14 DAY TRIAL // During its WWDC 2014, Apple announced the HomeKit high-level connectivity framework designed to help developers create apps capable of helping users interact with various devices used in home automation.
Today, Patently Apple has reported that, in a patent filed for the new Siri Remote unveiled during the September 9 keynote, Apple hints at the possibility of using the new Apple TV device within a home automation system.
This comes somewhat as a surprise since the guys from Cupertino did not mention any home automation features during the unveiling of the Apple TV 4.
Moreover, Apple's HomeKit home configuration and automation framework is not present in the list of frameworks supported by Apple TV's tvOS. This does not mean though that they can't add HomeKit support in the tvOS' specs at a later time.
The new Apple TV might help control your home using Siri
To support this, as it was discovered within the Siri Remote patent they filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office, the device might be used in a system of "remote control devices for controlling the operations of televisions, video monitors, set top boxes, audio, video, and media players and recorders, game players, entertainment systems, home theatre systems, home automation hubs."
Another thing that comes to support the possibility of an Apple TV used for home automation is the fact that Apple mentions on the HomeKit page that "Users can group actions together and trigger them using Siri." And given that the new Apple TV now comes with a built-in Siri virtual assistant, using it as an integral part of a system capable of controlling a home would be the next logical step.
All of the above give a strong suggestion that Apple might decide to add an extra layer to the Apple TV platform in the future, besides the multimedia and gaming ones it already comes with.
