Apple Home products need to solve the biggest smart home problem

I’m a relatively early adopter of smart home products. While I didn’t dive in during the X.10 days, I’ve been using a variety of smart home devices for well over a decade now, and jumped in on HomeKit as soon as it crossed the Atlantic. But a recent experience of something as simple as replacing a failed light-bulb really drove home how much further we have to go before we can expect non-techies to climb on board … One of my Philips Hue color ambiance bulbs failed a couple of days ago. It was probably more than 10 years old by then, having been moved between two or three different lamps, so I didn’t consider that too unreasonable a lifespan. No problem, I thought, I’ll just order a replacement and be up-and-running again within a couple of minutes. The new bulb duly arrived, I opened the Home app, selected the room, tapped the + button, selected Add Accessory and the code scan window opened. I had a very vague and possibly incorrect recollection that the last time I did this a long ... Read full article.