Focus iOS 8: HomeKit, home automation seen from the iPhone / iPad

Shortly beforethe conference of 2
June, a rumor appeared out of nowhere announcing that Apple was going to launch
in home automation. Very quickly, the rumor spread and we learned
that Apple intended to bring iOS into the home.

As expected, the keynote confirmed this and we were able to discover
briefly what Apple calledHomeKit. First intended for
developers and other manufacturers, this set of tools aims to make
enter iOS in the home of tomorrow:

Homekit: what for?

In practice, Homekit should make our lives easier. As
explains it very briefly on the Apple website, home automation equipment
should be able to be controlled via apps but above all with
Siri. With a little imagination, we can immediately see where this
can lead us.

Like what already exists, the iPhone could then take
control of a thermostat for heating, light bulbs in the house,
power outlets, but why not also the garage door, the lock
from the front door and many other things.

Imagine saying good night to Siri and seeing the light in the living room
go out, that of the bedroom comes on even though the shutters are in
going down and the entrance lock has just closed.
Another situation, in the morning by turning on your iPhone you could quite naturally
start the coffee, open the shutters and, why not, turn on the
radio…

This all seems straight out of a science fiction film, yet it's
close to what Apple should allow with Homekit.

How does it work?

Homekit allows you tocontrol each object individually
connected from home. However, the most interesting thing is that
which Apple calls "scenes". As we saw a little further, it is
possible todefine scenarios in which multiple objects will
react to a single command. Where it would have been necessary to open several
apps, a simple voice command from Siri is enough to run the
planned scenario.

Homekit can alsocontrol areas like a room, a floor
or the whole house. In these different cases, the objects of the
house will be distributed to the different zones. They will also be used to
communicate with Siri to initiate instructions such as: 'turn off the
kitchen light

To carry out its project, Apple has already surrounded itself with a host of
partners including Philips and
its Hue bulbs tested here, but also the French Netatmo and
Withings.

In practice, Homekit is a certification. In other words, this
means that those who have chosen to integrate Homekit into their product will have
the right to mention it on the packaging. For his part, the user will not have
no fear to have since he will be assured that it works with his
iPhone/iPad. Moreover, when we know Apple we can be sure that the
installation procedures will be simple in order to remain faithful to the famous
phrase de Steve Jobs : ‘It just works’

Of course you will need applications to make all of this work.
But here too, Apple is doing something new since a single application can
control all objects in the house. Better yet,Homekit is
open to all developers. This means that it is not
necessarily the manufacturer of an object who must provide the app. THE
best developers will therefore be able to focus on the home connected to the
Apple sauce. Imagine app developers like Clear, 1Password
or even Tweetbot get into it. This may have some nice surprises in store for us.

Unanswered questions

As is the case forthe domain
health under iOS 8 seen in detail here, Apple now hopes to succeed
to impose a standard in the field of home automation. If the idea seems
particularly promising, it nevertheless requires to be
clarified.

According to
la documentationprovided to developers, thanks to the common protocol induced
by Homekit, a manufacturer will no longer necessarily have to offer an app for
control your accessory. On this point, things will need to be clarified
since, for the moment, we do not know this famous common protocol. There
question that may also arise is whether or not Apple will decide to
offer a central application.

We also do not know whether currently existing objects such as
bulbs, weather stations and others can be made compatible or
non.

Finally, while we know thatiOS
8will arrive in the fall, we do not know, for the moment, if the manufacturers
accessories will be ready in time to accompany the launch. Whatever
either, the enthusiasm seems to be there since in addition to the official partners,
Tado, manufacturer of air conditioners, has already announced that it is preparing a product
compatible.

I can't wait to discover this new connected home. Don't you?