Duo yes. HomeView no.
As you all know, Apple has new stuff coming out.
I wrote previously that I have been looking forward to an Apple folding phone for a long time. Fortunately, I was able to order it last Friday for delivery this Friday. There are many reports of people having delivery dates well into January. I ordered mine off Best Buy, and I had no glitches or problems in the ordering process. I’ll write an update when I have the Duo set up and post another update after about a month of use.
The other new thing is the HomeView device. Before it was announced, I was looking forward to it. I started to research installing a Home Assistant device to connect my disparate electronics to HomeKit. Even with spending $2,000 on a new phone. (Crazy.) I figured this would be a good way for me to not use my phone or iPad Mini in the kitchen. Then, I started to really think about it. What is spending $300 going to do for me? Don’t get me wrong. It’s a cute little device. It is reminiscent of the iMac G4 which is my favorite Mac of all time. The way our kitchen is laid out, having to have a device plugged in would make it impossible for me to use while I was cooking. Also, why did I need home automation to begin with?
I have Sonos speakers, Ring doorbell and floodlights, Nanoleaf lights, a no-name fingerprint lock I got off Meh, a Chamberlain garage door opener, and a Google Next thermostat. Currently, the Nanoleaf lights show up in the Home app, but you can’t really do anything with them other than turn them on and off. As a result, I have a folder on my phone with all the disparate device apps to do stuff with the devices. It is a minor hassle, but now that I have everything set up, I rarely go into the apps except to check the cameras or change the Nanoleaf schedules.
Do I need a $300 device plus the Home Assistant device plus who knows how many hours of my time setting it up? All this to do what exactly? For me, I can repurpose my iPad Mini, which I won’t be using when I have the Duo, into a kitchen device. It has a battery. I have a great stand from TwelveSouth to put it on. I’ll still have to control my devices from my phone like a cretin.
This leads me to home automation. I get the appeal. All of us who grew up watching the Jetsons had dreams of yelling at a computer to turn our lights off. Now, though, I don’t feel it would do anything to improve my life. Turning on lights, adjusting the thermostat, whatever. I simply don’t need it to be automated. I’m kind of done with doing stuff because it’s cool. I only want things that make my life meaningfully easier.
tl:dr No HomeView for me.
There is another event soon for supposedly new touchscreen MacBook Pros and new iPads. I am curious about it, but I’m definitely not in the market.