Today, people want everything to be easy, complete, and hassle-free. Home automation is not something that we are unfamiliar with; in fact, we have been expecting a lot from the technological advancement and new inventions.
When we heard about HomeKit in WWDC
iOS 8 is on the way to your house and is going to help us create smarter homes that will maximize the security, convenience, and comfort. The Internet of Things concept (which means connected devices) is already making waves in the tech community. And with the announcement of HomeKit in its keynote at WWDC in San Francisco on Tuesday, a new suite of tools that’s part of new iOS 8, Apple has joined the league of home automation.
During a HomeKit introduction session, an Apple engineer talked about their goal that is to bring some rationality to home automation. He also described how effectively every home, device, room, function and setting would have a unique name in the HomeKit system and how Siri, Apple’s intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator, could make out and let you control the things around you all through a common database.
HomeKit’s fascinating but huge!
As a matter of fact, the hardware and accessories have to support Apple’s iOS devices and Home Automation Protocol in order to be in tune with the home automation device capabilities. Many leading companies including manufactures of home gadgets and accessories are now geared up to bring the advanced and smart wares as well as home products that will conform to Apple’s standard to make them work with iOS 8. To build smart accessories that work with home configuration or home automation apps, one has to learn about HomeKit Accessory protocol.
No matter what, Apple’s HomeKit automation framework is really fascinating and a valuable addition to the connected home. Furthermore, it enables developers to take control of the devices and accessories in the home.
Apple is partnering with some big names to keep the communication secure between your iPhone and home gadgets/accessories.
Hey, Siri, control my house
For all you- Apple fans and perhaps geeks, your favorite personal assistance, Siri, is going to have more power and more capability with the upcoming iOS 8.
We have a few apps that let you automate your home; however, those home automation devices use different apps. HomeKit eliminates the hassles of switching from one app to another to control different accessories. That enables you to control several home accessories and gadgets from one app, so that a single command leads to several actions at a time.
As we know that HomeKit will allow developers to create wonderful apps to control third-party smart-home gadgets from more places in iOS 8, bringing more convenience to the users. Yet, Siri makes it simpler than ever. Just with your voice command, you can easily have utter control over home accessories and gadgets securely paired with your iPhone, which includes lights, thermostats, locks, cameras, switches, plugs, and more. Simply uttering “get off to bed” would lock the doors, lower thermostat, and dim the lights. It is still little, and we are likely to see huge growth in home automation this decade.
Is it enough to be sort of secure and private?
Apple assures that your iDevices will communicate securely with your home accessories and gadgets. But security of your Internet-connected devices typically relies on your home Wi-Fi network. However, Apple has its eye on security.
Craig Federighi, the senior vice president of Software Engineering at Apple, stated that HomeKit uses a common network protocol with secure pairing, meaning only your iDevice can dim the light or lower the thermostat.
Hands down, Apple is likely to help young home automation market grow by trying to bring uniformity in it. To sum up, HomeKit is a small but substantial step for Apple into the smart home and that’s exciting to see where Apple takes its home automation plans from here.
