If’s Casseta’ which uses a proprietary system. I have 8 assorted Lutron dimmers and switches, and several of their remote control switches (very cool). (missing from this year’s CEDIA) and Control 4. Add to that Savant. LeGrand systems can be controlled by Alexa, though the SmartThings hub. has long been supporting Siri, but no direct support yet from Control4 (there is a HomeBridge work around, I believe, but I’ve never tried it). For lighting Philips Hue is a yes, LIFX says they are committed with future products, but not their current smart lights. Osram Sylvania’s Lightify lights, another yes if you use their bridge, but not if you use the WeMo one which also works with Lightify. For testing purposes, I have some Lightify lights using each.
My impression is that Apple has the clout to be highly successful running your house, despite the slower start in terms of products. Their success, of course, will be due, in part, to having an incredibly loyal base. So while Siri is (pretty) sure to be a big success in penetrating and controlling people’s homes, it’s starting to look, right now, that Alexa is the 800 pound Gorilla (no offense to the noble gorilla), when it comes to voice control of your Smart Home. Barring a major screw up, Alexa will be a dominant player for at least the near future. 2025? Who knows.
From a practical standpoint, I have an Amazon Echo in my home theater, and I placed one of their Dots where our kitchen opens into a large living room, plus we have one Amazon voice remote.
I use Alexa more than Siri, simply because Siri can only control about 1/3 or so of my devices, while pretty much all of them can be controlled by Alexa either directly or through my SmartThings hub. 9 or 10 Alexa devices to speak to, plus two for the outside (nothing waterproof yet that I’m aware of).. I haven’t yet put a Dot in the bedroom, I can Hey Siri my iPhone charging on the stand next to the bed, if I remember something I need to adjust before hitting the sack!
In other words, Amazon needs perhaps some additional Alexa devices, theirs, or third parties, to handle outdoors, and additional room in most people’s homes. Personally, I plan to add at least one more Dot, to fully cover my living room.
Security, is of course an issue. With Alexa, there’s always the possibility of a weak link in terms of hacking, for example SmartThings had an issue earlier this year, that was, of course, patched.
Apple, on the other hand also has a particular. WINK says they are following developments, but have not committed to HomeKit. One major hub maker, though, is supporting HomeKit Siri, that is SmartHome’s Insteon’s hub (one of the better known ones), which controls devices using own proprietary “protocol, as well as Z-Wave, etc., SmartHome is not to be confused with us – SmarterHomeAutomation – different folks. They are, however located less than 15 miles away from us, just up the freeway. Their hub may possibly gain a lot of traction from folks choosing a hub, simply because they are the ones supporting Apple.
On the plus side, with Apple, improved security is one of the things they are apparently demanding from partners. So, much like iPhones being considered far more secure than Android phones in general, the same could prove true of Siri vs Alexa, in terms of home security. A last thought, re Apple Siri. A few months ago, Apple introduced a new developer kit (at WWDC I think), that will likely make it easier for companies to offer HomeKit compatible products. That’s just general speculation, time will tell..
BTW we aren’t writing off Microsoft, Google or some smaller companies’ voice control/personal assistants. We will cover any of them that look to be able to capture at least a small slice of the voice controlled smart home pie.
Look for more updates relating to voice control and personal assistants as that market continues to grow. Alexa, turn off the theater lights! Siri, set the thermostat to 70 degrees! Ah, it’s so easy with voice control. Just remember, these assistants are about controlling the devices. Setting up your devices, though, is still a matter of using Apps.