Just before the start of the WWDC developer fair, the term ‘homeOS’ pops up in Apple’s job board. Is there a big change coming for HomeKit?
‘homeOS’ pops up in Apple job
Developer Javier Lacort discovered the term on Apple’s careers page. In a vacancy for a senior Apple Music Engineer, the company mentions “homeOS” twice. The new name is mentioned in the list of iOS, watchOS and tvOS. The text of the vacancy is as follows:
You’ll get to work with system engineers across Apple, learning the inner-workings of iOS, watchOS, tvOS and homeOS, and optimizing your code for performance in ways only Apple can. Come join our team and make a real difference for music lovers worldwide.
The ‌Apple Music‌ Frameworks team owns the technology stack that enables the system-integrated ‌Apple Music‌ experience on all of our mobile platforms: iOS, watchOS, and homeOS.
Because this is a new term just before the WWDC presentation, the rumor mill has taken a turn. For example, this could be a new name for Apple’s smart home software, or a completely new platform.
A logical step for HomeKit
That Apple would sooner or later come up with a smart home software platform is in any case no surprise. For example, the HomePod and HomePod mini now still run on a modified version of iOS. Apple also seems to be increasingly interested in the smart home market.
If Apple is actually working on homeOS, we’ll probably hear about it next Monday. Then Apple kicks off WWDC developer fair with a keynote. There we also get a first look at iOS 15, watchOS 8 and more. Do you want to know what to expect? Check out our handy overview with WWDC 2021 expectations.
Also read: WWDC 2021 expectations: iOS 15 and 7 other big announcements