Oliver Haslam on December 21, 2019, 11:11 am

Apple Makes Parts Of Its HomeKit ADK (Accessory Development Kit) Open-Source

Following the news that Apple is joining a group of companies working to make it easier for smart home products to work with each other, the company has released an open-source version of its HomeKit Accessory Development Kit (ADK).

Apple says that by making this open-source version of the HomeKit ADK available, it hopes that work on increased compatibility between smart home products will be accelerated.

To accelerate the development of the new universal standard, Apple is open-sourcing portions of its ‌HomeKit‌ Accessory Development Kit (ADK). ‌HomeKit‌ has grown to become the most extensive, powerful and secure smart home platform available on more than a billion iOS and iPadOS devices. Built from the ground up to protect customer data, ‌HomeKit‌ and the Home app use innovative privacy technologies and techniques to help minimize the amount of data anyone — including Apple — can access as well as powerful security features that protect personal information. By open-sourcing its ‌HomeKit‌ technology, Apple will be helping to jump-start the initiative and ultimately deliver an even better experience to customers.

By releasing the ADK, Apple is now giving people the tools they need to be able to build HomeKit-capable devices and accessories for non-commercial use. That means that anyone can download it and then build something that works with Siri and Apple’s Home app.

Apple has also confirmed that existing HomeKit devices will be compatible with anything launched under the new, open smart home standard that it is working on alongside the likes of Google, Amazon, and more.