AirTags Are No Longer Hot Air
Apple AirTags have finally and officially been launched after months (or more) of speculation. The real beauty of these (besides the slick design aesthetic that Apple nails) is their ability to tap into Apple’s Find My network, so that anyone with an iPhone or iPad can help locate whatever valuable is attached to the AirTag and currently lost. Closer to home, AirTags leverage the U1 chip in newer gen iPhones for Precision Finding, which uses the phone’s accelerometer, camera, and gyroscope to direct you to your AirTag-attached object.
The NPD Take:
- Item trackers are certainly not a new concept, but the technology in AirTags (and Samsung’s SmartTags) are much more sophisticated that the Bluetooth or GPS trackers of yore. Leveraging the Find My network has potentially much more exciting long-term potential, such as AR gaming, and so getting iPhone users comfortable with the privacy implications today paves the way for future applications. The Precision Finding feature would be even cooler if it leveraged AR to see the path overlaid on your actual surroundings (sort of like a game of Pokemon Go). Price wise, $29 for a single or $99 for a four-pack on first blush sounds great, especially for the forgetful-prone among us, and that is in line with pricing for current item tracker market leader Tile. However, given that you need to attach them to something, like the keyrings and loops that were announced alongside the tracker, the effective price ramps up quickly.
New Apple TV 4K Paves the Way for Better Smart Home Hub Happenings
Along with the AirTags and new iPad announcement was the new Apple TV 4K – much anticipated among the Apple TV faithful as a new box has been a long time in coming. Buried down beneath the news about the more powerful processor, the high frame rate, and new remote is that fact that the new App TV 4K also has Thread. Apple first brought Thread into its fold with the launch of the HomePod Mini last year and, with the inclusion of Thread into the Apple TV 4K, it looks like Apple is betting on this protocol for its smart home ecosystem and envisioning a much more expansive future for HomeKit.
The NPD Take:
- Google also has a Thread radio in its second gen Google Home Hub, though it is currently not activated. More importantly, Thread is supposed to be one of the main technologies for Project CHIP. Theoretically, if Thread does all it promises to do, smart home devices should communicate with others better, work faster, and operate more securely. It should be an improvement over Zigbee and Z-Wave in that no hub is needed for connection, and improvement over Bluetooth and WiFi for stability.
Long Live the Smart Home Remote?
Wemo has introduced the Wemo Stage Scene Controller, a remote control to manage and control scenes for HomeKit devices in Apple’s Home app via Bluetooth or Thread. Using long-press and short-press functions, the Wemo Stage can activate up to six HomeKit scenes. It includes a self-adhesive faceplate for those who would rather a wall mount form factor over a remote. It is currently available on Belkin.com for $49.99.
The NPD Take:
- There is no denying the need for better smart home control when faced with having to use in-app controls across multiple different apps (which can happen as consumers’ collection of devices grows). That said…many consumers are using smart speakers or smart displays for just that reason, or relying on voice commands straight from their smartphone. But for those consumers who manage their automations via the Home app, this remote could appeal for its simplicity.