Opinion: Google needs to create an iOS like Home app

In my opinion, Google should create a “Home” app with Android P. This would be similar to Apple’s Home where all your IoT devices (smart lights, plugs and etc) can be controlled instead of using multiple apps. In addition, this feature will also be available to control smart devices via the status bar (like this (Samsung Connect on the status bar of an S8) or like this (iOS Control Center)

The situation in Android is that you need multiple apps to control your lights (assuming you go the first party route), or use a third party app from a developer you don’t know to control your IoT devices.

You could use Assistant to control your devices, but it has to be either typed, or tell it via voice what to do. The voice one is convenient (I even use it with the Google Home and Amazon Echo), but it is inconvenient to use when you can’t talk (i.e people are sleeping).

You could also buy (huge emphasis on that) a Harmony Hub or a Samsung SmartThing Hub that will allow you have some IoT devices (like a Phillips Hue light setup) on a single app where you can control it.

Samsung’s Connect app (website) kinda does this already. However, all the lights it supports need a SmartThings Hub to integrate except one, the LIFX lights. The app is available on iPhone and Android. It comes integrated in Samsung phones and have a place in the status bar to control devices as shown above. I use this integration a lot on the S8, but I can’t quite do that on the Moto Z2 Force.



Submitted February 26, 2018 at 05:26PM by exjr_ http://ift.tt/2CK5g2a http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

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