The big boys of tech have teamed up with the Zigbee Alliance, to create the Connected Home over IP project; an initiative we're told will "simplify development for manufacturers and increase compatibility for consumers" in the smart home world.
The likes of Apple, Google and Amazon are joining the Zigbee Alliance for the new protocol, which is based around a shared belief that smart home devices should be secure, reliable, and seamless to use.
Smart home showdown: Alexa versus Google Home
If you're not familiar with the Zigbee Alliance, it itself is pretty much a who's who in the smart home world with the likes of Ikea, Legrand, Resideo, Samsung SmartThings, Schneider Electric, Signify, Silicon Labs, Somfy, and Wulian all involved - so the new project really does cover a massive spectrum of the market.
Alternative: What is Thread
The project has been set up to make it simpler for brands and manufacturers to build devices that are compatible with the likes Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant.
Guide: What is Zigbee?
An Apple statement says that the new protocol "will complement existing technologies, and working group members encourage device manufacturers to continue innovating using technologies available today."
"Today there is no widely adopted open standard for smart home which is built upon IP and yet IP is the protocol of the internet and is the most common network layer used in our homes and offices," explains the landing page on the new ConnectedHomeIP website.
"With IP, messages can be routed across networks independent of the physical and link layers underlying them and there are ample battle tested algorithms and infrastructure for performing routing, switching and firewalling in robust and resilient ways. Consequently, IP is an ideal way to deliver end-to-end security and privacy in communication between a device and another device, app, or service."
