Apple's Smart Home Initiative Is Probably Just a Certification Program

As you were, Apple smart home hopefuls

Contrary to rumors published in the Financial Times that emerged earlier this week that Apple will be rolling out its own home automation technology, it seems that the Cupertino company will instead be ensuring that existing products conform to a standard, similar to what Made for iPhone does for accessories, according to a report from GigaOm.

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Initially, it was thought that Apple would offer an iOS-powered smart home system, creating a platform for developers to build on. That way, those developers could more easily offer products that do things such as automatically turning on house lights at the detection of the homeowner's iPhone. However, it now appears that Apple is working toward certifying smart home devices that with iOS support, such as the Nest thermostat, which Google acquired in January Read more...