“With all the hoo-ha surrounding the launch of Apple’s new iPhones and Watch last week, another potentially massive bit of Apple news almost slipped under the radar,” John Archer writes for Forbes. “As reported by Forbes, Apple also apparently rolled out last week an update to its Apple TV boxes that enabled them to support the brand’s HomeKit app. And it seems to me this has the potential to be bigger news than any mere new phone generation.”
“The HomeKit app control app was introduced to Apple phones and tablets as part the recent iOS 8 update, but a key element seemed to be missing from the ecosystem: a device for bridging the ‘gap’ between domestic gadgets and your phones and tablets. Which is where the Apple TV box, with its integrated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities, comes in,” Archer writes. “However, to me it’s also the point where Apple TV feels like just a fairly basic starting point in what could evolve into a much wider Apple home product range that could – arguably even should – include a TV set.”
“Despite all this, prior to the revelation about HomeKit being sneaked into the Apple TV box the many rumours about Apple working on a TV have seldom if ever sounded convincing,” Archer writes. “The arrival of HomeKit onto the Apple TV box, though, changes everything in an instant. It proves that Apple is no longer just about making conduits that simplify your access to the computer and online worlds. Rather than keeping the home at arm’s length, Apple now seems to want to get deeply involved in almost every corner of your house and almost every part of your domestic life. And if it’s going to do that, then it seems to me that it may want to provide a new focal point for its efforts.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
Related article:
Apple TV gets HomeKit support, now armed and ready to be the hub for the smart home – September 22, 2014
I have yet to see home kit on any device. I looked for this icon on the Apple TV after I updated it. I see no evidence of home kit anywhere. No settings, no icon that would say it was an App. Nothing. So if it is anywhere, its buried in the code only and not user accessible yet from any device. Which means you can’t use it yet. So let’s hold off on any excitement util Apple actually says and puts an App that we can actually use.
Homekit is a framework. There is no icon or button for it.
You’ve got to have a Third Gen Apple TV (looks just like the Second Gen…black, square…so be sure). Some of the recent Apple TV updates work for both Second Gen AND Third Gen…while some only work for Third Gen.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/aarontilley/2014/09/17/apple-tv-is-now-armed-and-ready-to-be-the-hub-for-apples-smart-home/
“According to this person, anyone with a THIRD GENERATION Apple TV and with the latest 7.0 software update will now likely have a HomeKit-enabled central hub, whether they know it or not.”
Building television sets is expensive, the margins are small, and people don’t upgrade their sets every year. So why would Apple want to get into that business when they have AppleTV, which is cheap enough to garner a large user base who can afford to replace it on a regular basis?
Look at what Apple did with Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Studio 3, aka FCP7, sold for $1,000, and was designed for, and marketed to, professional film and video editors, of which there are thousands in the world. When they released FCP X, and EOLed FCP7, they made it easier to use by using many UI elements from iMovie, and dropped the price to $300. This now opened their user base to also include the millions of amateur film makers who wanted more power than iMovie, but didn’t want to learn how to use FCP7. And don’t forget, that if you want to use Final Cut Pro X, you still need to buy a Mac, which is the only real reason Apple has FCP. So instead of locking thousands of editors into buying Macs, Apple now has millions of potential sales.
So that being said, how many folks do you think want to spend Apple money, love their products but they’re not cheap, on a TV just to see abetter version come out in twelve months, when you can just buy a small device for a hundred bucks that gives any TV all the features and services you want from Apple?
One more thing about AppleTV versus Apple Television, AppleTV is mobile. You can pack it in your suit case, purse, backpack or jacket pocket, take it with you and plug it in to whatever TV you want, as long as it has HDMI.
You can’t do that with a television.