4 ms·

So my home will be useless in 4 years given the turnover of Google products.

by iFire 2y ago

solardev 2y ago
Not just Google, but the manufacturers themselves can often abandon product lines, or inadvertently break integrations with updates, or purposely stop a partnership, etc. (like Sonos's years-long feud with Google over smart products). The ecosystem is as fragmented as Android, or worse. I was all-in on the smarthome fad a few years ago, but so many things kept breaking that it just wasn't worth the complexity anymore. I went back to a mostly-dumb home setup again and things just work now, lol.
- packetlost 2y ago
  I've been happy with the stuff that is supported by Home Assistant. We really just need open protocols/standards and for manufacturers to stick to them. Unfortunately there's not much incentive for them to do that.
  - loudmax 2y ago
    Getting my Nest thermostat to work with Home Assistant was a lot of work. I had to register a developer account and authorize obscure permissions deep inside some Google permissions structure. I suppose if it's all straightforward you habitually develop on Google's infrastructure, but as an outsider none of it was clear. Still, better than nothing. Hoping that Google actually stays committed this time.
    - Marsymars 2y ago
      By far the easiest way to integrate Nest products into a non-Google Home-based setup is with a Starling Home Hub. Starling integrates either directly to HomeKit, or to Home Assistant via HomeKit Controller.
- isatty 2y ago
  Been on HomeKit and devices compatible with it for >5 years and I’ve not had any issues except maybe when there was the migration to thread(?).
  - solardev 2y ago
    Is HomeKit the Apple version? I feel like they're much better about their integrations than Google's PC-like OEM strategy.
mrandish 2y ago
I use the open source Home Assistant software as the hub, keep everything local on my network and only buy devices that can use non-cloud, open protocols. This is the only way to ensure you keep control and won't someday get sold out or bricked. The open ecosystem around smart home has matured a lot in the last couple of years and Home Assistant now has millions of active users. There are also a wide variety of inexpensive sensors, switches, plugs, etc which come pre-installed with open source firmware like Tasmota and EspHome (example: https://www.athom.tech/tasmota https://www.athom.tech/tasmota). You won't find them at Best Buy or local stores but they're plentiful on Amazon, EBay and, of course, AliExpress. To the extent companies like Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung choose to support open, local-first standards I'll consider their devices as input and output nodes, however, I'll never let them be the central controller. There are now enough savvy open-only, local-first users that many of the Shenzen-based device makers have realized it's a profitable market segment and have given up trying to enforce their cloud-based apps. So we now have plenty of alternatives to the companies who only want users to be subscribers or eyeballs for ads.
- jra_samba 2y ago
  Amen to this. I recall the original Western Digital WD TV Media Player. https://www.cnet.com/reviews/western-digital-wd-tv-media-player-2014-review/ https://www.cnet.com/reviews/western-digital-wd-tv-media-pla... Used to attach to a local NAS. Swiftly knee-caped to do "streaming only" and thus became utterly dependent on third-party services. I'd recommend the OSMC Vero as the only good replacement for it: https://osmc.tv/vero/ https://osmc.tv/vero/
__MatrixMan__ 2y ago
I hope that some parts of your home remain useful, but if google pulling support makes the stuff in your home suddenly useless, then you didn't really own that stuff to begin with.

So my home will be useless in 4 years given the turnover of Google products.

by iFire 2y ago

So my home will be useless in 4 years given the turnover of Google products.

Not just Google, but the manufacturers themselves can often abandon product lines, or inadvertently break integrations with updates, or purposely stop a partnership, etc. (like Sonos's years-long feud with Google over smart products). The ecosystem is as fragmented as Android, or worse. I was all-in on the smarthome fad a few years ago, but so many things kept breaking that it just wasn't worth the complexity anymore. I went back to a mostly-dumb home setup again and things just work now, lol.

packetlost 2y ago
I've been happy with the stuff that is supported by Home Assistant. We really just need open protocols/standards and for manufacturers to stick to them. Unfortunately there's not much incentive for them to do that.
- loudmax 2y ago
  Getting my Nest thermostat to work with Home Assistant was a lot of work. I had to register a developer account and authorize obscure permissions deep inside some Google permissions structure. I suppose if it's all straightforward you habitually develop on Google's infrastructure, but as an outsider none of it was clear. Still, better than nothing. Hoping that Google actually stays committed this time.
  - Marsymars 2y ago
    By far the easiest way to integrate Nest products into a non-Google Home-based setup is with a Starling Home Hub. Starling integrates either directly to HomeKit, or to Home Assistant via HomeKit Controller.
isatty 2y ago
Been on HomeKit and devices compatible with it for >5 years and I’ve not had any issues except maybe when there was the migration to thread(?).
- solardev 2y ago
  Is HomeKit the Apple version? I feel like they're much better about their integrations than Google's PC-like OEM strategy.

mrandish 2y ago

I use the open source Home Assistant software as the hub, keep everything local on my network and only buy devices that can use non-cloud, open protocols. This is the only way to ensure you keep control and won't someday get sold out or bricked. The open ecosystem around smart home has matured a lot in the last couple of years and Home Assistant now has millions of active users. There are also a wide variety of inexpensive sensors, switches, plugs, etc which come pre-installed with open source firmware like Tasmota and EspHome (example: https://www.athom.tech/tasmota https://www.athom.tech/tasmota). You won't find them at Best Buy or local stores but they're plentiful on Amazon, EBay and, of course, AliExpress. To the extent companies like Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung choose to support open, local-first standards I'll consider their devices as input and output nodes, however, I'll never let them be the central controller. There are now enough savvy open-only, local-first users that many of the Shenzen-based device makers have realized it's a profitable market segment and have given up trying to enforce their cloud-based apps. So we now have plenty of alternatives to the companies who only want users to be subscribers or eyeballs for ads.

jra_samba 2y ago
Amen to this. I recall the original Western Digital WD TV Media Player. https://www.cnet.com/reviews/western-digital-wd-tv-media-player-2014-review/ https://www.cnet.com/reviews/western-digital-wd-tv-media-pla... Used to attach to a local NAS. Swiftly knee-caped to do "streaming only" and thus became utterly dependent on third-party services. I'd recommend the OSMC Vero as the only good replacement for it: https://osmc.tv/vero/ https://osmc.tv/vero/

__MatrixMan__ 2y ago

I hope that some parts of your home remain useful, but if google pulling support makes the stuff in your home suddenly useless, then you didn't really own that stuff to begin with.