Apple Shipped Just 2.6 million HomePods During the 2019 Holiday Quarter

Apple Shipped 2.6 Million HomePods during the last three months of 2019. That is a long way behind its competitors, especially Amazon. David Watkins, director at Strategy Analytics, told Cult of Mac why he thinks that is.

“The price is still very high…That closes the door to a huge swathe of potential customers.” “I think there’s also a reasonable amount of consumer skepticism over the usefulness of Siri as a voice platform,” Watkins continued. “Amazon and Google have done an amazing job of building out their ecosystem around Alexa and Google Assistant, in partnership with so many smart home companies. Apple doesn’t have that strength of ecosystem around Siri.”

HomePod And Other Products That Need Attention

Apple regularly rolls out product updates, but that doesn’t mean some products couldn’t benefit from a little TLC. Dan Moren at MacWorld suggested which products he’d like to receive some attention, including the HomePod.

What is the HomePod to Apple? In the almost two years since its release, the company still hasn’t quite landed upon an answer. It’s a wireless smart speaker, to be sure, but when it comes to what differentiates it from its competitors from Amazon, Google, and Sonos, there hasn’t been a particularly compelling argument—beyond the fact that as an Apple product, it’s simply better. (An assertion that even numerous HomePod owners, including myself, would challenge.) If Apple does want to continue down the HomePod road, then the company needs to make some decisions. Is the HomePod simply a premium product? While it started out at a pricey $350, it’s become more and more common to see it floating around the $200-$250 range. Frankly I can’t remember the last time I saw an Apple product with that kind of deep discount.

CES – Igloohome Shows Remotely-Programmable Locks that Don't Require Wi-Fi at CES Unveiled 2020

LAS VEGAS – Igloohome’s smart locks shown here at CES Unveiled 2020 have a special feature: they don’t use Wi-Fi and yet they’re remotely programmable. This is accomplished by first pairing your phone with the lock, a process that also creates a rotating token like you might use with your bank. When you want to create a new code, everything is already set and the code is already active because of the pre-negotiated token, all happening behind the scenes. The deadbolt is US$299, the keybox is $189, and the padlock is $109. The other two dual locks will be available later this year.

Should You Warn Your Guests About Smart Devices?

David Murphy asks if people are morally obligated to inform their guests that their home contains smart devices like HomePod, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home. Given the fact that these devices can listen to you, should you post a sign in your house that says, “Warning: This Area Under Surveillance?”

If you’re simply sporting a smart speaker, I think announcing its presence is less of a deal—overkill, really. But if a camera is recording me at any point, and that’s something you can view later, I think it’s the friendly thing to do to let me know before I start gossiping…or worse.

What do you mean by worse??

Eve for HomeKit Updates for iOS 13

Eve is a smart home company that builds products that work with Apple’s HomeKit. The company recently updated its app to version 4.0 for iOS 13. It adds dark mode, easier access to your favorite views, and other refinements.

Eve works with all HomeKit-enabled accessories. See your home at a glance. Customize your ecosystem down to the finest detail. Activate scenes in a snap. And easily create automations using timers and rules. With Eve, you’re at the forefront of connected home control – and guided – every step of the way.

App Store: Eve for HomeKit – Free

Ikea Smart Blinds Suffer From Second Delay

The Ikea smart blinds Fyrtur model have suffered a second delay. The after the first delay they were supposed to be released on October 1. But now the company says “later this year.”

The delay is already obvious to anyone who has been feverishly refreshing the US listing, hoping their local Ikea suddenly shows in-store availability. The blinds are on sale elsewhere. In the UK, for example, the Fyrtur blackout blinds are available for home delivery. Moreover, they’re also selling the less expensive, and more translucent, Kadrilj model that won’t be on sale in the US.

Facebook Launches New Surveillance Devices For Your Home

Today Facebook launched Portal video chatting devices that definitely won’t be used to spy on you and your loved ones. They will let Facebook users watch television together over a video call. Andrew Bosworth, VP of AR/VR at Facebook, said:

I think that in a couple years’ time, if you have a smart streaming device that doesn’t have a camera allowing you to video call people, you’re not going to have a competitive product. I think this is the killer feature for a device like this.

Bosworth also touted privacy protections like local processing of smart features on the devices, which means most user data will not be sent back to Facebook servers.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

5G Could Revolutionize Home Broadband

Most of use are excited about what 5G will enable us to do on a smartphone, and how fast it will enable to us to do it. However, as CNET noted, the effect could be just as significant in the home broadband space.

Consumers often see prices rise in areas where there’s only one provider, yet many Americans continue to lack competitive home internet options. Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint have all hyped up home broadband as one of the many uses of 5G to solve this problem by offering a viable and speedy alternative. Verizon’s first 5G network rollout focused on the home, while T-Mobile CEO John Legere railed against “big cable” while pitching regulators on his company’s $26.5 billion merger with Sprint.

Arlo Cameras Get HomeKit Support

Smart camera firm Arlo has added HomeKit support to some of its products, DigitalTrends reported. Interestingly, the top-of-the line Arlo Ultra 4K was not amongst the cameras that got the update.

Unfortunately for buyers of the company’s top-of-the-line cameras, the new connectivity to HomeKit only applies to select Arlo cameras, specifically the popular Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro 2 systems. Owners of the VMB5000 model and the corresponding Arlo Ultra 4K will have to wait a bit longer to add their smart cameras to Apple’s smart home ecosystem. On the bright side, the firmware update reduces the need for Apple HomeKit users to use the Arlo app or its corresponding remote control. The select models of Arlo smart cameras will appear in the directory of other HomeKit accessories in a user’s Home app and can also be controlled using Apple’s digital assistant, Siri, via an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch,or Mac computer.

EvaSMART 2 Smart Personal Air Conditioner: $199

Check out the EvaSMART 2, a personal air conditioner that combines the functionality of a humidifier and air conditioner into a single device. It uses natural evaporative cooling to lower the temperature around you, and filters out dust particles. And, it can be operated via an on-board touch pad, mobile app, or simply your voice. it’s also compatible with Alexa and Google Home. Plus, it consumes just 12.5 W of power. This device is $199 through our deal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90FTZ0Vlgnk

How to Choose the Best Mesh Wireless System For Your Home

Sorting through the mesh wireless systems available today can be tricky. Read on, and we’ll teach you how to decide which one is best for you. [Update: Anti-malware is a theme of this update, with Plume SuperPods, Orbi, and Linksys Velop all joining the club with solid offerings in this regard. eero and Plume both solved their LAN persistence problems, keeping your Wi-Fi alive even if your Internet connection goes down. AmpliFi is doing some cool things for IoT users with regards to setting up separate SSIDs for that, too. See Changelog – Dave]