Apple is joining hands with Amazon, Google, Zigbee Alliance, and board members to form a working group for developing an open standard for smart home devices. Moreover, Apple is also open-sourcing portions of its HomeKit Accessory Development Kit (ADK) to accelerate the development of the new universal standard.
In its press release, Apple has explained that the new standard will make it even simpler for developers to build one device that is compatible with smart home services and voice assistants while ensuring consumers can easily choose smart home products that seamlessly work together.
Starting today, developers can use the HomeKit Open Source ADK to prototype non-commercial smart home accessories. Apple says it will also contribute its HomeKit Accessory Protocol to the working group:
“Apple is taking a major step in its approach to the smart home by joining a new industry effort, Project Connected Home over IP. This initiative aims to develop an open standard that will increase the compatibility of smart home products across multiple platforms, with security and privacy as fundamental design tenets.”
All existing HomeKit accessories will continue to work after the new protocol becomes available.
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