Apple Is Holding Its First Event About the House, and I Am Not Switching for It

Apple confirmed an event under the line “Welcome home”, the first time the company has built a whole event around the home rather than a known category. What is inside has not been announced.

I run Google Home, and nothing announced at an event moves a working house.

That is the thing about smart home gear that gets underrated in launch coverage. Switching ecosystems is not buying one device, it is re-pairing every bulb, plug and speaker you already own, rebuilding the routines you set up over years, and teaching everyone in the house the new words. A new product has to beat the one you have by enough to pay for all that, and almost nothing does.

Then there is my doubt about the company, which I will label as opinion because that is what it is: for several years now Apple has looked to me like it innovates very little. The usual defence is that it arrives late and arrives polished, and I used to believe that. The Home app has been average for a long time, and HomeKit has been outpaced by platforms that started later.

Arriving late only helps if you arrive better. A first home device from a company with a late record is not a safe bet because of the logo. It is an untested product from a company whose record in this exact area is mixed.

So, do I buy it? Not on day one, and not as a reason to leave something that works. If you already live in Apple’s ecosystem and own nothing else yet, wait for the second generation anyway. First-generation home hardware is where companies learn.