Is the world finally ready for the home of the future? Not until Apple builds it. That said, current rumors posit that the Apple smart home is coming at WWDC 2014. But what is Tim Cook and his Cupertino crew brewing up?
Financial Times (paywall), quoting unnamed sources, claims that Tim Cook will announce the Apple smart home initiative at the company’s annual developer conclave in San Francisco next week. Specifically, the Apple smart home could figure dramatically in Tim Cook’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2014 keynote address, which kicks off at 10am (PST) on Tuesday morning.
One example given by the report include lights that automatically turn on when an iPhone carrying user enters the home. Third-party device makers will apparently be able to tie into the ecosystem in a manner similar to Apple’s current “Made for iPhone” licensing — AppleInsider
How Cupertino’s 2014 desktop (Mac) and mobile (iOS) operating system updates factor into the Apple smart home (of tomorrow?) is an open question. However, Financial Times notes that the Apple TV is expected to play a role in the Apple smart home project, though again the details are all but nonexistent.
It seems very likey that, whatever Apple’s plans are, iBeacons will play a central role — hyper local location awareness is a key technical hurdle for home automation.
Apple Smart Home: iThing Centric
Regardless, Apple’s iPhone and iPad are certain to play a central role that is already hinted at in the available apps and devices (ie Apple TV remote, Hue, Apple AirPlay, Nest, Roku, etc), which isn’t particularly exciting.
However, what would be more than nice is a single interface where users can access if not directly control the available devices and services. While the “internet of things” is currently quite limited, initiatives like the Apple smart home can only help drive development (me hopes)…
What’s your take?
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