8 MACWORLD MARCH 2020
MACUSER APPLE’S HOME STRATEGY NEEDS NEW HARDWAREHomePod that works as a TV soundbar. I’d
still like to see that product. But now, for
2020, here’s another hardware
suggestion: Apple can contribute to the
smart-home industry and its own bottom
line by doing what it does best, namely
creating a new product that’s a fusion of
hardware, software, and cloud services. It’s
time for Apple to build a product that
makes your home smarter and more
secure. It’s time for Apple Home.
THE NEEDS OF THE HOME
Apple got out of the home router game a
while ago, with the discontinuation of the
AirPort line. I’m recommending that Apple
bring it back, because today’s smart
homes require rock-solid wireless
connectivity, and while Apple’s two biggest
competitors have home-network offerings,
Apple’s got nothing. An Apple-built mesh
networking system à la Amazon’s Eero
seems like a natural.
Apple also needs to consider the
security and privacy of its customers. It has
spent time updating its software, most
notably Safari, to discourage the profiling
and tracking of its users, but some of the
most valuable personal information leaks
out in every Internet connection through
the IP address, which can act as a unique
identifier and provide geolocation. Internet
service providers can also snoop on the
traffic being sent over their networks, and
even collect and sell that data. But this can
all be thwarted with the judicious
application of a VPN, or Virtual Private
Network.
Now consider the security of some
smart-home devices like home security
cameras. Apple began to address this with
the introduction of HomeKit Secure Video,
a feature of iCloud that stores audio and
video from home video cameras
encrypted in iCloud, rather than being
stored on some random camera vendor’s
website. It’s a good start, but it does
require streaming video across your homeApple HomePod.