How Apple Will Let You Control Your Home

• June 3rd 2014

by Lark Turner

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Apple unveiled a new developer interface, Homekit, on Monday that will allow you to control your home’s electronics with the tap of the “Home” button on your iPhone.

The new application programming interface (API) will let developers more easily design products that connect seamlessly with Apple’s iOS 8, the software that runs on Apple’s mobile products. In a release, the company described a system that could dramatically change the way you interact with your house. With HomeKit, Apple said, the company will give customers and developers a secure, common way to integrate “devices or groups of devices” and control them even when you’re not there. It also integrates with Siri, Apple’s voice-activated “personal assistant.”

With Homekit, you can, for example, program Siri to understand that “I’m going to bed” means it’s time to dim the lights and lock the house, or set the thermostat to a preset temperature.

Philips Lighting is partnering with Apple on the rollout of the new software kit. The company’s CEO, Eric Rondolat, said Philips would start by introducing the technology into its Philips Hue line.

“We are excited to be part of the next step in making home automation a reality, in a safe and integrated way,” Rondolat said in the news release.

As The Verge reported, the smart home market has thus far struggled to create a system that’s compatible with all kinds of products, so Apple’s attempt to create a common “platform” for smart home products could help the trend move forward.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/apples_homekit_wants_to_turn_your_home_into_a_smart_home/8561.