Smart Hub Hell.
So, before I dove into this Smart House thing, one of the confusing questions was what exactly the role was of the Smart Hub and the Digital Assistant. I had hoped that the two were one in the same. And in some rare occasions they may actually be, but for the most part, they are two disparate things. I don't get how no one has realized how dumb the situation is yet.
Anyway, Smart Homes aren't going to be mainstream until some time AFTER this problem gets solved, and there are a small army of reasons why.
The simplest reason, at the moment, is that the average Smart Hub doesn't manage every type of smart device. Even if I wanted to, I don't have a single source provider for locks, lights, cameras, thermostats, light switches, sensors and so forth. So we have an immediate, and insurmountable problem. A hub can't serve as a tie-in to a single eco-system, because no single eco-system can meet all of my needs.
The next reason is limitations like range and number of devices. The Hue Bridge for instance has OK range and a limit of 50 devices. If I hit that 50 device limit, or needed to put something smart outside of the range within which the Hue Bridge works reliably, then I need to buy another Smart Bridge. If I already need to buy a second one, it ruins the argument that I shouldn't buy into another eco-system because it would mean another Smart Hub.
Next is interoperability. This is a big deal when combined with the above two problems. I already NEED multiple TYPES of hubs and potentially even multiple of the SAME hub to kit out an entire house. Like I said, the eco-system tie-in argument is smashed to itty bitty pieces. But it would still be a big issue if the other problems were solved. Even something as simple as a light bulb can vary drastically from vendor to vendor and even more so in the smart light space. Even if one provider has everything I need they may not have everything I want.
So, if you want a Smart Home today, you basically end up with an army of hubs and mix and match devices. I currently have a hub for my smart lock (yep! A hub for 1 device) and one for the Hue lights. The Nest doesn't need one (AWESOME) and I'll probably be buying a Tradfri one for my IKEA lights.
I'm a software developer who grew up basically being the neighborhood IT guy. I think 3 hubs to control 2 types of smart devices is insane. Imagine what the average person thinks.
So, what is a Smart Hub? And why do you need it? Well, in some cases you may not need a hub. Usually, however, these are what enable you to control them remotely over the internet and are required for integrating with smart assistants. For instance, the Hue bulbs would just be normal, dumb lights without the bridge, but they would work. IKEA lights can work with their wireless switches without the hub. And my smart lock can still be unlocked over Blue Tooth, auto-lock, etc... even without the hub. None of my smart devices, save the Nest, work with smart assistants without a separate, dedicated Hub. And most have little to no smart functionality without them.
Why is this bonkers? Well, that should be obvious. Like I said, between spotty coverage of people's needs, lack of interoperability and an inability to be smart on their own... people need TONS of devices, hubs, apps and accounts to cover an entire home. Then, they need digital assistants all over the place as well if they want it all voice controlled.
And here is where my (apparently) totally mad idea comes in; the devices housing the smart assistants should be the DAMN HUBS. Those hubs should work as a mesh network for smart devices. They should link to a single account and app. And the liability for security etc... should fall to a company that actually has a clue what they are doing. Phillips, Samsung, August, IKEA, etc... should all agree on some standards and let Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google handle the glue in the middle of it all. The smart hub idea is a failure. End of story.
You want a middle ground? Smart Home product vendors should beef up their Hubs to be a quality mesh networking solution with integration for Alexa, Cortana, HomeKit or Google Assistant. If the idea is to have an assistant in every room and coverage and device limits are problems facing hubs, doesn't is just make natural sense that the assistant and the hub should be the SAME DAMN DEVICE?!?!
It wouldn't cure everything if someone took that middle ground, but it would consolidate some of the equipment, which would hopefully reduce both cost and complexity and might bring it to a broader audience, even if not mainstream.
BTW, my ultimate smart home device would be a Google Home with integrated Google Wi-Fi and which could work as a hub for my smart devices and like Google WiFi comes in an option to buy in a 3-pack. All of a sudden you mix mesh router with full house audio and smart control... you wouldn't be able to take my money fast enough.
Think about it? Fast, easy full home Wi-Fi coverage coupled with full home, meshed smart device hub. With 3 Google Home devices you'd have an excellent start to having full home audio and decent coverage for Google Assistant. Then, you can easily expand out later by adding Google Home Mini in any rooms where the audio needs aren't as great but you want better voice control coverage and throw in vanilla Google Home or the Max version in any rooms where you want more audio coverage. It would be the ultimate smart home starter kit. But, without that smart hub functionality, the value proposition drops.
Anyway, right now, smart home tech is kind of limiting itself in terms of who would be willing to put up with the costs and requirements.
Anyway, Smart Homes aren't going to be mainstream until some time AFTER this problem gets solved, and there are a small army of reasons why.
The simplest reason, at the moment, is that the average Smart Hub doesn't manage every type of smart device. Even if I wanted to, I don't have a single source provider for locks, lights, cameras, thermostats, light switches, sensors and so forth. So we have an immediate, and insurmountable problem. A hub can't serve as a tie-in to a single eco-system, because no single eco-system can meet all of my needs.
The next reason is limitations like range and number of devices. The Hue Bridge for instance has OK range and a limit of 50 devices. If I hit that 50 device limit, or needed to put something smart outside of the range within which the Hue Bridge works reliably, then I need to buy another Smart Bridge. If I already need to buy a second one, it ruins the argument that I shouldn't buy into another eco-system because it would mean another Smart Hub.
Next is interoperability. This is a big deal when combined with the above two problems. I already NEED multiple TYPES of hubs and potentially even multiple of the SAME hub to kit out an entire house. Like I said, the eco-system tie-in argument is smashed to itty bitty pieces. But it would still be a big issue if the other problems were solved. Even something as simple as a light bulb can vary drastically from vendor to vendor and even more so in the smart light space. Even if one provider has everything I need they may not have everything I want.
So, if you want a Smart Home today, you basically end up with an army of hubs and mix and match devices. I currently have a hub for my smart lock (yep! A hub for 1 device) and one for the Hue lights. The Nest doesn't need one (AWESOME) and I'll probably be buying a Tradfri one for my IKEA lights.
I'm a software developer who grew up basically being the neighborhood IT guy. I think 3 hubs to control 2 types of smart devices is insane. Imagine what the average person thinks.
So, what is a Smart Hub? And why do you need it? Well, in some cases you may not need a hub. Usually, however, these are what enable you to control them remotely over the internet and are required for integrating with smart assistants. For instance, the Hue bulbs would just be normal, dumb lights without the bridge, but they would work. IKEA lights can work with their wireless switches without the hub. And my smart lock can still be unlocked over Blue Tooth, auto-lock, etc... even without the hub. None of my smart devices, save the Nest, work with smart assistants without a separate, dedicated Hub. And most have little to no smart functionality without them.
Why is this bonkers? Well, that should be obvious. Like I said, between spotty coverage of people's needs, lack of interoperability and an inability to be smart on their own... people need TONS of devices, hubs, apps and accounts to cover an entire home. Then, they need digital assistants all over the place as well if they want it all voice controlled.
And here is where my (apparently) totally mad idea comes in; the devices housing the smart assistants should be the DAMN HUBS. Those hubs should work as a mesh network for smart devices. They should link to a single account and app. And the liability for security etc... should fall to a company that actually has a clue what they are doing. Phillips, Samsung, August, IKEA, etc... should all agree on some standards and let Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google handle the glue in the middle of it all. The smart hub idea is a failure. End of story.
You want a middle ground? Smart Home product vendors should beef up their Hubs to be a quality mesh networking solution with integration for Alexa, Cortana, HomeKit or Google Assistant. If the idea is to have an assistant in every room and coverage and device limits are problems facing hubs, doesn't is just make natural sense that the assistant and the hub should be the SAME DAMN DEVICE?!?!
It wouldn't cure everything if someone took that middle ground, but it would consolidate some of the equipment, which would hopefully reduce both cost and complexity and might bring it to a broader audience, even if not mainstream.
BTW, my ultimate smart home device would be a Google Home with integrated Google Wi-Fi and which could work as a hub for my smart devices and like Google WiFi comes in an option to buy in a 3-pack. All of a sudden you mix mesh router with full house audio and smart control... you wouldn't be able to take my money fast enough.
Think about it? Fast, easy full home Wi-Fi coverage coupled with full home, meshed smart device hub. With 3 Google Home devices you'd have an excellent start to having full home audio and decent coverage for Google Assistant. Then, you can easily expand out later by adding Google Home Mini in any rooms where the audio needs aren't as great but you want better voice control coverage and throw in vanilla Google Home or the Max version in any rooms where you want more audio coverage. It would be the ultimate smart home starter kit. But, without that smart hub functionality, the value proposition drops.
Anyway, right now, smart home tech is kind of limiting itself in terms of who would be willing to put up with the costs and requirements.
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