At some point, just walking from one room into another to flip the fewkin’ light switch becomes easier, does it not???
I’m playing with that as a hobby, I know the amount of time I spend fiddling with making lights work “just so” will never be repaid by the time I spend not having to fiddle with light switches like an animal.
Besides, I’m actually well past the light switch phase, I can already shout at my wrist to make things happen!
(really my only day to day issue with HomeKit is my bedside light is set to 6% when I use it in the morning (because that is what I want), and nothing sets it back to 100% when I want to use it later in the day…well that and I would like some lights in the backyard, but that isn’t a HK issue, it is a “no 110v power outlet” issue)
I haven’t read the full article yet but that excerpt is confusing. Why would the author complain about Apple not allowing billions of shitty, insecure devices (that he loves to point out are shitty and insecure) to operate on their home automation platform?
And furthermore why does he think this whole system falls apart if you switch to an Android cell phone? Can’t you just continue using your iPhone as the computer that controls your home automaton system? Or buy a cheap iPad?
I think this person needs to go back to snarky tweets.
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Global toast preferences. If you’re at a friend’s or a restaurant, the toast will be just right.
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It’s the Internet of Toast we all dream of!
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shoot me already
Has the Toast Marketing Board weighed in on this yet?
Allow me to join the chorus of commenters pointing out that the headline and the contents don’t match and that once again @doctorow seems to be fussing over a non-point.
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This ones a little hard to get behind. By this logic other walled garden Apple products like macs and iPhones would be security nightmares too, right? Only the opposite is true. Far more likely to get software updates for your three year old iPhone than your three year old anything else.
I don’t own any HomeKit devices but I do own two airplay enabled devices, and guess what? They aren’t exclusively airplay only. AFAIK very few HomeKit devices are either, because Apple doesnt require exclusivity.
Instead, I have devices connected to my home network where I almost certainly don’t have to worry about security - they’ll get quick patches for issues, and be required to remain at Apple security standards.
Yes, I have less choice. But isn’t one of the big issues with IOT the fact that so many devices are out there that are essentially abandoned after release anyway? How is that better?
Sorry. I don’t see it.
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Pretty much my take-away too.
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Platform lock-in. Nope. As you said, devices can be compatible with as many platforms as they like. eg, Philips Hue works fine with homekit, Alexa, Google Home, and Smartthings. That’s not what lock-in looks like.
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“useless sea of icons that’s difficult to navigate or search”. If you click “include in favourites” on every device, your homescreen does get a bit messy. So don’t do that.
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Requiring a hub for remote access. This is a feature, not a bug. When we keep saying our fridge shouldn’t be connected to the internet, this is how it’s done. All remote access is via a hub you trust to get regular updates, instead of exposing the fridge.
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The appletv being $150 - prices here are €60 for the amazon echo ‘dot’, €180 for the regular amazon echo, €180 for the appletv, €200 for google home, and €240 for the smartthings hub. Amazon should win this round, except their ‘echo’ products aren’t available in my country. I have no idea why the smartthings hub costs literally twice what it does in the US, but for me he’s chosen a very poor example.
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“ignores all previous work done to standardize the Internet of Things”. What standardization? For a device mffr, homekit, luxeon, alexa, google home, and smartthings all have to be implemented separately. Why don’t we hate on Google, Samsung or Amazon for not creating standards? because Apple = clicks.
All I can really take away from this is that he’s applauding their stance on security, while complaining that they won’t work with any devices that either lack or predate said security. Something about cake and eating it.
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Yep.
Building on what bobtato said upthread…My house has no things that cost more than I thought they were worth, or that put my privacy at risk.
That’s because I did not buy anything like that.
As a result, I’m reasonably contented with what I own.
Yes. But other use cases exist. Me, I’m not a morning person. I’ll press snooze for an hour and a half without realizing it sometimes.
So while I don’t need automation just to turn lights on and off, scheduling my bedside lamp has dramatically improved my morning routine. First world problem, to be sure, but one I’d never been able to solve before.
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“Apple has the most elegant interface that no one can break, so stop breaking it.”
One of the most useful features…being able to have my morning lights turn on specifically at the dawn over the course of an hour, all the while having my blackout curtains (which also are sound dampening) keep all other light out.
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In cases like these, are we allowed to respond like this:
EDIT respond to the top post and yes there is a typo there… Consider it a beta image…
This type of thing has been available for decades
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Yes, I’m aware of those. But it’s never been very convenient, had a fixed schedule, and so I hated using them. They weren’t a good solution for me. Modern home automation gadgets, it turns out, are.
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I thought they walked the lock-in back after the (justifiable) firestorm of criticism. Or did they bring back the lock-in once they thought nobody was looking?
Not so true – Many, if not most, of the HomeKit-compatible accessories also support other platforms, like Android.
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