BDWilliams

theothergeoff said:

nolamacguy said:

nonsense. HK lighting is in Lowes. even my girlfriend uses it. 

hate on, bro, it's your job. 

wow you're right. Based on your facts... vvIt's not 99.999999999%... it's more like 0.99999999986% (7.4B-1/7.4B people ... the famous 'market of one')  

mDriftmeyer is right: HomeKit is a first world solution. 10% (likely less: the intersection of people who have an iPhone AND a networked home/apt) of the world 'may' have the base infrastructure to use it. (it's a big world out there).  

So, of the 500Million people who have an iPhone; You'll be lucky to see 500,000 truly 'HomeKit' Homes/apts, in the next 5 years. 

Now in 10 years, I would figure all new homes will be 'automation enabled' (like the adoption of indoor plumbing and code compliant electrical wiring). e.g., smart switches, outlets, etc. 

And given that 1st world housing turns over about every 30 years, That means 25-40 years for it to become 'standard' 

I want this... but I'm not assuming it will be commodity for at least 10 years. 

Smart home technology is misunderstood, but there's a thriving community that's rapidly growing. The problem now is that things are disjointed, with many proprietary and competing companies. There's the Nest community (Alphabet), the Smartthings community (Samsung), Wink, Iris, etc., each of which support one or more of the underlying communication standards (Bluetooth LE, wi-fi, Z-wave, ZigBee).

The problem is that once you start to automate your home it's like crack, which is why it won't take 10 years to catch on. I have a home built in the 70's, so not everything relies on new construction. It starts with buying one thing... for me it was the Schlage Sense, one of the first HomeKit locks. I never use the Siri feature, but being able to set custom door codes, the auto-lock feature and remote status were very cool and it's a device that my family uses every day. Next was the Chamberlain MyQ Garage. For less than $80 (I caught a good deal) I am able to open and close my garage door and check the status... no more leaving the house and wondering if I left the garage open. MyQ is supposed to be HomeKit compatible sometime this year.  I also wanted a better water sensor for my basement, since I get backup from a drain sometimes. I got a Smartthings hub, and added a water sensor. I also added a couple of light switches. Smartthings is supposed to bridge to HomeKit sometime this year. I realize these are all first world problems driven mostly by laziness (not wanting to stand up to turn on lights), but those who actively use the Apple ecosystem are usually the walking epitome of first world problems. The "everyman" is being introduced to smart home technology through their home security company (ADT, etc.), their cable company (Xfinity Home, etc.) and their utility company (rebates for smart thermostats).

The big problem now is that I have a folder full of apps to control all of these different devices. The goal of the Home app is to bring these all together. I've said since the beginning that the killer app that will drive Apple Watch sales is home automation. I see no need for one now. But, if my front door lock would automatically unlock when I'm close, if my lights turn on when I enter a dark room, or if supports more lazy-man tasks I haven't thought of yet I might think about it. Apple built proximity unlock into macOS, which is a first step.