Apple Publishes Open-Source Version of HomeKit Accessory Development Kit

[elvisimprsntr]

So manufacturers’ existing products will continue to work with HK and the new ones they develop will work with this new protocol that includes HomeKit. Still not sure what I’m supposed to be worried about here.

The premiss of the new standard is:

The goal of the Connected Home over IP project is to simplify development for manufacturers and increase compatibility for consumers. The project is built around a shared belief that smart home devices should be secure, reliable, and seamless to use. By building upon Internet Protocol (IP), the project aims to enable communication across smart home devices, mobile apps, and cloud services and to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification.

Too many competing standards, which all require independent certification. This burdens manufactures and results in higher costs to consumers if they try to support them all. You can interpret simplify how ever you want.

If you already have products based on one of the existing protocols, I would not invest in any new products except to replace a failed device. Once existing products in the pipeline are released to market, future development of new products will likely be discontinued. Once new products adopting the new standards are available, there is no incentive for manufactures to continue support of older protocols.

 

[vipergts2207]

The premiss of the new standard is:



Too many competing standards, which all require independent certification. This burdens manufactures and results in higher costs to consumers if they try to support them all. You can interpret simplify how ever you want.

If you already have products based on one of the existing protocols, I would not invest in any new products except to replace a failed device. Once existing products in the pipeline are released to market, future development of new products will likely be discontinued. Once new products adopting the new standards are available, there is no incentive for manufactures to continue support of older protocols.

They don’t need to support the old protocols. Since Apple is going to support HomeKit in its current form, nothing else matters. Phillips could go bankrupt and shutdown all operations including servers tomorrow. Hue lights would still function in HomeKit because it’s all run through and by Apple, not Phillips. Yes, Phillips has their own app and services for their bulbs as well, but Apple and HomeKit are not dependent on any of it.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

They don’t need to support the old protocols. Since Apple is going to support HomeKit in its current form, nothing else matters. Phillips could go bankrupt and shutdown all operations including servers tomorrow. Hue lights would still function in HomeKit because it’s all run through and by Apple, not Phillips. Yes, Phillips has their own app and services for their bulbs as well, but Apple and HomeKit are not dependent on any of it.

Keep holding on to that narrative if you helps you justify your existing investment and spending more $ on HomeKit devices. I'll wait to see what the market forces decide.

 

[falainber]

They don’t need to support the old protocols. Since Apple is going to support HomeKit in its current form, nothing else matters. Phillips could go bankrupt and shutdown all operations including servers tomorrow. Hue lights would still function in HomeKit because it’s all run through and by Apple, not Phillips. Yes, Phillips has their own app and services for their bulbs as well, but Apple and HomeKit are not dependent on any of it.

New devices will work only with new protocol. Everyone will be releasing the devices for new protocol. While old devices are going to continue working, your choices will be:
* use two sets of devices (and two control systems)
* stick with old devices (no upgrades)
* switch to new protocol, replace all devices

Eventually, everyone will switch. Buying HK devices now is a waste of money.

 

[vipergts2207]

Keep holding on to that narrative if you helps you justify your existing investment and spending more $ on HomeKit devices. I'll wait to see what the market forces decide.

Cool, don’t refute with anything of substance. It’s not a narrative, they’re facts. HomeKit devices don’t need the support of manufacturers to continue to work with HomeKit. Incredible foresight by Apple.

New devices will work only with new protocol. Everyone will be releasing the devices for new protocol. While old devices are going to continue working, your choices will be:
* use two sets of devices (and two control systems)
* stick with old devices (no upgrades)
* switch to new protocol, replace all devices

Eventually, everyone will switch. Buying HK devices now is a waste of money.

You don’t need two control systems, as everything will continue to work seamlessly in Apple’s Home app. Do Wi-Fi versus Bluetooth devices need separate control systems? Do hub-based versus standalone devices need separate control systems? No and no. All the backend stuff like that is invisible to the user. The Home app just works for the end-user, and that will continue going forward. Whether using legacy devices, one’s developed under CHIP or a mix, the end user won’t notice.

 

[Solomani]

If a new "open standard" emerges (supported by Apple, Google, Samsung, MS, etc), then there is the question of: will it be backwards-compatible with the existing HomeKit devices?

If NO, then it means current HomeKit devices, current Alexa devices, GoogleHome devices…. are going to be thrown into the trash en masse in the next few years. Actually not a huge loss for Apple since HomeKit was never a market leader in the field. But a huge setback for Alexa (the market leader) and the rabid Alexa fans, who spent tons of money surrounding their homes with such home automation devices.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

FINALLY!

Bring on the HomeKit robot vacuums!

 

[bn-7bc]

So when can I start adding my Nest products to HomeKit? Or is there a physical hardware reason that makes it impossible?

Well that depends on wether google updates the firware to include the duscovery and api endpoints homekit needs/expects. But at least it is a chance