Your Smart Home Doesn't Have to Be This Dumb
I’m standing next to the bed, in the dark.1
Just need to flip the bedside lamps on, get my workout clothes ready for the morning, and call it a day.
But it seems Siri already went to sleep.
My requests to turn the lamps on go unheeded. I pull my iPhone out of my pocket. Open the Home app and tap the button to turn on the lights.
Nothing.
Just darkness. Sadness. Ineptitude.
Of course, I can just turn the lamp switch on. Except, no. I cannot. The “smart” bulbs override the switch.
I use the iPhone flashlight to find my tank top and shorts and fall into bed, wondering how smart homes can make life seem so dumb.
And yet, when the tech works, it can feel like magic. Like when the garage door yawns awake as you pull in the driveway. Or a warm and low light coming on when you step into the bathroom at night.
Good smart home technology removes friction. The house adjusts to you.
That “good” version—simple tech and automations that just work—2might be closer than many realize. AI will make products and automations easier to set up and use, and Apple, with new CEO John Ternus taking over in September, is poised to strengthen the Apple Home platform and products.
Google, Apple, and Amazon are all want to be your smart home platform. I’m placing my bet with Apple.
If you already have iPhones, Macs, and an Apple TV, you’ll find that Apple Home controls and alerts work very nicely with your existing devices. You have the control and communication hardware, and are comfortable using it.
Apple’s platform runs locally through an Apple TV or HomePod hub. That’s fewer trips to the cloud, one less point of failure, and a more secure and private experience, by design. And Apple Home is designed on the open communication standard Thread and the instruction layer Matter. That means setup and operations are simpler. Less fiddling, more “it just works.”3
Finally, once Apple ships something, they tend to support it for a long time. Google, not so much. Google is notorious for pulling the plug on services--even popular ones.
Of course, there are downsides to Apple Home. That commitment to privacy means additional hoops and expense for third party lights, locks, cameras, and other hardware to work with Apple Home, so there are fewer options. Apple is rarely first to innovate in any space, so Google and Amazon get the bleeding edge stuff first.
And Siri, well, Siri is way behind. But later this year, a new Siri is coming that will be powered by other leading AI platforms. This should help Home catch up.
I’ll take those tradeoffs.
Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference is next week, and we should see announcements about Apple Home and possibly some new products, like an updated HomePod Mini.4
I’m optimistic about the smart home’s future, and Apple will have the best mix of privacy and simplicity to help homeowners get comfortable with the space.
Pretty soon, we may not even need a flashlight to find our workout gear.
Not in a hockey mask with a butcher knife or anything. Just trying not to bang my shin on the bed frame.
Em dashes! No, AI didn’t write this. I like em dashes.
The lights actually come on.
Underrated product in my opinion. But we may not see the new speaker until iOS 27 launches in September.
You are ahead of me. I had a number of not-so-smart Wemo switches that were abruptly bricked. Same with a house full of Bose Sound Touch speakers. I have spent a lot of time and money this month on current, high(er) tech replacements.
Interesting article on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal declaring that Siri is the dumbest of the lot, but encouraging that this should be viewed as an opportunity,
Hah! I could totally relate to this, Matt. Worst is waking up in the middle of the night and whispering, “Siri, lights on to 10%.” Then Siri blares out at full volume: “Sorry, I didn't catch that. Did you mean ______ room?” 😂 😂 I, too, am looking forward to seeing what Ternus will do.