HomeKit - Finally Here! Do We Care?

It looks like Apple's HomeKit is finally going to become a real, tangible thing. 

Just in time for WWDC! But do we still care?

Apple announced HomeKit a full year ago, and then.... silence. 

It sounds like we're going to finally see HomeKit in action at WWDC on June 8. 

In all likelihood, we're getting an iOS app, a bunch of third-party IoT devices, and a new AppleTV that will tie the whole thing together. 

And yet... I'm a bit underwhelmed. I've spent 3+ years "building an iOS home", and now that Apple is finally rolling out their iOS Home platform, I am hesitant. 

I'm sure I'll jump on board to some extent, but there's something missing. 

That something is Nest. 

Without Nest integration, Apple's HomeKit may be DOA. 

The Nest Thermostat has been, by far, the most widely-adopted smart-home device in history. 

And it has a very Apple look-and-feel - all brushed aluminum and glass. It comes from the team who designed the iPhone, after all. 

And Google has been building an ecosystem around the Nest.... to the point that HomeKit seems a bit superfluous. 

I'm not going to rip out my Nest and install an Ecobee, just so that I can control my temperature with the "Home" app instead of the "Nest" app. 

Google, of course, has said that they have "no news" about HomeKit integration. 

So Apple needs to wow us with HomeKit. It needs to be SO great that Google (or Nest users) are forced to take action - either:

• Nest users abandon their "Works With Nest" ecosystem, and move to HomeKit, OR
• Google relents, and allows Nest to work in the HomeKit API. 

I imagine that both Apple and Google are going to be hearing a lot from irritated consumers. 

Smart home adoption has been ridiculously slow, in large part because of the lack of generally accepted standards. 

Now, we have 2 titans of tech starting another format war. 

It will be VERY easy for most consumers to sit this one out. 

Unless Nest joins the HomeKit party - at which point I'll be jumping in with both feet.