Michal Marek The HomeKit platform was introduced at last year's WWDC, i.e. almost exactly a year ago, and now the first products that work within the new platform are on sale. So far, five manufacturers have entered the market with leather, and more should be added.
Apple made promises when introducing HomeKit an ecosystem full of smart devices from various manufacturers and their easy cooperation with Siri. Five manufacturers are ready to support this vision with their own products, and the first swallows are arriving on the market with the aim of co-creating a smart home according to Apple.
Devices from Insteon and Lutron are available now and ready to ship in the manufacturer's online stores. However, interested parties will have to wait until the end of July for the products of the companies escobee, Elgato and iHome.
If we look at the individual devices, we find that there is a lot to look forward to. Hub from the company Insteon, the first of the products offered, is a special adapter that allows you to remotely control the devices connected to it. Such devices can be ceiling fans, lights or even a thermostat. For Insteon Hub you pay $149.
lutron instead, he introduced a new product Cassette Wireless Lighting Starter Kit, which allows the residents of the house to remotely control individual lights in the house. For example, it is possible to ask Siri to turn off all the lights just before going to bed, and the smart software will handle everything. In addition, Siri also allows you to check if it is turned off in the basement, for example, and if it is not, simply turn it off there remotely. You will pay $230 for this smart system.
New from escobee is a smart thermostat that will arrive to early adopters on July 7. You will be able to have this product pre-order from June 23rd, at a price of $249.
Company The cat comes with an offer now four meters and sensors Eve with a different purpose. For $80, the Eve Room meter will evaluate the air quality and also measure its temperature and humidity. Eve Weather is able to measure atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity for $50. Eve Door ($40) assesses your door activity. So it records how often and how long they are open. Eve Energy ($50), the last of the four, then tracks your energy use.
The latest manufacturer to start producing devices with HomeKit support is iHome. This company should soon start selling a special plug in the socket, the purpose of which is to be similar to that of the Insteon Hub. You simply plug the iSP5 SmartPlug into a standard socket and then you can use Siri to control lamps, fans and other devices that are connected to the SmartPlug. SmartPlug boasts a capable app that allows you to divide devices into different groups and then control them with a single command.
More information about the availability of the above products in the Czech Republic is not yet known, but it is possible that they will also appear in the Czech Apple Online Store over time.
Apple TV as a central "hub" for the home
According to document, which was published on Apple's website, the Apple TV, starting with the current 3rd generation, is supposed to be a device that can be used as a kind of hub for controlling HomeKit-enabled smart home devices. Apple TV will thus be a kind of bridge between the home and your iOS device when you are out of range of your home Wi-Fi.
To control your home appliances, lights, thermostat and more, it should be enough to sign in your iPhone and Apple TV to the same Apple ID. This Apple TV capability has been anticipated for some time, and HomeKit support was added to Apple TV back in September of last year as part of a software update to version 7.0. However, the publication of this information in a new official document related to HomeKit is the first confirmation from Apple.
It has been expected for a long time that Apple will introduce a new generation of Apple TV, which will have an A8 processor, larger internal memory, new hardware driver, voice assistant Siri and even its own app store. In the end, however, it looks like the introduction of a new generation of set-top boxes postpones and it won't happen at WWDC next week.
I'm not a fan of most of it. I see only two uses in it. On the one hand, for someone who suffers from a movement problem, it can make things a lot easier for the person concerned. Then from the point of view of security (for example, a remote camera system, warning SMS about fires, etc., but this has been around for a few years).
For a healthy person, it's just another thing that promotes laziness. There are statistics that say what impact the Internet has on people's thinking, when people stop thinking for themselves and instead Google, and in this direction, in addition to the brain, people also stop using their legs and hands...
PS: who doesn't know :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CQA3X-qNgA
lookassakool: you are right, when you write "people stop thinking for themselves", it shows the decline of thinking...
Hope you don't have nightmares :)