Apple’s streaming service could change the game for smart homes

“Apple’s as-yet unnamed [streaming] service will be available everywhere. We saw clues of this at the CES technology show in January, where TV makers were falling over themselves to announce their new sets works with Apple’s AirPlay 2 streaming technology,” Alistair Charlton writes for GearBrain. “Samsung even announced the addition of an iTunes video app on its new TVs, which will surely morph into Apple’s new streaming service.”
“This is where the momentum could start to build for Apple. At CES we also saw growing interest in the company’s HomeKit platform from smart home device makers,” Charlton writes. “Previously an outlier compared to Amazon Alexa and Google Home, Apple’s HomeKit – device makers say – puts security and the protection of user data front-and-center.”
“With the streaming service likely to be consumed primarily on the Apple TV set-top box, Apple can introduce streaming customers to what else the box can do – such as, act as a control hub for smart home devices,” Charlton writes. “Suddenly, like how Alexa can control the Amazon Fire TV and the Google Assistant controls the Chromecast, Apple has a place, the Apple TV, where entertainment, the Siri voice assistant, and smart home control sit hand-in-hand. Of course this also brings Siri to the fore, and with the right (and much-needed) improvements, Apple’s voice assistant could seamlessly control a home’s entertainment and its smart devices, like lights, locks, plugs, speakers and the thermostat.”

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MacDailyNews Take: Let’s hope HomeKit and Siri continue to progress everywhere, including Apple TV, HomePod, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
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