Apple have just hired former Microsoft VP - Sam Jadallah to help revamp its smart home business, in light of the recent competition in the Smart Home space from Google’s Home and Amazon’s Alexa.
Sam Jadallah spent more than a decade at Microsoft and more recently headed up Smart Home Lock company Otto which shut down just over a year ago. Apple has hired him to lead the home initiatives at Apple, focusing on Homekit, Siri, Homepod and Integrating all the Smart Home components into a more tangible ecosystem.
Sam Jadallah Joins Apples Smarthome division
We don’t see many Homekit enabled Smart Homes here in Thailand, with many users across Thailand thinking that it’s fairly half-hearted attempt at home automation and many saying that it feels tacked on, rather than a comprehensive, solid, home control system from one of the biggest technology manufacturers in the world.
Hiring Jadallah is the latest signal that Apple plans to get serious about its own efforts in the home. Recently, the company acquired a start-up called Pullstring, a start-up that specializes in voice-enabled toys. The purchase could help the smartphone maker become the center of a more connected living room.
Many commentators feel that perhaps Apple has been slow to react or innovate in the smart home space and it has allowed Google but mainly Amazon to get a massive headstart on smart home automation.
Apples Smart Home Kit
Apple, Amazon and Google - All three companies have a combination of hardware and software that controls everything from turning lights on and off using voice or your phone, to playing music and Apple's HomePod represents only a small share of the market, compared to Amazon's Echo and Google Home.