Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will start on June 2 with a Keynote address, from Apple CEO Tim Cook in the tradition Steve Jobs standout-monologues that launched new products Apple was working on.
The first feature product to give the software giant a face-lift will be the 'Smart Home' system. With no iPhone or iWatch in the offing, the smart product will take center stage for some time till Apple regroups for a swift delivery of promised products like its Smartphone and smart watch.
Apple is about to announce plans to use the ubiquitous iPhone into a remote control of sorts to connect parts of a larger home platform. This idea of being interconnected was a major theme during the CES and MWC 2014 trade shows
According to a report, Apple's smart home system will use hardware parts from external vendors. This will be a deviation from the past when its stellar products like the iPhone and the iPod were tightly integrated with internal software and hardware. Apple is also beginning to stray away from its vertical integration model with Car Play, a platform enabling automakers to connect with ions. The main advantage of having third parties collaborating on the project is to avoid problems with security for consumers.
"The report claims that this home automation system will turn on lights of the building automatically when a user carrying a paired iPhone enters. There is no word on other possible features; the report says that Apple has not finalized all the features yet and more may be added after the official announcement," TOI reported.
Should Apple extend the iBeacon technology in order to have an iPhone pair automatically with the smart home platform, then older iPhones and iPhones including iPhone 5S, 5, 5C and 4S, New iPad, New iPad with Retina display, iPad Air, iPad mini, iPad mini with Retina display and fifth-generation iPod touch should work on the home automation system.
The segment of smart appliances labeled the 'Internet of Things' will account for 9 billion products in four years, says Business Insider.
