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Amazon, Apple, and Google’s open-source smart home standard is on track for a 2021 launch

Amazon, Apple, and Google’s open-source smart home standard is on track for a 2021 launch

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The latest update on Project Connected Home over IP

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Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Project Connected Home over IP — the ambitious attempt to bring together Amazon, Apple, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance with a unified, open-source smart home platform — has just posted its latest update on the project. The group has announced (in the first major update since the standard was revealed) that work on the project is still ongoing, and it’s targeting a 2021 release, along with the first clear idea of what devices the standard is aiming to work with.

The project is still on track to provide a “draft specification” for the new standard by the end of the year, with a full launch set for 2021, according to the blog post shared by the Zigbee Alliance (a group that includes Ikea, Samsung SmartThings, and Signify / Philips Hue as board members).

Additionally, the announcement clarifies what sorts of smart home devices the Project Connected Home over IP is aiming to work with. If the number of companies being brought together wasn’t ambitious enough, the list of device categories is a lengthy one: “lighting and electrical (e.g., light bulbs, luminaires, controls, plugs, outlets), HVAC controls (e.g., thermostats, AC units), access control (e.g., door locks, garage doors), safety and security (e.g., sensors, detectors, security systems), window coverings/shades, TVs, access points, bridges and others.” In short, that’s nearly every type of major smart home device. The group is also already exploring the integration of “additional consumer electronics products.”

Project Connected Home over IP was announced in December 2019 as a unified standard that would make it easier for device manufacturers to create smart home hardware. The goal is that future devices will be able to easily add support for all three major voice assistants — Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google’s Assistant — at once. In turn, that will make it easier to set up and configure smart home devices with your system of choice.