Apple software for home, health
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is expanding into home and health management as the company tries to turn its iPhones, iPads and Mac computers into an interchangeable network of devices that serve as a hub of people’s increasingly digital lives.
The new tools for tracking health and controlling household appliances are part of updated operating systems that Apple unveiled Monday in San Francisco at its 25th annual conference for application developers.
The revised software for Apple’s devices won’t be released to the general public until fall when the company is also expected to start selling the next generation of iPhones and iPads. A spruced-up line of Macs also could be coming before the holidays.
The lack of a flashy new gadget may disappoint some Apple fans who are still looking for proof that the company hasn’t lost its ingenuity since Steve Jobs died in October 2011. Since then, Apple has mostly been making incremental improvements to the devices and software hatched under Jobs’ leadership.
The iOS 8 operating system includes “HealthKit” and “HomeKit” options. HealthKit works with a new built-in app on that will store a variety of information about people’s medical history.
HomeKit is aiming to set up a system that lets an iPhone or iPad serve as a remote control for household appliances.
