Apple

IRVINE, Calif., May 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Brookfield Residential is the first national homebuilder to offer Apple HomeKit technology as standard in new communities, officials of both companies announced. Starting with the Delano neighborhood in Irvine's Eastwood Village, all new Southern California homes by Brookfield Residential will be Connected Homes, interfacing with Apple's Home app, and integrating with HomeKit-enabled accessories including lighting, thermostats, locks and Wifi.

"We always think forward to anticipate consumer demand, and Brookfield Residential has for more than a year explored collaborations with Apple HomeKit controls," said Brookfield Residential Chief Operating Officer Adrian Foley. "Now the market is ready to align on a large scale with Apple's clear and convenient HomeKit design. We will offer buyers The Connected Home Experience with Apple HomeKit in all our new Southern California neighborhoods.

Brookfield Residential's Connected Home blog page is here.

Using Apple's Siri interface – or the Apple Home App on iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch – homeowners easily control HomeKit-connected devices so that they work smarter, said Foley. HomeKit's advantages extend to security and privacy, because communication from the iOS device and home accessories are encrypted, with all home data living privately on the device, not stored in the cloud. HomeKit-enabled lighting and smart thermostat also more efficiently manage home energy. And homeowners can group smart-home accessories by room, to create scenes such as "I'm Home," "Bedtime" or "Movie Night."

"In our new neighborhoods, the future comes standard: As with other consumer innovations such as keyless autos, what is novel today will soon be pervasive," said Foley. "And Apple Home is the most innovative yet easy-to-use system for smart homes, giving homebuyers connected living at their fingertips – or at the command of their voices, using Siri. This makes their appliances work for them, providing joy, ease, security and privacy."

HomeKit-enabled accessories that come standard are:

• Lutron Caseta lighting (in select areas of the home)
• Honeywell Lyric T6 Smart WiFi Thermostat
• Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt (Bluetooth-enabled front door lock)
• Ubiquiti Wireless Access Point (WAP – providing peak Wifi performance throughout the home)

Brookfield Residential will add new home automation products as they continue to integrate with HomeKit. A list of what's available can be found at www.apple.com/ios/home/accessories .

The first new California neighborhoods to feature Apple Home as standard are:

• Delano at Eastwood in Irvine
• The Collection in Playa Vista
• Flora, Prado, and Haciendas at Escaya in Chula Vista
• Vientos, Candela, and Terracina at Rancho Tesoro in San Marcos
• Beverly at Eastwood in Irvine
• Citrus in Palm at Rosedale in Azusa
• Shutters at Edenglen in Ontario Ranch

About Brookfield Residential (Southern California)

Brookfield Residential Southern California (Los Angeles and San Diego) a division of Brookfield Residential, is committed to being more than a homebuilder. We strive to create the best places to call home. The Brookfield Residential Southern California (Los Angeles and San Diego) team has the passion, the expertise and the local knowledge to craft homes and neighborhoods that speak to homebuyers at every stage of life. We are an award-winning homebuilder and industry leader with an exceptional reputation for quality, design, and customer service. Please visit www.BrookfieldSoCal.com for more information.

Brookfield Residential Properties Inc. is a leading land developer and homebuilder in North America. We entitle and develop land to create master-planned communities, sell lots to third-party builders, and operate our own home building division. We also participate in select, strategic real estate opportunities, including infill projects, mixed-use developments, and joint ventures. Further information is available at BrookfieldResidential.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, click  here.

As iPhone sales growth slows, Apple is teaming up with a handful of builders and using these kinds of test beds to inch its way into the market for Internet-connected home furnishings, a nascent field that has attracted rivals like Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Amazon.com.

The gamble is that pricey wireless home devices will be an easier sell when bundled into the home itself. Builders market granite countertops and brushed-nickel fixtures at thousands of models homes across the U.S. Why not video doorbells?

Unlike Google and Amazon, however, Apple isn't hawking hardware meant to connect the home. Instead, the HomeKit app could increase the value of its iOS ecosystem -- and make it tougher for users to switch to Android phones and tablets.

"We want to bring home automation to the mainstream," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of product marketing. "The best place to start is at the beginning, when a house is just being created."

The convenience on display in the Alameda stucco doesn't come cheap. A single motorized, battery-operated Lutron shade starts at $349. Or consider the Schlage "touchscreen deadbolt," which can be controlled remotely, so you can text an unexpected visitor a code. It can retail for $200. A regular deadbolt fetches $32 at Home Depot -- and there's always hiding a key under the flower pot.

In Fremont, California, about 15 minutes from Facebook's headquarters, Los Angeles-based KB Home is also getting its own Apple house ready. Along with the automated thermostat, lights, security system, locks, fans and shades, it lets you, on voice command, change the color of the light underneath a vanity.

With the words "good night," the light turns purple. With a "good morning," it switches to white.

KB offers wireless devices as upgrades. A basic package runs about $2,000, "which once rolled into a mortgage is pennies a month," according to spokesman Craig LeMessurier. Lennar builds the cost into the price of homes. The Alameda house sells for $1.2 million, though it was a beta model and an actual dwelling wouldn't include $30,000 worth of gadgets.

Apple is also working with Brookfield Residential Properties. and other builders. The companies declined to say when the homes would go on sale.

Consumers will buy about $24 billion worth of connected home devices in 2016, according to Strategy Analytics Inc. Though that's a drop in the bucket compared with smartphones, the research and consulting firm expects those sales to nearly double by 2020.

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