Global tech brands unite for smart home standard

US – The Zigbee Alliance has joined forces with Apple, Google and Amazon to develop a smart home standard that means new devices are likely to be compatible with each other.

The standard aims to create unified connectivity that is open-source, royalty-free, and enables functionality between any variety of hubs and voice assistants. Recognising that consumers often want to use a variety of smart products from multiple brands in their homes, the concept was developed to create the ideal cross-brand environment, while also making it easier for manufacturers to develop new products.

Writing in a blog post about the alliance, Google vice-president of engineering Nik Sathe and Google Nest principal engineer Grant Erickson said: ‘While smart home devices are abundant, the lack of an industry-wide connectivity standard leaves people confused and frustrated when trying to understand what devices work with each smart home eco-system. It also places a heavy burden on manufacturers to make sure all devices are compatible with each other.’

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