Why I'm disappointed by the 2017 HGTV Smart Home

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I have a particular interest in smart home technology. I live in an apartment currently so I don't have any "smart" devices deployed in my own home, but I follow the industry to see where things are going. As a bit of a smart home nerd, I was admittedly excited for the 2017 HGTV Smart Home special. However, I was disappointed.

For the show having "smart home" in the title, I thought they'd have dedicated more than roughly 5 cumulative minutes to the tech behind it. In the past, smart homes typically had expensive, proprietary systems for controlling all sorts of things (mostly lighting and HVAC, from my understanding). With wireless technologies like Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee and Z-Wave smart home accessories flooding the market, I was eager to see which platform HGTV's special house would use. Google's Nest? Apple Homekit? Samsung Smartthings? Amazon Alexa? Instead, there was no modern platform used. They had automatic blinds, light switches, and several other things, all controlled by an iPad with what appeared to be at least 25+ apps to control everything. 

The tech of the house seemed like a big mish-mash of tech that doesn't interact with each other. There doesn't seem to be any way to set scenes with multiple devices being triggered. In one shot, there was a closet with an open network rack that appeared to contain a Ubiquiti switch, but there was no explanation to where all of the cables were going. 

My first thought when I saw the iPad full of individual apps (one for the blinds, one for the locks, one for the generator, one for the lights, etc.) was how if I'd have built a system like that, my wife would tell me how complicated it is. I don't disagree. I believe that I could figure out how to use everything, but I wouldn't expect most other people to remember which app locks the door or allows you to see inside the fridge. 

My disappointment with the house was how chaotic the tech was. My disappointment with the show was how much time was dedicated to the construction and design of the house. In defense of the show, the house looked amazing and the iPad hung out on a wall-mounted inductive charger, which was pretty cool. 

I understand that manufacturers may have paid to have their products featured on the show but I'm sure Apple or Samsung would've paid to have their platforms built on for the show. Either platform can easily manage lights, thermostats, locks, security systems, smoke/CO2 alarms, irrigation systems, etc. Build on one of those and really show how far wireless-based smart home tech has really come. Show how you can use it from your phone or smart watch. Show how it can save you money or alert you to home issues before they become issues. Show a real smart home instead of throwing an ethernet jack in each room, some automated blinds into a house and calling it a smart home. 

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