Wait for Home Kit or Smart Things now

[lykaon78]

I've been considering a couple DIY home automation solutions. I've very nearly settled on Smart Things as my hub as their open source platform is a appealing and then I noticed two things:

1) HomeKit is coming to iOS; probably within the remainder of the year
2) Smart Things just got bought by Samsung

With option 1 it appears I'd get more seamless integration with my iPhone and iPads. But I'm guessing my options will be limited, at least initially.

With option 2 I'd get a more mature and open platform. But the Samsung acquisition could change things, could make them better, or could result in Smart Things moving to more of an Android focus.

Seems like wait and see is the right answer. Thoughts?

 

[Kaido]

What do you want to do with it?

I've had my eye on Wink; I am waiting for (1) the product to mature a little bit more, and (2) more supported products to come out (things like 3-way light switches, motion sensors, door & window sensors, etc.). So far, I like them the most from out of the plug & play offerings.

I am definitely going to keep my eye on Smart Things as well. Samsung has a history of ripping off designs & then addressing customer complaints to make much-improved products. Take the iPhone 5S, for example...Samsung released the Galaxy S5, which has a vastly bigger 5.1" screen, IP67 water resistance (important if you're outdoorsy or have kids), USB 3.0, etc. I would like to see them take Smart Things & blow everyone away with constant updates, adding the missing features, and so on.

So yeah...wait & see. Wink is almost ready for me to buy. At minimum, I'd like a web interface (including for mobile, since they don't support Blackberry or Windows phone users), support for more hardware, etc. But it really all boils down to what you want to do with it. So what do you have in mind in terms of functionality & accessibility?

 

[lykaon78]

I have three main goals.
1. Control my garage door
2. Control my thermostat
3. Know when my daughter gets home from school.

Smart Things accomplishes all three.

Anything else is just gravy.

 

[Kaido]

I have three main goals.
1. Control my garage door
2. Control my thermostat
3. Know when my daughter gets home from school.

Smart Things accomplishes all three.

Anything else is just gravy.

If that's all you want to do, you can do that with a few simple off-the-shelf products:

1. Chamberlain smartphone garage door opener: ($130 at Amazon or Home Depot)

http://www.chamberlain.com/smartphone-control-products/myq-garage

2. Honeywell Wi-Fi Thermostat: ($200 at Amazon or Home Depot)

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-RET9...dp/B00FLZEQH2/

Or if you want something a bit fancier, the Nest learning thermostat for $250:

http://www.amazon.com/Nest-Learning-...dp/B009GDHYPQ/

3. Home from school:

There are a few options here. You can get a smartlock. You can get a webcam with motion detection. You can get a motion sensor. You can get a door sensor (reed switch). The two questions are: how do you want to detect entry, and do you want a monthly fee or not? Fee-based units include the Schlage wireless keypad & Dropcam:

http://www.amazon.com/Schlage-Wirele...dp/B001NEK6KG/

https://www.dropcam.com/

Alternatively you can get something simple & cheap like a Foscam ($65 SD, $100 HD) & setup motion detection with a smartphone alert notification. Or just get a basic wifi sensor tied into a reed switch like this one: ($130 with email alerts)

http://proteussensor.com/wi-fi-door-sensor.html

So you can basically do everything you want for under $500 & not need any kind of central hub to screw around with - just control stuff via apps & email/SMS alerts.

 

[lykaon78]

1 application to control all of those is certainly the appeal of Smart Things. I think I'm at roughly $400 for everything I'd need to accomplish my three goals.

Wink is interesting. In any event, I'll probably hold off until IOS 8 comes out and see how Home Kit looks.

 

[Kaido]

1 application to control all of those is certainly the appeal of Smart Things. I think I'm at roughly $400 for everything I'd need to accomplish my three goals.

Wink is interesting. In any event, I'll probably hold off until IOS 8 comes out and see how Home Kit looks.

Yeah, I like the whole "one app to rule them all" idea as well, which is why I'm holding out for Wink to get better. We'll see.

I'm curious to see if Homekit has any real impact on the market. Right now, smart homes do lack a good, secure method of communication. Sure, there's stuff like Zwave, but that's more of a protocol for hardware & mesh communication than an infrastructure for accessibility. Thread is supposed to be the new standard (IP6 ZigBee); if they could use Homekit for the software & Thread for the hardware, that would be a killer combination imo. Everything gets low-power, secure network access for communication & control.