iDevices affirms HomeKit-compatible mystery product coming this fall
Bluetooth-enabled cooking thermometer maker iDevices fuels speculation with a vague HomeKit-related product announcement.
Apple teased its upcoming HomeKit software platform for iOS 8 a few months back at the Worldwide Developers Conference. Its basic premise: today's smart home is a bit...disorganized. So many different products and protocols exist that you're spending most of your time trying to manage multiple apps rather than enjoying the convenience of truly hands-free automation.
The tech giant kept things pretty vague at WWDC in June, but it did reference a "common network protocol," the potential for individual and simultaneous, multi-device automation, secure pairing, and Siri integration.
This software-focused approach leaves hubs and other tangible devices out of the equation, putting the hardware burden on its various third-party collaborations. And in the wake of yesterday's essentially HomeKit-free Apple event, one of its partners, iDevices, revived our curiosity in the proposed software platform with an announcement of its own.
iDevices makes a variety of thermometer probes designed for outdoor grilling and indoor use. We've reviewed three of its products -- the $40 iGrill Mini , the $40 Kitchen Thermometer Mini , and the $80 Kitchen Thermometer . Now, it says it will have a new, HomeKit-compatible product available this fall, but isn't revealing any specifics just yet.
iDevices' CEO, Chris Allen, makes pretty big claims about this secret product in its official press release:
"We are confident that this product, which will be unveiled to the public in late October, or early November, will play a pivotal part in changing the home automation market as we see it today. There will be no need for a complex system, or even a separate hub. The new iDevices product is the only thing you'll need to transform your home into a 'smart home.'"
The thermometer manufacturer also has plans to update its existing iDevices Connected app for use with HomeKit.
We won't know more for at least a month, but iDevices timing lines up nicely with Apple's traditional October press event. We'll update you on iDevices HomeKit-compatible product as we learn more. In the meantime, feel free to speculate wildly in the comments section below.