Apple’s ambitious plan to automate our homes is not that blingy. The first day of this “innovative” plan has been very rough. Apple’s latest plan HomeKit is supposed to help iPhones run lights, thermostats and all sorts of other appliances that can now connect to the Internet. It converts voice-assistant Siri into a genie who makes things happen around the house on every voice commands.
The idea seemed amazing on papers, but unfortunately, Siri just isn’t very reliable. When someone says turn on the air filter, then instead of following the command, Siri presents a list of stores where one can buy the air filter. She cannot even follow a simple instruction like turning on the lights. When asked, she sometimes oblige and other times says, “Sorry”.
Apple is trying to do something very hard—and very important—with HomeKit. Maybe Apple still can pull that off, but this first public showing is very unprimitive. Apple is trying to achieve something which is very difficult at this stage. Simplifying the smart home is so complicated, it’s still years away.
Those who are craving for this smart-home life are going to have to buy new stuff. Also, all the devices may not be compatible with the system, it needs to have the HomeKit logo. That’s mainly because of the high security and privacy bars the company sets: It requires encryption so that even a hacker sneaking onto your home network couldn’t mess with your appliances.
Irrespective of choice of appliances, one piece of hardware a $69 Apple TV is must. It serves as a secure bridge from your iPhone back into the house. But, there is no home app in iOS 8 like the Health one that helps iPhones track fitness devices. Instead, all the setup happens inside apps made by other people.
Apple has a long way to go when it comes to bringing the concept of smart homes into reality. As of now, it needs a lot of improvements.
The iPhone Help
The iPhone Help