GE to develop new LED bulbs that work with Apple's HomeKit

Posted:
in iPhone edited May 2015
General Electric on Monday announced plans for a new color-changing LED light bulb, due to ship sometime later this year, that will come out of the box with support for Apple's HomeKit system.




The bulb will use GE's Align technology to allow automated lighting cycles that adjust to the time of day. It will for instance veer toward the blue end of the spectrum in the morning -- ideally, lowering melatonin levels to help a person wake up -- and turn amber at night to mimic firelight.

"As we continue to grow our infrastructure business by connecting our brilliant industrial machines to the Internet, it is important that consumers experience connected things in easy-to-use, everyday ways," GE executive Beth Comstock said in a release. "Lighting is how many first experiment with the idea of a smart home, and our insights show that consumers want the ability to control lighting from anywhere, automate lighting and pair lighting with other devices--like sensors, thermostats and door locks."

"We're excited to announce our support for HomeKit as it will bring a seamless, intuitive user experience using Siri and superior quality of light from America's most trusted lighting brand for more than a century."

HomeKit compatibility will enable bulbs to be controlled individually or as part of a larger series of devices. The Apple framework lets users control home automation gear through a compatible iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, using not just app controls but Siri voice commands.

GE has yet to release an image of the bulb, share pricing, or offer a precise release date.

HomeKit adoption has been slow thus far. While a number of companies have announced support for the platform, most products are still in development and won't ship until later this year. Manufacturers were unable to obtain certification from Apple until last November, and even then authentication chips were still a work in progress.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    alexmitalexmit Posts: 112member
    Apple TV needs to be the hub for homekit IMO. It would be nice if it were the link to any cameras, sensors switches, bulbs, etc. Maybe it already is in beta for the AppleTV and I've just been living under a rock. :-)
  • Reply 2 of 12
    jackansijackansi Posts: 116member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Alexmit View Post



    Apple TV needs to be the hub for homekit IMO. It would be nice if it were the link to any cameras, sensors switches, bulbs, etc. Maybe it already is in beta for the AppleTV and I've just been living under a rock. :-)



    I'm with you.  Until there is real movement to a platform based, all encompassing plan for home automation that doesn't take months to install and configure at a cost of many thousands of dollars, I'm not interested.  HomeKit is a nice dream right now, but I need to see some traction before I'll consider it anything but "just another 'standard'".  

     

    I just don't see any real vision from Apple on HomeKit.

  • Reply 3 of 12
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Alexmit View Post



    Apple TV needs to be the hub for homekit IMO. It would be nice if it were the link to any cameras, sensors switches, bulbs, etc. Maybe it already is in beta for the AppleTV and I've just been living under a rock. :-)

    Apple usually don't make a device that combined different intended uses. Either Apple TV stays as it is or expands with added game capability which still a media player. 

    Homekit Hub is entire different thing to serve different task. Combining it with a media player as central hub will create heavy load on the device during streaming (HD movie and such). Apple rather create a stand-alone hub the this purpose.

  • Reply 4 of 12
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    fallenjt wrote: »
    Apple usually don't make a device that combined different intended uses. Either Apple TV stays as it is or expands with added game capability which still a media player. 
    Homekit Hub is entire different thing to serve different task. Combining it with a media player as central hub will create heavy load on the device during streaming (HD movie and such). Apple rather create a stand-alone hub the this purpose.

    I'm suspecting a new Apple Tv will be able to accomplish both functions easily enough. It makes sense as it is most likely centrally located. You might be correct but it's hard for me to see yet another small box from Apple, surely there would have been a leak by now.

    Then again maybe the hub isn't one thing, maybe it's is hiding in plain sight and it's called 'any Apple device you already own that runs Siri' and that will surely include a Mac soon too.
  • Reply 5 of 12
    pscooter63pscooter63 Posts: 1,080member

    Someone desperately needed to bring some competition to Philips.

  • Reply 6 of 12
    iqatedoiqatedo Posts: 1,822member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    "We're excited to announce our support for HomeKit as it will bring a seamless, intuitive user experience using Siri and superior quality of light from America's most trusted lighting brand for more than a century."

     

     

    Intrigues me that any lighting manufacturer considers themselves to be trusted, as they have persistently imposed on the buying public a hidden, though obvious, lighting tax in the form of reduced product lifetimes. The material cost to the manufacturer of vastly extending the lifetimes of their products would have been negligible but the business cost would have been unacceptable. I wonder how they will artificially reduce the lifetime of LED systems. In everything that I have built that used an LED, since the 70's, not one has yet failed (although running at much lower luminosity and temperature profiles). 'Trusted' - bah!

  • Reply 7 of 12
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    iqatedo wrote: »
    Intrigues me that any lighting manufacturer considers themselves to be trusted, as they have persistently imposed on the buying public a hidden, though obvious, lighting tax in the form of reduced product lifetimes. The material cost to the manufacturer of vastly extending the lifetimes of their products would have been negligible but the business cost would have been unacceptable. I wonder how they will artificially reduce the lifetime of LED systems. In everything that I have built that used an LED, since the 70's, not one has yet failed (although running at much lower luminosity and temperature profiles). 'Trusted' - bah!

    LED lights must (should) be the lighting industries worst nightmare.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    thewhitefalconthewhitefalcon Posts: 4,453member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by IQatEdo View Post

     

     

    Intrigues me that any lighting manufacturer considers themselves to be trusted, as they have persistently imposed on the buying public a hidden, though obvious, lighting tax in the form of reduced product lifetimes. The material cost to the manufacturer of vastly extending the lifetimes of their products would have been negligible but the business cost would have been unacceptable. I wonder how they will artificially reduce the lifetime of LED systems. In everything that I have built that used an LED, since the 70's, not one has yet failed (although running at much lower luminosity and temperature profiles). 'Trusted' - bah!




    Should have said "America's Most Heavily Subsidized Lighting Maker".

     

    I don't buy GE products anymore, they get enough of my tax dollars.

  • Reply 9 of 12
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by IQatEdo View Post

     

     

    Intrigues me that any lighting manufacturer considers themselves to be trusted, as they have persistently imposed on the buying public a hidden, though obvious, lighting tax in the form of reduced product lifetimes. The material cost to the manufacturer of vastly extending the lifetimes of their products would have been negligible but the business cost would have been unacceptable. I wonder how they will artificially reduce the lifetime of LED systems. In everything that I have built that used an LED, since the 70's, not one has yet failed (although running at much lower luminosity and temperature profiles). 'Trusted' - bah!


     

    LED from the 1970s would be incredibly low power, low heat and low luminosity;  They're not plugging in the 120V socket.

    Heat is a major problem is all electronics, and electrical systems. So, not sure how you can even compare them. If you currently buy a low power led strip (still more light than those 1970s lights), put it in a well ventilated space away from weathering where its power supply is far from the Led's it could last a hell of a long time; probably 20 years non stop, though the luminosity may go down enough that you'll want to replace it before it fails.

     

    The bottom of the led is basically some kind of transformer (and rectifier); that can fail before the LED does.

  • Reply 10 of 12
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post





    I'm suspecting a new Apple Tv will be able to accomplish both functions easily enough. It makes sense as it is most likely centrally located. You might be correct but it's hard for me to see yet another small box from Apple, surely there would have been a leak by now.



    Then again maybe the hub isn't one thing, maybe it's is hiding in plain sight and it's called 'any Apple device you already own that runs Siri' and that will surely include a Mac soon too.

    At the beginning I lean toward ATV as an entertainment center acting as central hub, but then I realized that why would Apple want to do that? People buy multiple ATV units at home and really, who the hell wants 3 hubs (of course, expensive) in their house instead of 1 hub and few media-only devices? I can bet that if ATV including the central hub, it'll cost at least $200 and trust me, people don't buy multiple $200 devices for streaming media at home.

    One thing I think of is AirPort Express which people only buy 1 device at home as network router and this could be served as central hub as well (at this point: Airplay only, but could be more like wireless storage and such...) 

  • Reply 11 of 12
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    fallenjt wrote: »
    At the beginning I lean toward ATV as an entertainment center acting as central hub, but then I realized that why would Apple want to do that? People buy multiple ATV units at home and really, who the hell wants 3 hubs (of course, expensive) in their house instead of 1 hub and few media-only devices? I can bet that if ATV including the central hub, it'll cost at least $200 and trust me, people don't buy multiple $200 devices for streaming media at home.
    One thing I think of is AirPort Express which people only buy 1 device at home as network router and this could be served as central hub as well (at this point: Airplay only, but could be more like wireless storage and such...) 

    I nearly suggested an Aiport device but all too often it isn't centrally located and is in a room where the cable or TV enters the house as opposed to next to the TV. That's been the case in four of my homes. But I still have a suspicion the system might be a networked and iCloud type thing with Siri and be independent of any one device. Instead being accessible from any device like iTunes Match for example.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post





    I nearly suggested an Aiport device but all too often it isn't centrally located and is in a room where the cable or TV enters the house as opposed to next to the TV. That's been the case in four of my homes. But I still have a suspicion the system might be a networked and iCloud type thing with Siri and be independent of any one device. Instead being accessible from any device like iTunes Match for example.

    Airport as a Central Hub doesn't need to be next to a TV, does it? It needs to be next to or at least in the same room with internet modem for sure. All distant connections should be established wirelessly or through Powerline communication. My Apple TV gets over 30Mbps wirelessly with the router in the second floor and my Comcast wired speed is 100Mbps, so I don't have any problem of streaming contents. 

    From my user experience and I think for most people, ATV should be an independent device like one today with better app/OS layout, game capability and cheap ($99-$149) while Apple central hub can be a separate device or combined with Airport products which are intended for internet routing, wireless storage, wireless printing, data backup, music sharing, HomeKit control and such. It just doesn't make sense to make ATV a Central Hub because people need multiple ATVs in the house.

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