Shifts in the DIY smart home landscape
On May 6, 2020, Wink, the makers of a DIY smart home hub and sensors, announced a monumental shift from a free service with hardware purchase to a mandatory Wink subscription. Starting May 13, all Wink users must either pay a monthly subscription fee or their Wink smart home will cease to function.
Smart home services like Wink and SmartThings have ongoing cloud service (i.e., server) and software development costs. Wink hubs are largely dependent on cloud services to enable communication between different platforms and from the hub to an end user’s app. Cloud platforms that lack a steady revenue stream to support ongoing operations will join the likes of Lowe's Iris in the smart home graveyard.
This emphasizes the importance of building a smart home using standard protocols, like Z-Wave and Zigbee, that can work with a variety of smart home hubs for local control. The options can be overwhelming, but you don’t have to Do-It-Yourself. Sublime Life Solutions can help you design a reliable and affordable smart home solution built on a secure foundation.