HomeKit

Apple’s plan to manage upcoming HomeKit-compatible accessories could revolve around a new iOS app called “Home,” according to sources familiar with the app. Introduced at last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, HomeKit is an Apple initiative designed to encourage accessory makers to integrate “connected home” accessories such as Wi-Fi garage door openers, smart thermostats akin to Nest’s Learning Thermostat, and wireless door locks with iPhones and iPads. Using Siri or the Home app, users will be able to remotely control parts of their homes directly from iOS devices…

Expand
Expanding
Close

While Apple has never announced an official launch date for HomeKit, its Siri-controlled home automation platform first introduced alongside iOS 8, a new report claims that products will be delayed as Apple runs into some roadblocks.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Broadcom today announced that its new SDK for the Internet of Things (IoT) now officially supports Apple’s home automation HomeKit platform, bringing us a step closer to widespread availability of Siri-controlled smart home devices.

Broadcom notes that its SDK is the first to officially support HomeKit specs for WiFi and Bluetooth Smart accessories, allowing developers to use its Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) platform to build apps for Apple’s new Siri-controlled, home automation platform. They will also be able to build products that double as a hardware bridge for non-HomeKit accessories. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

GE announced today that it’s introducing HomeKit enabled LED lighting products offering Siri-controlled solutions for both the home and enterprise. With support for Apple’s new HomeKit framework, users will be able to control the lights from their iOS device using Siri.

The company noted that the new line of GE HomeKit lighting will also include its GE Align technology that “tunes the light spectrum to help promote the body’s natural sleep cycle by controlling the blue concentration of light output.”
Expand
Expanding
Close

Chipmaker Marvell announced today that it has become “the industry’s first silicon vendor to develop a fully supported SDK” for Apple’s new HomeKit home automation platform, supplying a full hardware and software platform to accessory manufacturers. As part of the support, Marvell has an SDK for HomeKit that includes a “88MC200 microcontroller, advanced Avastar 88W8801 Wi-Fi SoC and EZ-Connect software.”

We previously reported that chipmakers had started providing small quantities of wireless chips to some companies for HomeKit products, but this is the first time a silicon vendor has announced a complete HomeKit software and hardware solution for developers:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple will allow its upcoming Siri-controlled HomeKit platform to work with certain existing, non-HomeKit home automation products, including ones using competing protocols such as ZigBee or Z-Wave, but there are many limitations. According to sources briefed on the new specs, the latest Made for iPhone (MFi) licensing program specifications detail the types of home automation products other than HomeKit that Apple will permit to interact with its platform.

During the 2014 WWDC, Apple briefly mentioned the possibility of connecting rival home automation products to HomeKit using a hardware “bridge,” but only in recent weeks has clarified the types of accessories that will and will not be allowed.
Expand
Expanding
Close

There’s a very clear message delivered on the CES 2015 show floor: Smart home tech is definitely a thing. There is a ton of tech/accessories being showcased at CES that are designed to make your home life easier through connectivity. We’ve roamed the show floor searching high and low to bring you a roundup of some of the best smart home tech that was announced…

Expand
Expanding
Close

At WWDC 2014, Apple first announced HomeKit which it describes as a “framework in iOS 8 for communicating with and controlling connected accessories” around your home, and we’re starting to see the first HomeKit-enabled accessories announced. HomeKit is especially interesting as smart devices that use it can be controlled by Siri commands like “turn off the lights” or “lock the front door” and actions can even be grouped together. Below you’ll find our running list of the latest gadgets from CES 2015 to bring HomeKit automation and Siri integration to your home:
Expand
Expanding
Close

HomeKit, Apple’s framework for connecting automation accessories and Siri together, is already proving to be a big hit at CES 2015. Today home automation company Insteon unveiled its own HomeKit plans as part of the Consumer Electronics Show. Specifically, Insteon announced its new app that will support the automation framework allowing you to control any HomeKit-enabled device. Additionally, the company announced its new HomeKit-enabled Insteon Hub.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Incipio today unveiled a new lineup of iOS- and HomeKit-compatible automation tools during the Consumer Electronics Show. The three new pieces of tech will be available in stores in Q2 2015.

The first two items on the list are very similar: the Direct Wireless Smart Outlet and the Direct Wireless Smart Power strip. Both provide users with the ability to activate and control electric devices from a smartphone using the upcoming Incipio Direct app.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Every year, top-ranked Apple speaker maker iHome comes to CES with an impressive array of new products — including something to show off Apple’s latest technology — and it isn’t disappointing at the 2015 CES. In an advance briefing before the show officially opened, iHome revealed its first Apple HomeKit product, SmartPlug ($40), as well as some daring new speaker and headphone designs…

…like the first speaker we’ve seen hidden inside a beautiful drinking flask. It’s called SoundFlask, and comes in coat pocket- ($50) and home bar-sized ($100) versions. Even the smaller version sounds really good given its size, and the flask cap twists to adjust the volume. All that’s missing is the ability to actually hold fluids. Read on for more.

Expand
Expanding
Close

iPhone and iPad users have eagerly awaited news in the HomeKit-connected product space since Apple announced the feature at WWDC 2014, and CES 2015 means we’re seeing a flood of new consumer electronics coming to market including the very first devices compatible with Apple’s smart home feature. The new iDevices Switch is described as “the world’s first HomeKit-enabled plug,” which allows you to control connected appliances using Siri.
Expand
Expanding
Close

I wondered earlier this year whether Apple’s HomeKit system would bring home automation to the masses. The good news is that you don’t need to wait for HomeKit to start bringing smart home technology to your family and friends – and we’ve put together a gift guide covering some of the main products that might bring a smile to their faces during the holidays.

With the right gadgets, they will be able to control lighting, heating, cooking, sound systems … even have their kettle switch on when they walk up to their front door, which will automatically unlock as they approach. Best of all, you can get them in on the smart home action from just $30 …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple’s annual MFi summit, an event for accessory manufacturers in its Made-for-iPhone/iPad/iPod licensing program, will focus on getting accessory makers ready for new technologies including HomeKit hardware, iBeacon, Apple’s new Lightning headphones spec, and game controllers, according to Apple’s official event schedule.
Expand
Expanding
Close

The first HomeKit-compatible devices are likely now in production as two chipmakers confirmed to Forbes that they have begun shipping Apple-certified Bluetooth and Wifi chips to device manufacturers.

One part of the certification process for device makers is that they have to buy their Bluetooth and Wifi chips from Apple-approved chipmakers–Texas Instruments, Marvell and Broadcom.

These chipmakers have begun shipping their chips loaded with HomeKit firmware to device manufacturers, Broadcom and Texas Instruments have confirmed.

Apple first announced HomeKit at its developer conference back in June. The idea behind it is to integrate control of a whole range of smart home devices into iOS, rather than requiring a bunch of different manufacturer apps to be used … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple has now finalized and published specifications for HomeKit through its Made-For-iPhone/iPad/iPod (MFi) licensing program. The finalized specifications, which allow accessory makers to start building products that integrate iOS 8’s new framework for home automation devices, come ahead of Apple’s yearly MFi summit in November where it plans to brief manufacturing partners on HomeKit and other new iOS 8 features for accessories.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Withings, a company well-known for its line of iPhone-connected health and fitness tracking accessories, today announced a new video monitoring device with environmental sensors called  Home. While Home is a video monitoring solution that can be used for security, the company is also including some pretty unique features that it hopes will make your home both a healthier and safer environment.
Expand
Expanding
Close

More developers are stepping forward with early looks at upcoming third-party keyboards for iOS 8. Today, Ginger Keyboard is going public with a keyboard that focuses on customization. The actual keyboard itself while used across iOS 8 does not add much new functionality, but many users will likely enjoy being able to completely customize the design of their keyboard.

Expand
Expanding
Close