ÌÇÐÄVlog

Home Hub without Siri is useless. Fix Siri first. 

If Apple is going to produce such a product, they really need to make sure from the very start that the code, the processing and the overall speed of the thing are absolutely the best possible. If the thing performs like the current Home system it will be a flop. It has to be flawless and not yet another pseudo-beta pushed out to let users to troubleshoot for Apple. For once it would nice to see Apple (and every other giant software company) release a truly finished product.

I still don't understand why anyone would prefer to manage their lights, heating, and curtains in one central spot in a big house, instead of in the individual rooms where those things are located. I can understand managing them from a watch or a phone that one always carries around, but a central fixed hub? But what do I know.

said:

“But what do I know.”

Hmmm, think that should have been the lead? Perhaps stay in your own lane and let others run things the way they want without your criticism based on “but what do I know?” insights.

sflagel said:

I still don't understand why anyone would prefer to manage their lights, heating, and curtains in one central spot in a big house, instead of in the individual rooms where those things are located. I can understand managing them from a watch or a phone that one always carries around, but a central fixed hub? But what do I know.

It doesn't mean you can't manage them in each room, it just means that you can also manage them from a central location.

I feel that home automation is still pretty sloppy, but I do like the direction it's going. Having the home connected ultimately does lead to a centralized system that can more intelligently control rooms. For instance, if there are sensors that detect movement it can know to turn off lights and other items when the rooms are not in use. This can also be used to turn items on in an intelligent way. Then there's programming which will eventually be overtaken by a simply AI setup based on usage, which can vary from season to season.

One scenario may be that you're returning home after being gone for 2 weeks. You had already told the system to go into Vacation mode. This mot only turned off your water heater, turned of the water main, and didn't run the heat in your home unless the house got below a certain temp. Your coming home fairly late after this trip so your driveway/walkway lights have already turned off for the evening, but the system knows you are now close by so it turns these on without you having to tell it to. It also reenabled the main water shutoff valve, started the recirc on your tankless water heater, and put the house to the appropriate temp, opened the garage door when you pulled up, and of course turned on necessary lights inside.

These are things that are doable today and have been for years all while still being able to control them yourself in every room.

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I won't know if Apple's offering will be right for me, but I do look forward to where a connected home is going and I'd like a company that does better with personal information security to handle it.