Rumors have been circulating suggesting that Apple has experienced some delays in the rollout of HomeKit. Apple, however, has laid those rumors to rest, saying that in fact the platform is already available.
HomeKit was originally supposed to be released in August, with device manufacturers being able to take advantage of it, but these device makers reportedly already have access to the code and will be showing off the first HomeKit compatible devices next month.
"HomeKit [hardware certification] has been available for just a few months and we already have dozens of partners who have committed to bringing HomeKit accessories to market and we're looking forward to the first ones coming next month," said Tracy Muller, an Apple spokesperson.
HomeKit itself is essentially Apple's attempt at a unified platform for a connected home, enabling devices within a so-called "smarthome" to speak to each other in the same language.
It is unclear exactly what kinds of devices we will see, but it is likely that they will be shown off at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
In fact, many details about the scope of the project and what it will entail have been a little hard to come by. According to some reports, the coding of HomeKit was a little too demanding for some smaller connected devices, and Apple needed to take more time to scale it back in order for a larger variety of devices to work.
It is likely that Apple will also offer more details about HomeKit itself at WWDC, which starts on June 8.
Whether Apple did delay the release of HomeKit or not, it's important to remember that it never gave a solid date on the release of the system. While some might be looking forward to the first round of HomeKit compatible devices, it is highly likely that any devices shown off next month won't be available for at least another few months on top of that. Also, despite being unveiled at WWDC, the system is still relatively new and there will likely be some kinks to work out.
Apple is not the only company working on a connected home platform. Google has also begun working on connected devices through Nest, and Samsung has also begun tinkering with a platform. While this is good for competition, it might be a little frustrating for users who want to have access to a range of devices if compatibility becomes an issue.
