“Apple announced its smart-home control system, HomeKit, in 2014 at its annual developers conference. It started enabling it in iOS in mid 2015 and had a more complete rollout later that year,” Glenn Fleishman writes for TechHive. “With iOS 10 in September 2016, HomeKit finally got its own app and better integration.”
“But HomeKit remains an immature technology with few choices even for diehard Apple equipment owners,” Fleishman writes. “This was emphasized at CES, a trade show at which Apple never exhibits, but where products from third parties aimed at the ecosystem often get their debut. For HomeKit, it was mostly crickets. Amazon’s Alexa ruled the roost, with a large number of integrations with third parties, extending its voice-controlled system.”
“This is certainly part of a larger sense of malaise across all smart home systems. While the promise remains immense, multiple competing, incompatible ecosystems that include a lot of products from startup companies seem to have stalled a lot of innovation and even reductions in cost,” Fleishman writes. “In that context, however, HomeKit still remains behind. ”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Nothing is as secure as Apple HomeKit. No even close. And home automation is still in its infancy (gestation is more like it). Apple has plenty of time to really get things going here. Teaming with large homebuilders might be the smartest path right now and it’s a path Apple is already on with leading home builders, including Brookfield Residential, KB Home, Lennar Homes and R&F Properties, now integrating many HomeKit devices into new homes.
SEE ALSO:
How to configure your 4th-gen Apple TV as a HomeKit hub – January 10, 2017
The best products for building a smart home with Apple’s HomeKit – November 10, 2016
DDoS attack: Apple’s HomeKit for a safer smarthome – October 24, 2016
Honeywell unveils Apple HomeKit-compatible Lyric T5 Wi-Fi thermostat – September 27, 2016
Google’s flaky Nest thermostat shakes users’ trust in the Internet of Things – January 19, 2016
Google’s Nest thermostat bug leaves users cold, angry – January 14, 2016
Honeywell announces ‘Lyric Round’ smart thermostat with Apple HomeKit integration – January 5, 2016
Apple HomeKit-compatible thermostat Ecobee closes in on Google’s Nest – September 28, 2015
Apple pulls Google’s Nest thermostat from stores with launch of HomeKit-compatible Ecobee 3 – July 23, 2015
First Apple-certified HomeKit-compliant devices launch – June 2, 2015
Google engineer trashes Tony Fadell’s precious Nest smoke alarm – February 19, 2015
With HomeKit and Honeywell’s Lyric, a Nest acquisition by Apple would have been foolish – June 18, 2014
Will Apple’s Internet of Things vision hurt a beautiful idea? With HomeKit, Apple promises easy home automation – June 6, 2014
Smart thermostat war heats up as Apple-partner Honeywell takes aim at Google’s Nest – June 13, 2014
Honeywell takes dead aim at Google’s Nest with new iPhone-compatible Lyric smart thermostat – June 10, 2014
Google to SEC: We could serve ads on thermostats, refrigerators, car dashboards, and more – May 21, 2014
Dead to me: Apple’s Schiller ‘unfollows’ Tony Fadell and Nest after Google acquisition – January 18, 2014
I agree with MDN’s take except for the “Apple has plenty of time” part.
The sooner Apple’s new space ship campus gets built and moved into the better. No more distractions.
Perhaps this result is the ‘Halo effect’ of having a compatible voice assistant for the job. Alexa has the image of not really being tied down to a particular device with primary use being more ‘speak to the air’ vs Siri’s “talk to your hand”. Also Alexa’s API for 3rd parties allowing creation of new ‘skills’ seems to help in its broad appeal.
This is Apple getting its ass kicked by Amazon. So, lets tally the score, shall we? Apple TV: Loss. HomeKit: Loss. Cloud: Loss. Apple watch & phone: Win. Apple computer, looking like they gave up. Apple Laptops and Pads: Win. Looks troubling to me.
live it – sign it – https://www.change.org/p/apple-board-of-directors-remove-tim-cook-as-ceo-of-apple
Amazon the company without profits isn’t ahead of anyone.
Amazon seems to be a much better stock investment at the moment vs Apple.
As I have been saying the past few months, I question if a guy like Tim can handle expanding in newer markets like this. He fails at just keeping the current products up to date and cycling them, it makes me think he will fail here too. I just am not a fan of Tim anymore as a CEO and it pains me that myself and a bunch on this site could make more effective decisions on how to manage Apple. Tim is so disconnected with Apple’s users, that it pains me. I will preach this until he is removed –
https://www.change.org/p/apple-board-of-directors-remove-tim-cook-as-ceo-of-apple
The Mac Pro is lags, too.
All the lags.
I like Homekit but I wish it would work all the time. It’s getting better but there are still times that a device is unresponsive. Most annoying.
They should have made it compatible to the 2 standards, zwave & zigbee
Another apple hobby that will be dropped in the future. Apple should support All the protocols and call it a day. Businesses want their products to interstate with as many people as possible. Duh the want to sell more. Home kit is by far the buggiest of all the control apps.