Here is the problem, not all devices you could work with it are self-hosted and doesn't allow cloud interactions. Now if you're talking about Home's dependence

Here is the problem, not all devices you could work with it are self-hosted and doesn't allow cloud interactions. Now if you're talking about Home's dependence on a cloud for local interaction, then I get you. But, on the other side, if it's not open and you can't use any device with it... I'm going to be really upset on a personal level. The reasons consumer IoT isn't huge yet are: 1) Disparate connection types (e.g., I could buy Z-wave, Wifi, BLE, etc and they all onboard differently) 2) I can't choose which device I want to use with which platform because of politics. Some of these devices (thermostats or security systems for instance) aren't impulse buys. If I have a Honeywell thermostat, and Home doesn't support it, I either buy a new thermostat or don't buy Home. That's a crummy choice for a consumer.