iPad as a hub, is an answer to Google's Nest and Amazon's Alexa Smart Home, and while all of these systems help manage multiple devices, they could be much more intelligent. Apple's software might be lagging behind. However, its hardware is advanced enough to set itself apart from the competition with a few simple additions, as one clever developer demonstrated recently.
Apple launched the HomePod in 2017, a large and powerful smart speaker that offered superior audio quality compared to the competition. Priced at $350, it overshot the expected price established by Amazon and Google of under $200. In 2020, ultra-wideband (UWB) signals that can penetrate walls better than Bluetooth and identify locations with greater accuracy than most other wireless signals used in the home.
Apple patent documents describe UWB as serving multiple purposes, yet few have been implemented beyond finding AirTags. Meanwhile, a U1 chip can also be found in the iPhone 11, 12, 13, and the Apple Watch Series 6 and 7. Rather than waiting for Apple, developer Bastian Andelefski revealed a very intuitive smart home prototype in a YouTube video. Using an iPhone to interact with multiple smart bulbs effortlessly, Andelefski simply pointed and tapped in an impressive rapid-fire sequence. This clearly shows that the leading smart home systems made by Amazon, Google, and Apple are woefully inadequate and should be updated with a much more -friendly design. Rather than scrolling through lists or ing names of devices, aiming and interacting with intelligent controls is remarkably easy.
Apple's U1 Could Improve Smart Homes
Andelefski demonstrated how incredibly easy it should be to any iPhone made in the last three years would have the ability to point at a smart home device to select it. The Apple Watch models released in the last two years also have this capability. So while it's nice to use 'Precision Finding' to locate an AirTag within an inch, smart home uses are arguably more helpful.
Since the iPhone would be able to identify the direction and communicate to the device, it would know which controls to bring up for instant access. For example, on, off, dimming, and color selection might appear for smart lights, while temperature controls would be other smart home device manufacturers could implement this as well.
Source: Bastian Andelefski/YouTube