First Apple HomeKit Devices ‘Coming Next Month’

Apple will launch into the smart home industry next month with devices powered by its HomeKit platform.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Miller told The Wall Street Journal that “HomeKit has been available for just a few months and we already have dozens of partners who have committed to bringing HomeKit accessories to market and we’re looking forward to the first ones coming next month.”

This could mean that the company is gearing up to make an announcement regarding HomeKit at its WWDC event, scheduled for June 8 in San Francisco, where it first revealed the platform last year.

Smarter

This refuted earlier claims from Fortune, which suggested the first HomeKit-powered devices wouldn’t be ready until August or September due to ‘a number of issues’ – primarily that the code needed to run operations was taking up too much memory on the small devices.

Fortune has since amended its article to reflect Apple’s statement.

First announced in June 2014, HomeKit is widely seen as being Apple’s major drive towards the Internet of Things market, although the company was unwilling to set a concrete release date.

The platform will allow customers to use their Apple device for a variety of smart home functions, including the ability to control locks, lights, cameras, doors, thermostats, plugs and switches at home, all via corresponding apps.

Apple opened up its certification process in November, with the first batch of approved products revealed at CES 2015 back in January.

This includes smart lightbulbs from GE, which were announced last week, and which aim to lessen the effect that artificial lights have on our sleep patterns by giving consumers the ability to automate lighting according to the body’s natural sleep circadian rhythm.

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