First came the smartphone. Then came the smart watch. They’re working on the self-driving smart car. How would you like a smart home?
Apple is working on just that. This app is called Home. With Home, you can control all your appliances, from turning on the air conditioning to dimming the lights. I wonder if Home can wash the dishes (thinking aloud). There are three components to Home: Home, Rooms and Automation. With the Home screen, you pick with of your favorite accessories to control. With Rooms, you control individual room accessories. Automation sets up your accessories to function in the real world. Home can be set up with all Apple devices. Say you’re just getting home. Your Apple device tells the Home app to unlock the door and turn on the lights at once. Can it pour you a drink, too (again, thinking aloud)? Home lets you activate scenes. One scene is Goodnight for going to bed. Can Goodnight read you a bedtime story too (again, thinking aloud)? You can control the Home app through Siri voice. You want the lights on? Just say, “Siri, turn the lights on.” She does it. Yes, there is competition for tech home control. Amazon has Echo. Echo’s voice command is Alexa. Google is working on it’s own home tech control.
There’s a reason I’m thinking aloud. All of this home control is totally unnecessary to me. Especially when it’s tasks you can do in seconds. Turn off the light? A toddler can do that. Unlock the door? I can do that in less than a second. Open the blinds? Isn’t that what the pulley is for? Maybe if you lost a key, I can see how Home can work for you. But that’s about it. When Apple Home can wash the dishes, pour me a drink, and read me a bedtime story, then we’ll talk. How would you like a smart home?