AAPLTim CookSource: Apple
Apple introduced several new features for its smart home initiative at its annual WWDC conference, including a way to unlock your front door with an iPhone through a digital key in the Wallet App.
But Apple is taking a different tack with its smart home strategy than it does its main platforms, like iOS or MacOS, where the company both builds the hardware and controls the software.
Instead, Apple’s smart home strategy relies heavily on encouraging third-party hardware makers to adopt Apple’s platform, HomeKit, which aims to simplify the process of getting gadgets from various companies to work together seamlessly.
For example, Apple didn’t release an Apple-branded smart lock, but it did promote a smart lock that uses Apple’s software and integrates tightly with the iPhone’s Home and Wallet apps. Other HomeKit-enabled gadgets include air conditioners, video cameras, motion sensors, doorbells, and lights.
For Apple, this strategy aims to position iPhone and Apple Watch as controllers for a wide variety of in-home functions, making them more valuable to current customers and discouraging them from switching to an Android phone when it is time to upgrade. Apple’s smart home strategy could also boost Apple TV or HomePod sales, as these devices
