HomeKit Support?

[#TY]

Following Apple's recent announcement of having more and more HomeKit enabled routers on the market soon, what do you guys think of all this?

Is this a software thing that can be added in a firmware update or will it require a completely new device?

 

[XIII]

Initially there were hardware requirements for HomeKit devices, but later Apple relaxed that, so I'm curious as well.

 

[Vexira]

It's up to Asus they would have to plug the support and from there we can see, if it's anything like the Alexa support it will be a firmware update.

 

[ApexRon]

I am not sure what value having HomeKit on a router would be. I was able to install a Home device on my current network and it works just fine.

 

[RMerlin]

It's highly unlikely that Asus would bother with yet another Apple-specific technology when the rest of the world uses IFTTT.

 

[CrystalLattice]

It's highly unlikely that Asus would bother with yet another Apple-specific technology when the rest of the world uses IFTTT.

Apple Homekit has numerous strongpoints:

• #1 – HomeKit is Simple to Use. ...
• #2 – Simplification of the Smart Home Industry. ...
• #3 – Apple HomeKit is Expandable. ...
• #4 – HomeKit is Secure. ...
• #5 – Improves Comfort & Convenience Levels. ...
• #6 – Supports Voice Control. ...
• #7 – Easy to Setup. ...
• #8 – Supports a Single App, Remote access, no hub required
  
  

 

[#TY]

I think HomeKit support is a really big deal and would be a great value added to an Asus router. Considering Apple's continued involvement in encryption and the protection of privacy, I don't see how it would be a bad thing to have it. Of course, I can't speak on a technical level but as a user, unless I'm overlooking something, I think it would be great.

 

[#TY]

It's highly unlikely that Asus would bother with yet another Apple-specific technology when the rest of the world uses IFTTT.

Is it one or the other? I would imagine both could be supported simultaneously and the user would pick what works best for their needs.

 

[RMerlin]

Apple Homekit has numerous strongpoints:

And it's also under Apple's control, which means they can charge their typical Apple tax to product manufacturers who want to officially support it and get that Homekit logo.

When you have the alternative to do so, support existing technologies that are truly open, rather than vanity technologies developed by large corporations without any real collaboration from the outside world.

And that's beside the point where I think that none of these technologies (be it Homekit, IFTTT or Alexa support) belong on a security device such as a router. You are just opening more doors for potential attacks on your router, which is your primary line of defense between your whole network and the rest of the world.

 

[#TY]

Hmmm.... all good points. I guess we’ll have to see what happens.

 

[L&LD]

I would not want anything Apple offers in my router. Just a world of hurt, sooner and later.

IFTTT and Alexa options should similarly be nuked from the firmware too if I had my wish.

 

[royarcher]

I would not want anything Apple offers in my router. Just a world of hurt, sooner and later.

IFTTT and Alexa options should similarly be nuked from the firmware too if I had my wish.

Don't hold back tell us what you really think

 

[#TY]

So sad where we live in a world where hardly anyone can be trusted. Disgusting and shameful.

 

[CrystalLattice]

And it's also under Apple's control, which means they can charge their typical Apple tax to product manufacturers who want to officially support it and get that Homekit logo.

When you have the alternative to do so, support existing technologies that are truly open, rather than vanity technologies developed by large corporations without any real collaboration from the outside world.

And that's beside the point where I think that none of these technologies (be it Homekit, IFTTT or Alexa support) belong on a security device such as a router. You are just opening more doors for potential attacks on your router, which is your primary line of defense between your whole network and the rest of the world.

This is why I use OpenWRT and LibreCMC (no blobs) on my routers. No longer use the word router, either, since Bill Gates named it, unfortunately for us. I now simply call them Network Appliances, which is what they really are.

 

[ColinTaylor]

No longer use the word router, either, since Bill Gates named it, unfortunately for us.

I'm not aware of any connection between Bill Gates and the word "router".

EDIT: You probably got his name confused with William (Bill) Yeager.

 

[CrystalLattice]

I'm not aware of any connection between Bill Gates and the word "router".

EDIT: You probably got his name confused with William (Bill) Yeager.

Bill Gates says on video tape that he walked up to Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner of Cisco at COMDEX in Las Vegas in 1985. They were showing the prototype Advanced Gateway Server(AGS) at their booth. Gates said to them, "why don't you simply call it a router?" He gives himself credit for this!

Actually, Cisco stole the router code from William (Bill) Yeager and Stanford University : https://www.networkworld.com/article/2309917/lan-wan-router-man.html .

 

[ColinTaylor]

He gives himself credit for this!

Well he might, I'm not sure anyone else does. I'm pretty sure the term had already been in relatively common use for such devices for a few years before then, so he wasn't exactly suggesting some "new word".

But it's not like Gates would try and take a commonly used word and claim it as his own invention is it. Not a word like "windows" for example.

 

[XIII]

And that's beside the point where I think that none of these technologies (be it Homekit, IFTTT or Alexa support) belong on a security device such as a router.

I could not find many details yet, but I thought increasing security (of IoT devices) was the reason Apple introduced this:

HomeKit for Routers will create a virtual firewall between your full network and devices on that network.

Source: engadget.