Homebuilding company KB Home just announced they're building my dream home, so I guess I'm packing up and moving to California!
The company is building a set of properties in San Jose, California that will sport a smart home package filled to the brim with HomeKit-enabled accessories.
From the press release:
KB homeowners can simply and securely monitor and control Apple HomeKit-compatible accessories, such as lighting, door locks and other security features, and more, conveniently from their iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch.
It's unclear which accessories will be available in the new homes, but KB Home has a model home set up with all the included goodies! It's already open for tours, so if you're anywhere near 307 Adeline Street in San Jose, you should definitely check it out.
Bring on our HomeKit future!
The announcement from KB Home comes after Tim Cook's WWDC keynote where he revealed Apple would be working with homebuilders to build HomeKit-enabled homes from the outset.
Home automation's single greatest hurdle is lifestyle integration. Early adopters and enthusiasts (like myself) are fine grafting these accessories onto and into our homes and lifestyles, but for most people there's a steep learning curve and an even steeper accessory-saturation curve.
An "accessory-saturation" what now‽
What I mean by "accessory-saturation curve" is it often takes a long time for a person to build out a HomeKit-enabled house. They buy a couple lights, add a smart lock, install an internet-connected fan, get a camera, etc., but that can be a multi-year process.
The power and convenience (and utter awesomeness) of home automation, I'd argue, isn't realized until you've got accessory-saturation. When a HomeKit-enabled motion sensor can trigger the lights, start the fan, and turn up the heat all at once — that is the power of home automation. Flipping on and off a single light with your voice is fun at first, but it loses its novelty after awhile. It's not as powerful as a whole-home home-automation setup.
That, I think, is why getting homebuilders involved in the process is going to be a boon for home automation: We will have accessory-saturation from the get go, giving us the opportunity to see the true power of this stuff.
