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QuiteSure

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 20, 2002
542
121
Forgetting about new hardware, (although a new AppleTV fits into my thoughts), with the launch of Apple Watch and the recent launch of HomeKit (and possibly releasing APIs for the Watch), I'm wondering if WWDC 2015 will finally be the event for Apple to bring together a complete solution for automating the home. Using the Watch and/or Siri to arm alarms, set thermostats, lock/unlock doors, turn on/off lights, change the channel, etc., seems finally possible. If I was an Apple Developer right now I'd be incredibly excited. :apple:
 
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While home automation would be great, I think a good platform has already been implemented with HomeKit and now it's up to hardware manufacturers to begin integrating it. There's not a great deal more Apple can do apart from pushing it to more appliance manufacturers.

From a developer's point of view, I think most agree that it'd be nice to be able to build apps for the Watch which run natively without the need for an iPhone. I doubt we'll see that in June as it seems a bit early - maybe later in the Autumn with iOS 9.X and the 6S. I'd also like to see a better way of handling files on iOS. Not necessarily a full file system, but the system of not being able to open files unless you have a compatible app installed, no one area for files to go seems a bit silly. I think it was fine three or four years ago, but the iPhone has matured since then and it's plain to see that Apple think of it as more than a phone and an iPod now. iCloud Drive was a good start but you still can't access that outside of an app.

However, my biggest wish as a developer (and a consumer!) is access to Siri APIs for third party apps. Personally, Siri still hasn't gone past setting alarms and reminders for me. Imagine if you could use it to play Spotify, to buy something from Amazon, to control your TV and thermostat, to look something up on YouTube, to get sports results (I know Siri ostensibly does this already, but third party apps would let it get results from sports like rugby and lower-league football which it doesn't currently support), to check your balance on your current account, to get bus times and bus stop locations. The possibilities are endless, and it's one feature I think is criminally neglected by Apple.

iOS 9 would be a great time to introduce a revamped Siri, especially with one of the few visual changes rumoured to be a new Siri interface reminiscent of the Apple Watch.
 
While home automation would be great, I think a good platform has already been implemented with HomeKit and now it's up to hardware manufacturers to begin integrating it. There's not a great deal more Apple can do apart from pushing it to more appliance manufacturers.

From a developer's point of view, I think most agree that it'd be nice to be able to build apps for the Watch which run natively without the need for an iPhone. I doubt we'll see that in June as it seems a bit early - maybe later in the Autumn with iOS 9.X and the 6S. I'd also like to see a better way of handling files on iOS. Not necessarily a full file system, but the system of not being able to open files unless you have a compatible app installed, no one area for files to go seems a bit silly. I think it was fine three or four years ago, but the iPhone has matured since then and it's plain to see that Apple think of it as more than a phone and an iPod now. iCloud Drive was a good start but you still can't access that outside of an app.

However, my biggest wish as a developer (and a consumer!) is access to Siri APIs for third party apps. Personally, Siri still hasn't gone past setting alarms and reminders for me. Imagine if you could use it to play Spotify, to buy something from Amazon, to control your TV and thermostat, to look something up on YouTube, to get sports results (I know Siri ostensibly does this already, but third party apps would let it get results from sports like rugby and lower-league football which it doesn't currently support), to check your balance on your current account, to get bus times and bus stop locations. The possibilities are endless, and it's one feature I think is criminally neglected by Apple.

iOS 9 would be a great time to introduce a revamped Siri, especially with one of the few visual changes rumoured to be a new Siri interface reminiscent of the Apple Watch.

Great comment. Yes, Siri APIs for third party apps would make a big difference in the usability of that service for iOS, and seems fairly necessary if we are to use Siri to control appliances around the home.
 
While home automation would be great, I think a good platform has already been implemented with HomeKit and now it's up to hardware manufacturers to begin integrating it. There's not a great deal more Apple can do apart from pushing it to more appliance manufacturers.

From a developer's point of view, I think most agree that it'd be nice to be able to build apps for the Watch which run natively without the need for an iPhone. I doubt we'll see that in June as it seems a bit early - maybe later in the Autumn with iOS 9.X and the 6S. I'd also like to see a better way of handling files on iOS. Not necessarily a full file system, but the system of not being able to open files unless you have a compatible app installed, no one area for files to go seems a bit silly. I think it was fine three or four years ago, but the iPhone has matured since then and it's plain to see that Apple think of it as more than a phone and an iPod now. iCloud Drive was a good start but you still can't access that outside of an app.

However, my biggest wish as a developer (and a consumer!) is access to Siri APIs for third party apps. Personally, Siri still hasn't gone past setting alarms and reminders for me. Imagine if you could use it to play Spotify, to buy something from Amazon, to control your TV and thermostat, to look something up on YouTube, to get sports results (I know Siri ostensibly does this already, but third party apps would let it get results from sports like rugby and lower-league football which it doesn't currently support), to check your balance on your current account, to get bus times and bus stop locations. The possibilities are endless, and it's one feature I think is criminally neglected by Apple.

iOS 9 would be a great time to introduce a revamped Siri, especially with one of the few visual changes rumoured to be a new Siri interface reminiscent of the Apple Watch.

This would be hard, because Siri needs a voice. Unless she says something basic like "Processing.." or "Fulfilling request.." then I don't think we will see anything anytime soon.
 
This would be hard, because Siri needs a voice. Unless she says something basic like "Processing.." or "Fulfilling request.." then I don't think we will see anything anytime soon.

I was speaking more generally about Siri as opposed to just on the Watch. I don't really think asking Siri to do something with a third party app is much different from the time it takes to set a timer or pull data from Wikipedia/WolframAlpha which it does already.

But alternatively: an option to give Siri a voice in Watch OS 1.1 :D
 
Hope we get access to the gyroscope and accelermator with the WatchKit
 
I guess we'll have to wait

Macrumors just dashed my hopes for a Homekit release at WWDC.I guess I'll have to keep using my key to unlock my front door. :confused:
 
I'm very excited to see a native app SDK and Watch faces.

The latter is questionable, but I don't think Apple could go as long without custom watch faces as they made me wait for damn custom ringtones (which it looks like we're waiting for here, too :p).
 
I'm very excited to see a native app SDK and Watch faces.

The latter is questionable, but I don't think Apple could go as long without custom watch faces as they made me wait for damn custom ringtones (which it looks like we're waiting for here, too :p).

I've only had my watch 4 days and I'm ready for a new face.

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I've only had my watch 4 days and I'm ready for a new face.

That totally came out wrong.
 
I haven't dug that much into the SDK, but I'm not a fan of how only Apple Glances can have user interaction. I'd love to be able to make standalone Glances that the user can interact with. Also, I want to make watch faces.

I don't see either of those things coming to WWDC 15, so record my reaction as "meh" from the developer perspective. Loving the watch though.
 
Is that any good?Do you have it?

Yea i have had it for almost 2 years. Works great the only down side was i had to buy my daughter a newer phone cause her iPhone 4 wouldn't work with it. Also I love being able to send a key to a friend so they can get into my house then remove them so they can't get in anytime after that or you can just disable it but i delete.

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I wonder if the new apple TV casing will be redesigned.
 
While home automation would be great, I think a good platform has already been implemented with HomeKit and now it's up to hardware manufacturers to begin integrating it. There's not a great deal more Apple can do apart from pushing it to more appliance manufacturers.

Well I've looked into HomeKit in details including the dev docs, I'm not sure you understand what it is.

It is not a platform, let alone a good platform. It isn't like homekit or carplay etc. It's not a centralized system.

If you are a hardware company and you made your hardware compatible with homekit all that means is that you can control the hardware from some common iOS provided API. But for the end user, this means nothing. There's no centralized app to do so. There's no centralized device.

If 10 hardware companies made devices that work with homekit, your end user experience isn't going to improve one bit. You will still have 10 different apps to control 10 different things. Sure, if these companies are incentivize to work with each other, homekit api might become useful. But the market isn't interested in doing that. And it's not clear who would partner with who.

I suspect the new apple tv will act as a smart home hub, because otherwise homekit is a complete joke.
 
I haven't dug that much into the SDK, but I'm not a fan of how only Apple Glances can have user interaction. I'd love to be able to make standalone Glances that the user can interact with. Also, I want to make watch faces.

I don't see either of those things coming to WWDC 15, so record my reaction as "meh" from the developer perspective. Loving the watch though.

Your app can have a watch app, which is exactly that! My workout app I'm in the process of developing uses that. So I don't do a glance at all, but you can define layouts and code them to do stuff via the extension. It's actually quite powerful, people keep on downplaying it but it's really really usable.

I hope for (obviously) more watch options! If developers could tap into the accelerometer data could you imagine how many amazing apps for athletics and sports there would be?! As well as things like seizure detection, and other medical stuff too.

I would like to see NFC opened also. I think we're about ready for it. If apple opened up NFC, that market on the hardware side would just go crazy. You could unlock your car, house, computer, etc with it all and the possibilities are almost endless.

I can't wait to see!
 
Well I've looked into HomeKit in details including the dev docs, I'm not sure you understand what it is.

It is not a platform, let alone a good platform. It isn't like homekit or carplay etc. It's not a centralized system.

If you are a hardware company and you made your hardware compatible with homekit all that means is that you can control the hardware from some common iOS provided API. But for the end user, this means nothing. There's no centralized app to do so. There's no centralized device.

If 10 hardware companies made devices that work with homekit, your end user experience isn't going to improve one bit. You will still have 10 different apps to control 10 different things. Sure, if these companies are incentivize to work with each other, homekit api might become useful. But the market isn't interested in doing that. And it's not clear who would partner with who.

I suspect the new apple tv will act as a smart home hub, because otherwise homekit is a complete joke.

Seems a tad contradictory...

Anyway, by a platform, I meant a set of APIs are currently available.The HomeKit APIs are already in place (well, they're still pre-release) and developers can build apps integrating the HomeKit technology: https://developer.apple.com/library...omeKit/Reference/HomeKit_Framework/index.html

While it's true that - at the moment - the end user experience won't change much, if at all, the software is there. It's just up to Apple to come up with a way to tie it together.

Maybe I misread what the OP meant. I don't think, for now, improving the developer-end of HomeKit is what is needed. They need to improve (well, create) the user-end, be it in an app and a new Apple TV or some HomeKit specific device.
 
Do you think that we will see any updates for icloud drive? I would love a trash can that worked the same way as photos icloud. :cool:
 
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