“Tucked in the middle of Apple’s WWDC presentation this week was a series of updates meant to bolster Apple’s smart home efforts, which revolve around software called HomeKit,” John Patrick Pullen writes for TIME Magazine. “But over the past year, a triad of market forces — Apple’s goals, competition from rivals like Amazon and Google, and consumers’ needs — have been pushing the smart home around like a Ouija’s planchette. So what is the future for the smart home? As with the Ouija, the answer may depend on who pushes the hardest.”
“Apple’s biggest announcement around smart home technology was the unveiling of a new ‘Home’ app, to be included in a forthcoming iPhone update,” Pullen writes. “A control center linking together all of a user’s HomeKit-compatible devices, Home’s capabilities had previously been sprinkled around between the iOS Settings screen and individual device’s apps.”
“Apple’s new Home app should let you turn down your thermostat in the same place you turn on your lights. It’s a step in the right direction, especially when programming what Apple calls “scenes,” or favorite settings for given devices and given situations,” Pullen writes. “(Dimming the lights for movie night, say.) In fact, it’s remarkable people like me tried to embrace the smart home before a solution like this existed.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, it is remarkable. But, John is an early adopter.
Home automation is actually in the first seconds at the start of the game, so there’s no need to toss up a Hail Mary. Apple just needs to take charge and grow this thing up, which is exactly what they’re doing with the Home app.