Apple is on a hiring push for the team working on new HomeKit-related devices and software. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman says the Cupertino firm has posted at least 15 openings for new engineering positions on the team in the last month.
Gurman says the new efforts are headed by Andreas Gal, the former CTO of Mozilla who joined Apple last year following the iPhone maker’s acquisition of his artificial intelligence startup Silk Labs.
Silk had the aim to “bring next-generation visual and audio intelligence to connected products” with “state-of-the-art image and audio recognition.”
While few details are available, one possibility that has been raised is the development of new HomeKit-based devices in addition to the HomePod. Apple is also said to have explored modules that could open and close windows, doors and cabinets, but those efforts are said to have been put on hold.
While other companies have brought HomeKit-compatible devices and accessories to market, Apple’s efforts have so far been limited to their HomePod smart speaker. In April 2018, GE released the first HomeKit-enhanced window air conditioner unit, while January 2019 saw Kohler announce HomeKit features for its intelligent “Numi 2.0” toilet.
