A smart home that is reliant on the cloud is dumb.
Self-hosted is the only acceptable alternative here where even the raspberry pi has more processing power to run hundreds of homes.
A simple service to route mobile apps through the potential NAT is the only thing the cloud should be needed for. Obviously downloading "drivers"/configurations are a valid user case but that's part of the setup-process.
Not saying that everyone should tinkle with a RPI but it is trivial to create a more user friendly device. The fact that Amazon, Google, Apple etc. don't even attempt this is just a consequence of them being hell bent on making money from crap.
Self-hosted is the only acceptable alternative here where even the raspberry pi has more processing power to run hundreds of homes.
A simple service to route mobile apps through the potential NAT is the only thing the cloud should be needed for. Obviously downloading "drivers"/configurations are a valid user case but that's part of the setup-process.
Not saying that everyone should tinkle with a RPI but it is trivial to create a more user friendly device. The fact that Amazon, Google, Apple etc. don't even attempt this is just a consequence of them being hell bent on making money from crap.