When Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the company is going to enter into new product categories this year, many thought that he was talking about smartwatches and voice-enabled HDTV sets. Rather interesting claims published in a report today make it seem like the company may have its sights on a totally different category. Apple is believed to be working on the development of smart home hardware.
Now this doesn’t seem completely impossible given the fact that at WWDC 2014 Apple showed off Homekit. The software will allow users to control connected devices in the home such as cameras, doors, thermostats, switches, plugs, locks, lights and more. Apple has said that it will work with third party manufacturers on Homekit compatible products.
According to the report Apple is past the “exploratory phase of development,” which means that at least there’s a team in Cupertino trying to figure out how to extend Apple’s reach into the smart home market. It also claims that the development of these products could be stopped at anytime, that might happen if the company convinces itself that this is not the right move.
Though it is not known exactly what type of smart home products Apple is interested in developing. Surely they will be controlled through iOS devices and Siri integration will make it much more easier.
It is too soon to predict when these smart home devices could come to the market. The new software unveiled at WWDC 2014 isn’t due until fall so for all we know these devices might be on the 2015 roadmap. There’s also the possibility that the report is completely wrong, but then again, you never know with unofficial sources.
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