The Best Apple Related Accessories at CES 2018

[danpass]

That Philips stuff is pricey but it works nicely.

Also works with Xfinity Home. (I have the alarm setup)

 

[wilsonlaidlaw]

Is it just me that sees the majority of Homekit devices to be the answers to questions or requirements nobody is asking or requesting. Voice control of shower - really? What is the problem with turning a knob. Multi coloured lighting - sorry not living in a night club. Homekit door lock. I find a modern secure Abus or Ingersoll key and deadlock works pretty well and cannot be hacked by crooks or suffer from a flat battery.......and so on.

 

[Amiriteoramirite]

This column gives a far better explanation than I could ever come up with on why I stopped attending the CES.

 

[truthertech]

I just wish that Hue would come up with a controllable outlet plug. I have Hue lights working great, but there are just a few things that would be nice to control with my Hue bridge and the app, like christmas lights and a tabletop lamp.

I do not want to bother with HomeKit, because I need to buy a stupid AppleTV to be the hub? wtf... Why can't a Mac be the hub as well, I have a 24/7 running Mac mini.

You don't need an Apple TV to use HomeKit! It works with any iPhone, iPad, etc.

 

[HiVolt]

You don't need an Apple TV to use HomeKit! It works with any iPhone, iPad, etc.

Correct, but can only control your stuff locally but can't see the status or control your devices when out of the house, and without a homekit hub you cannot create schedules.

 

[Nunyabinez]

It's too bad that they are assuming that Apple fans are not in the Echo world.

I bought one Echo Dot before Christmas and now I have six.

The ability of Alexa to control smart devices blows HomeKit and particularly Siri out of the water.

When I buy smart light switches and outlets, all I have to do is teach Alexa a new skill.

With HomeKit, more often than not, I have to buy a whole frikken' hub.

I bought a Chamberlain garage door opener so that I could use it with HomeKit. Only HomeKit fails about 80% of the time. I say "Hey Siri, open the garage door." Half the time nothing happens and I have to open the Smart Q app and the other half of the time Siri says "The garage door doesn't seem to be responding." But the garage door is already in the process of opening.

I really wanted to be a HomeKit guy, but it is more expensive and mostly doesn't work.
[doublepost=1515793040][/doublepost]

DEAR $DEITY, WHY!?!?! Wouldn't a motion sensor...
Oh, okay. That actually makes sense.

Yeah, that was my thought process as I was reading it. WTF would you use Siri to turn a water faucet on and off, when a motion sensor (in addition to an actual handle) makes a lot more sense. I mean, that brand already has motion sensor and "tap-sensor" faucets. Siri for on/off seemed ridiculous. Then I got to the part about dispensing set amounts ("of liquid"? How about just "of water"?) *THAT* makes sense, if it's reasonably precise. "Siri, pour me half a gallon of water," if it gives pretty close to an actual half gallon, would be great. "Siri, pour me 2 ounces of water" with enough accuracy that it's not going to ruin a recipe by giving you 3 ounces would be awesome.

Based on my experience with HomeKit here is what would happen: I say "Hey Siri, turn on the faucet" Siri says, "hmm, something seems to have gone wrong." I set down what is in my hands to manually turn it on and as I reach for the knob the water turns on and Siri says: "I wasn't able to do that. Please try later."

 

[BlargKing]

Actually i can see these "hands-free, voice controlled faucets" being helpful to the physically disabled.

I'll agree with that. But they're straight up advertising this to the general public which is pretty dumb.
[doublepost=1515807069][/doublepost]

I was actually very interested in this. Main application = Saving water. Second= Saving time.

You don't need to stay at the faucet and wait until water reaches the line you need in a measuring cup. You can put the receptacle under the faucet. Command a liter of water and do something else while the faucet fills it up.

For the shower, you can turn it off while applying soap or shampoo and turn it on, at exactly the temperature you desire, to rinse even with your eyes closed.

I think it's brilliant.

But you could achieve those functions without the need for the frivolous voice controls and "smart" integration.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Based on my experience with HomeKit here is what would happen: I say "Hey Siri, turn on the faucet" Siri says, "hmm, something seems to have gone wrong." I set down what is in my hands to manually turn it on and as I reach for the knob the water turns on and Siri says: "I wasn't able to do that. Please try later."

What's funny is Siri HomeKit works perfectly from my phone, but my Apple Watch seems to take about a minute and a half to process any HomeKit requests. Every other Siri request is perfectly fast. But "turn off the lights?" takes forever.

 

[kruegdude]

People who think voice-controlled smart everything/anything is the fyootcher.

Watch for:

smart can-openers - they not only open the cans, they read the labels and add calories, keep track of nutritional information. So you don't have to.
"Ok Proctor-Silex, open my can of tuna."
"Ok Dave, your tuna will be opened, but first, It has 90 calories, 15 grams of protein, and you should be concerned about your mercury levels."
"just open the damn can, Proctor-Silex"
"Ok Dave, we're slowing the main fan."

also,

smart bbq grill lighters - they light the fire while cautioning you against the dangers of char-grilled meats
smart wall paint - it tells you when its dirty and needs to be repainted
smart litter boxes - tell you when the litter smells
smart paper towels - tell you when a towel sheet has become saturated and you need to select a new sheet
smart grass - it yells at the neighbor kids and tells them to get off of it

I’d buy the smart grass! lol

 

[Tech198]

The automated faucet looks interesting and so do the hand held Osmo hand hand mobile mount, or the Hyperdrive (8-1 USB-C*also* changing your iPhone). I guess with an adapter u can do this to USB computers as well.

power charging in the sleeve is all good, and more convenient than anything, but it would add to the weight which i think people would favor.
This would be only good for those eon long trips.. For example i don't bother taking my adapter with me anymore as i make sure my Macbook Pro is charged before i leave.

 

[charlituna]

Heck... how about Hue Christmas Lights that can change color and run patterns! Probably ridiculously expensive but could be fun.

There are already apps that do this. Although it sounds like they are trying to go native with it.

What i’m curious about is how their ‘entertainment’ thing works. I think it would be great if it was something where content providers could put the controls into the content via maybe a ‘hidden’ audio track which would be heard by the standard app set in ‘listen’ mode. Syfy did their own sync app for a few shows but if they stop supporting it bye bye goes the fun.
[doublepost=1515963006][/doublepost]

The automated faucet looks interesting

I’d be interested in those if they can be preset for a ‘kids safe mode’ so that no matter how high Junior turns the knobs or even if he turns hot rather than cold, he can’t make a mess or burn himself.

 

[Alan Wynn]

I agree, why would you bother programming a faucet to pour 12ounces of water?

Enabling voice control so that one would not need a measuring cup for water would be very convenient. "Dispense 6oz of water" into my pot, rather than needing to grab a measuring cup and turn on the faucet, measure, add or subtract a bit, etc., not a requirement, but a nice option for people who cook.

The shower thing cracked me up as well.

Would be nice to be able to start my shower while I was still in bed and be notified when it was at the right temperature.

If we are the tech elite (Consumers) and we laugh at this who exactly is their market suppose to be?

There are many people who like control and are not on here.