By
Sarfaraz A. Khan. Research Asst. Ali Ilahi.
Apple has unveiled the
HomeKit feature for the new iOS 8.The company will develop a “common protocol”
to talk with the devices. Perhaps Apple is the only company that can do this
successfully.
Apple (AAPL) is moving towards
home automation in its drive towards "Internet of things". At the
Worldwide Developer Conference held on Monday, the company unveiled a new
feature for iOS 8, called HomeKit, which will allow Apple's mobile devices,
running on iOS 8, to become a remote control for the smart home devices.
iOS 8 is
expected to be released in the fall.
Users can
also control an entire group of devices from their iPhones or iPads, rather
than focusing on just a single device. HomeKit also integrates with Siri.
Therefore, by saying "Get ready for bed", the iPhone or iPad will
lock the doors and dim the lights.
Apple hasn't
given the details about how HomeKit is going to work, except that it will use
"common protocol" to communicate with the devices. Currently, there
are hundreds of smart device manufacturers out there, each using its own
network protocol for talking with its device.
Several small
groups and companies, such as ZigBee Alliance,
Revolv and SmartThings, have been giving a one-stop solution to communicate
with these different smart devices without any major success.
However,
Apple can use its massive reach, with more
than 800 million devices running on iOS around the globe, to develop a common
protocol. Perhaps Apple is the only company that has the ability … read full
article at Seeking
Alpha
