Smart Homes currently as bad as Smart Watches.
I'm just not sure how people don't get it. Smart Devices, of any category, aren't truly a widespread device category. Smart Phones don't count. They aren't really trying to do the sorts of things IoT and other Smart devices are trying to do. In some sense, you could say one category or the other mis-leadingly named. Presently, I would say that the other smart devices are the ones which don't deserve the moniker. The devices themselves generally aren't the "smart" bit. It is often a hub, or even your smart phone which handles the smart aspect.
Not to imply that the two are completely disparate in any sense. The pervasiveness and portability of Smart Phones means that they are one of the most likely interim candidates as your proxy within the Smart Home or World. But that is another topic.
The problem with Smart Devices is API support. Very few devices have open API's and even fewer have common/shared API's. I'm sorry people, but this is what is needed. HomeKit and Nest are proprietary, though their accelerating support is encouraging. AllJoyn seems promising, but doesn't have enough traction. But, even when you get to the heart of that you still often end up with devices that are too heavily regulated.
And thus we get to the impetus for this article. I was looking into Smart Locks for my house. We have remote keyless entry on our car, and it is a beautiful thing. But, the beauty ends once we leave or return home. I can unlock the doors, turn on, or even open the tailgate without ever fumbling for my keys. But when I need to lock or unlock the house I suddenly have to go digging. Odd the way that a "dumb" house can ruin the experience from a "smart" car. But, there it is.
So, what did I find when I went looking? Despite being around for a few years now, the industry for Smart Locks generally sucks massively. I don't think I saw a single one with open API's which meant smart phone support was effectively locked to Android and iOS and any short comings were terminal. Now, OS support doesn't affect most people. 90%+ of all phones are iOS or Android. But every lock had a myriad of complaints. And, due to the closed nature, these things aren't addressable in any fashion regardless of using iOS or Android.
This matters because something like a Smart Lock is never going to be "smart" by way of running apps. It's smarts need to come from the apps which drive it. But, if there is only one app capable of interacting with the device it is really not a smart device at all. It is just a more fully featured and electronic lock.
The same is true in most "smart" device categories. Even smart lights are terrible for this. The Hue lineup is the one exception. And, lo-and-behold, as a result someone has created a rather fully features UWP app! But, more to the point, I, or anyone else, could write their own. Would be better if it used some common, shared standard.
Ideally, smart devices need to expose all of the same functionality that the manufacturer uses along with some meaningful level of access to sensors, if any, and do all of these things via an open API.
This is important because devices tend to support undesired functionality or not include functionality which the devices are technically capable of supporting. Also, no one manufacturer at the moment personally delivers on all Smart Device categories and even less of a guarantee that a single vendor has the exact products you want to incorporate into your smart home. Supporting HomeKit and/or Nest is a step backwards in my opinion as those are OS specific. Advances in this direction just further entrench the category in this fashion which is actually a threat to it ever truly taking off let alone being a consumer friendly solution.
Not to imply that the two are completely disparate in any sense. The pervasiveness and portability of Smart Phones means that they are one of the most likely interim candidates as your proxy within the Smart Home or World. But that is another topic.
The problem with Smart Devices is API support. Very few devices have open API's and even fewer have common/shared API's. I'm sorry people, but this is what is needed. HomeKit and Nest are proprietary, though their accelerating support is encouraging. AllJoyn seems promising, but doesn't have enough traction. But, even when you get to the heart of that you still often end up with devices that are too heavily regulated.
And thus we get to the impetus for this article. I was looking into Smart Locks for my house. We have remote keyless entry on our car, and it is a beautiful thing. But, the beauty ends once we leave or return home. I can unlock the doors, turn on, or even open the tailgate without ever fumbling for my keys. But when I need to lock or unlock the house I suddenly have to go digging. Odd the way that a "dumb" house can ruin the experience from a "smart" car. But, there it is.
So, what did I find when I went looking? Despite being around for a few years now, the industry for Smart Locks generally sucks massively. I don't think I saw a single one with open API's which meant smart phone support was effectively locked to Android and iOS and any short comings were terminal. Now, OS support doesn't affect most people. 90%+ of all phones are iOS or Android. But every lock had a myriad of complaints. And, due to the closed nature, these things aren't addressable in any fashion regardless of using iOS or Android.
This matters because something like a Smart Lock is never going to be "smart" by way of running apps. It's smarts need to come from the apps which drive it. But, if there is only one app capable of interacting with the device it is really not a smart device at all. It is just a more fully featured and electronic lock.
The same is true in most "smart" device categories. Even smart lights are terrible for this. The Hue lineup is the one exception. And, lo-and-behold, as a result someone has created a rather fully features UWP app! But, more to the point, I, or anyone else, could write their own. Would be better if it used some common, shared standard.
Ideally, smart devices need to expose all of the same functionality that the manufacturer uses along with some meaningful level of access to sensors, if any, and do all of these things via an open API.
This is important because devices tend to support undesired functionality or not include functionality which the devices are technically capable of supporting. Also, no one manufacturer at the moment personally delivers on all Smart Device categories and even less of a guarantee that a single vendor has the exact products you want to incorporate into your smart home. Supporting HomeKit and/or Nest is a step backwards in my opinion as those are OS specific. Advances in this direction just further entrench the category in this fashion which is actually a threat to it ever truly taking off let alone being a consumer friendly solution.
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