices. It's perfectly logical for it to take on the Home Automation role since it already has the ability to have a visual interface on a device almost everyone has - i.e the TV. It also doesn't need instructions - it's pretty much plug in and go.

What else does it need to do?
Click to expand...

Bingo.
I suspect once HomeKit is all official and Apple is advertising such, we'll see them release Apple TV 4 (box). This won't piss off the Apple TV 3 users (still compliant), and give us pre-Apple TV a good reason to upgrade.

Making this a hub is pretty smart and very Apple of Apple. Another hardware requirement to navigate their ecosystem. Smart bastards.

And I do not see any reason for them to ever release an Apple-branded TV.
 
cogitodexter said:
I'll bite.

The device doesn't really need an update. It's a low cost networked streaming device that provides 1080p output on HDMI.

It's low power and perfect to be an 'always on' hub for other household devices. It's perfectly logical for it to take on the Home Automation role since it already has the ability to have a visual interface on a device almost everyone has - i.e the TV. It also doesn't need instructions - it's pretty much plug in and go.

What else does it need to do?
Click to expand...

To do that, it doesn't need much more. But even if you view it as a streaming only device, it should support ac wifi to take advantage of modern routers. There is no excuse for not having a stealth upgrade to allow that.

But I think most of us complain that Apple doesn't have to do too much more than use outdated iPhone technology (like go from the A5 chip in the current Apple TV to an A6 chip), add a bit more Ram and storage (which there is plenty of room for in the current form factor), release the most rudimentary AppKits and then the developers will take care of a lot of the rest. The AppKits might be a lot harder than I'm making it out to be. But it would not be hard to add functionality to Apple TV.

The hardware should be trivial for Apple to get out the door. At the very least they could start selling a piece of hardware that could upgrade in a year or two to the inevitable software changes.
 
i loved my 5s, but turned it in for a 6 for two main reasons. Apple Pay and HomeKit. I love Apple Pay and am excited to find new locations where I can use it (still seem to have a long way to go). I have been severly disapointed however, by the lack of rollout for HomeKit. I hope Apple gets it licensing and chips and certification figured out soon so that this can roll. I already have Hue and am looking forward to seeing how that integrates before I look for other products.

I was also disapointed to see how many products came out at CES that did not have HomeKit integration, but clearly that has to do with Apple more than with the products.
 
I've been hesitant to buy a PS4 of XBone because I think they are likely the last of the "traditional" consoles...I'm really banking on something better being right around the corner. Seeing how my current status leaves me with zero dollars for anything (let alone a PS4) - maybe, just maybe, the next ATV update will come soon enough and include at least basic console functionality (i.e. controllers, XB360 quality gaming, etc.)

If I could buy an ATV that had controllers and could play games on par with the quality of newer XB360/PS3 games, stream my Mac, and be a hub...I wouldn't even consider a new console, until they gave me a real reason to (like functionality akin to one of these: http://www.virtuix.com).
 
lowercaseperson said:
I've been hesitant to buy a PS4 of XBone because I think they are likely the last of the "traditional" consoles...I'm really banking on something better being right around the corner. Seeing how my current status leaves me with zero dollars for anything (let alone a PS4) - maybe, just maybe, the next ATV update will come soon enough and include at least basic console functionality (i.e. controllers, XB360 quality gaming, etc.)

If I could buy an ATV that had controllers and could play games on par with the quality of newer XB360/PS3 games, stream my Mac, and be a hub...I wouldn't even consider a new console, until they gave me a real reason to (like functionality akin to one of these: http://www.virtuix.com).
Click to expand...

I'm also in the same position. I've got a xBox360 gathering dust at this point because it won't handle the modern games (Titanfall was a Titanic fail on it). I don't know if I'm going to continue to console game enough to justify this generation. But I know I will continue to have an Apple TV. Actually for the couch I'd be happy with some casual gaming that a group of non-gamers could get involved in. Apple could put out hardware capable of doing that in their sleep.

Though if you like gaming the current generation is reasonable thing to buy. It probably is the last of these type of consoles. But even if it isn't, the upgrade cycle from past generations has been so long that you can be sure that no powerful console is coming out by anyone to replace the current generation for years, possibly even five years.
 
TallManNY said:
Ha. I've never hooked my Apple TV up to ethernet. WiFi is so freaking fast now, why would you need anything else for streaming video though? [...]
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing until my 3 year old ATV's wifi died. :( Glad it has ethernet now...but I suppose that's beside the point....
 
cogitodexter said:
I'll bite.

The device doesn't really need an update. It's a low cost networked streaming device that provides 1080p output on HDMI.

It's low power and perfect to be an 'always on' hub for other household devices. It's perfectly logical for it to take on the Home Automation role since it already has the ability to have a visual interface on a device almost everyone has - i.e the TV. It also doesn't need instructions - it's pretty much plug in and go.

What else does it need to do?
Click to expand...

If I have to guess, the people who complained want it to do everything including making them coffee and can only be used through complicated steps or command lines and normal users can't even use it. Basically a hack!
 
Makes a lot of sense, I guess the Apple TV acts as a server, it's always on and always accepting incoming connections on some port, allowing you to give instructions to your WiFi devices even if you're not home.
 
Bah humbug. For me, the less automation and reliance on technology, the better. No Apple pay for me and no Homekit, regardless my 6 plus.
 
I'm guessing the only reason for the Apple TV is to provide some ddns to give a form of static ip when you are outside the local network. Unless you have magic your ios device won't be able to tunnel in and do remote operations.

It's not like you can miss this step guys
 
Zxxv said:
I hope one of those isn't Phillips hue as they have said users won't need to upgrade their current hue device. I hope they aren't remaining anonymous due to releasing a new product and screwing current users.
Click to expand...

Let's hope the bulbs just require a firmware update to broadcast who they are to the homekit API. This is one of the reasons I stopped buying anything when HK was announced.

----------
alexgowers said:
I'm guessing the only reason for the Apple TV is to provide some ddns to give a form of static ip when you are outside the local network. Unless you have magic your ios device won't be able to tunnel in and do remote operations.

It's not like you can miss this step guys
Click to expand...

I hope there's an option for local mode with email alerts. I don't want Apple knowing my home activity or having access to it.

If I want remote control offsite I rather VPN in first.

People need to stop buying products that companies require outside accounts to access,

At least with Hue, my hub isn't connected to an online account. I VPN to control my bulbs.

----------
Cuban Missles said:
i loved my 5s, but turned it in for a 6 for two main reasons. Apple Pay and HomeKit. I love Apple Pay and am excited to find new locations where I can use it (still seem to have a long way to go). I have been severly disapointed however, by the lack of rollout for HomeKit. I hope Apple gets it licensing and chips and certification figured out soon so that this can roll. I already have Hue and am looking forward to seeing how that integrates before I look for other products.

I was also disapointed to see how many products came out at CES that did not have HomeKit integration, but clearly that has to do with Apple more than with the products.
Click to expand...

Apple missed the ball for partners with CES 2015. That puts apple another year behind.
 
lowercaseperson said:
I've been hesitant to buy a PS4 of XBone because I think they are likely the last of the "traditional" consoles...I'm really banking on something better being right around the corner. Seeing how my current status leaves me with zero dollars for anything (let alone a PS4) - maybe, just maybe, the next ATV update will come soon enough and include at least basic console functionality (i.e. controllers, XB360 quality gaming, etc.)

If I could buy an ATV that had controllers and could play games on par with the quality of newer XB360/PS3 games, stream my Mac, and be a hub...I wouldn't even consider a new console, until they gave me a real reason to (like functionality akin to one of these: http://www.virtuix.com).
Click to expand...

I think you're being unrealistic about ATV power. It would make a great casual gaming console and home automation hub but not much more. Even if ATV was loaded with an A9 it still couldn't compete with all the CPU, GPU and RAM in the current generation of consoles. So we're really talking about 2 completely different markets of gamers here.
 
All we need now is a next-gen Apple TV with a microphone and possibly a speaker that can accept voice commands for Siri.
 
unplugme71 said:
Let's hope the bulbs just require a firmware update to broadcast who they are to the homekit API. This is one of the reasons I stopped buying anything when HK was announced
Click to expand...

Hue team have been vocal on twitter. Sometimes saying everything will work. Then being elusive. They have assured users they won't need to buy new equipment. So many have bought the current version. If they have lied then I see some very angry customers, and i'll be one of them.

At least with Hue, my hub isn't connected to an online account. I VPN to control my bulbs.
Click to expand...

Interested how you did this as I'm not happy using an online portal where I'm monitored by phillips hue and google :)
 
cogitodexter said:
I'll bite.

The device doesn't really need an update. It's a low cost networked streaming device that provides 1080p output on HDMI.

It's low power and perfect to be an 'always on' hub for other household devices. It's perfectly logical for it to take on the Home Automation role since it already has the ability to have a visual interface on a device almost everyone has - i.e the TV. It also doesn't need instructions - it's pretty much plug in and go.

What else does it need to do?
Click to expand...

How about actually offer competitive features for its price point? You are happy paying $100 for three year old hardware?

And there's plenty it could do, were it not for Apple dragging its feet. An app store would be a perfect start. How much cash does Apple have in the bank? Sorry, even as a long-time fan, "good enough" isn't going to cut it.
 
cogitodexter said:
I'll bite.

The device doesn't really need an update. It's a low cost networked streaming device that provides 1080p output on HDMI.

It's low power and perfect to be an 'always on' hub for other household devices. It's perfectly logical for it to take on the Home Automation role since it already has the ability to have a visual interface on a device almost everyone has - i.e the TV. It also doesn't need instructions - it's pretty much plug in and go.

What else does it need to do?
Click to expand...

Apple blind fanboys will bite whatever Apple throws at them.

I hope you realize, if you are willing to settle for less, you will never get more that is innovation and better hardware.
 
tuckerjj said:
I'm not buying this rumor.

The WWDC developer video for home kit explicitly stated that home kit devices could be securly controlled via Siri both in and out of the house, and made no mention of a "home kit hub" being required.

Also home kit devices connect to the Internet (and yes, sometimes via their own hubs like with hue, which is a different matter - hue bulbs talk over zigbee not wifi so a zigbee hub is required and the Apple TV cannot be used instead) to talk to your iOS devices, so why should a "home kit hub" be required in the middle? What does it add?
Click to expand...

Actually, it adds up perfectly. The complexity of communicating with a plethora of different devices on one's home network can be greatly simplified by making the AppleTV into a HomeKit server, which I suspect is the general idea. It wouldn't be feasible to implement this in any other way. You'd have to have some way to directly communicate with each device from abroad, which would mean you'd have to custom-configure your iOS app for each device, because it can't know what devices you have on your network when you're at the airport, which the Apple TV actually can do. It's something called Bonjour or Zero-conf, which Apple makes extensive use of.
 
lowercaseperson said:
If I could buy an ATV that had controllers and could play games on par with the quality of newer XB360/PS3 games, stream my Mac, and be a hub...I wouldn't even consider a new console, until they gave me a real reason to (like functionality akin to one of these: http://www.virtuix.com).
Click to expand...

Well that thing looks pretty awesome.

I concur that unless the Xbox or PlayStation go in a different direction for next generation, the Xbox One and PS4 will probably be the last entry from Microsoft or Sony.

Nintendo, on the other hand, can probably just keep making consoles and games for them. Nintendo has a lot of franchises that they can just float on if need be for the next ~20 years between Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Yoshi, StarFox, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Pikmin, and F-Zero.

Microsoft's and Sony's consoles each have nothing but FPS games for them, but FPS games are best played on a computer. Nintendo, on the other hand, hardly makes any FPS games (just Geist on the GameCube, I think... Nintendo has never involved themselves with any other FPS, have they?) Nintendo's franchises generally are best played on Nintendo's consoles and don't generally work well on a computer.
 
Marv89 said:
Why would I want to turn off the lights when I'm at the airport?
Click to expand...

If your going away on holiday you can give the impression of being home. Or you can use timers but can override them manually, see first point.
 
Didn't recall that HomeKit was bundled in iOS 8 for AppleTV. I got surprised a second time :)
 
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